“Where is the Baga beach”? Rajiv asked the stranger coming on a lateral road from the seaside. These were the days of self-navigation, and google maps had not surfaced. The Goa map was of no help as the road on which they were travelling for the last 15 minutes was not even marked on the map. It took a good 15 minutes for Rajiv and Mini to find the first person whom they could enquire. It was a sheer chance that they spotted him coming on a motorcycle. The man was wearing a helmet and took the time to answer. After a while, he said, “Follow me, I am going towards the same side”. Saying this, he took off. Rajiv immediately put his key to ignition and started following the motorbike, which was making itself hard to catch. Rajiv had a new kinetic scooter, which he had hired in Panjim for the week they were spending their holiday in Goa.
A week back they had decided to take a holiday and what better place than Goa. The weather was excellent; it was early December and Goa turning festive. Rajiv knew another fortnight, and there would be no place in Goa, thanks to the festival. They decided that they would make the Goa trip with a difference. Try and visit places which are out of beat, travel on a scooter, which they hired on arrival. They were very keen to see the interior villages, visit old Goan homes and if possible interact with the locals. After all, what better way to experience Goa than tour the countryside.
The tarred road had broken patches and was pockmarked with potholes, yet the motorcycle was zipping at a pace hard to match. After about 15 minutes of catching up, they found the motorcyclist waiting for them at a junction. Glad that the guide waited for the time to catch up, Rajiv was about to thank him, when he heard him say something through the helmet. “My dispensary is very close by, I have to keep my bag there, and then I will take you to Baga beach. Or still better a more private beach close by which hardly gets any tourists”. The thought of getting a private beach was tempting, and it caught the pair’s attention. Rajiv looked at Mini, and she nodded her head in approval. Rajiv conveyed his approval to the stranger, and he once again took off without looking back and waiting to see if they were following him. After about five minutes of riding, they found him parking his motorcycle near a lonely building which looked like an old church. There was no habitation anywhere close, and if at all there was, it was hidden by the trees. “Ah you have come, let’s go in I will not take long”. Rajiv and Mini were hesitant as they felt they would rather wait outside till the stranger attended to his work, and then they would be off. But his friendly demeanour and insistence got the better of them, they couldn’t refuse, besides it would be just five minutes, murmured Rajiv. In any case, he argued with Mini, we had decided to explore the countryside and meet local Goan folks, this meets both purposes. The structure seemed very old as the doors squeaked and it seemed as if they were not being used regularly. “The effect of the sea you see, it corrodes all metal and even wood”, said the stranger. He was polite and announced them inside. The main hall was poorly lit, and the light from the doorway was inadequate to see what was in the room. It took a while for him to switch on a 60 watts bulb, spilling the yellow light, allowing Rajiv and Mini to find their bearings. Sensing their discomfort, the stranger who had yet not introduced himself said, “Let me take you inside, the room there is brighter, it gets sunlight as it has glass on top”. And sure enough, the room which was ten meters inside was a lot brighter and cleaner. But there was no sign of any life around. There was a table, and two chairs kept, and the stranger asked them to sit. Rajiv was feeling a bit odd as this is not what they had visualised a Goan home to be. He got up and introduced himself, “Hello, I am Rajiv, and this is my wife Mini”. Now the stranger who still was wearing his helmet started to take off his helmet and introduced himself as Doctor Gomes. “This is my dispensary, and I see may patients here, please allow me to keep my bag, and I will be back with you in a minute”, saying this he left. It all happened so suddenly that both Mini and Rajiv could not even see his face properly. Mini said, “Rajiv let us not wait here very long, I am not comfortable”. Rajiv was not comfortable too, but he had committed to taking the doctor’s help, so he had no choice but to give him a chance. “Yes, darling, we will take off as soon as he appears, no more excuses now”. Next five minutes seemed like an eternity, and it appeared that the doctor would never come back. “It is almost 15 minutes since he has left us and he is not coming back”, said Mini. It is five minutes since he left, we will wait for another minute, and if he doesn’t come, we will leave. One minute seemed like an eternity again. Then Rajiv said, “I think that man is not coming, we wasted our time, let’s go”. They reached the main door which was closed, they tried to open it, but couldn’t find the latch. It seemed like it was locked. They pushed hard and still no result. They heard sounds from outside, someone unbolting? or was it a key inserted to unlock? they couldn’t be sure. They paused for a few seconds and pushed the door. Both fell forward as the door opened without any resistance. As Rajiv looked up, standing in front of him was a beautiful young girl in a red skirt, dressed in typical Goan style, she had all the makings of a Goan model. Mini saw Rajiv looking at her and shouted, “what the hell, why were we locked up inside”? Mini was angry on two counts; being locked up inside, and Rajiv’s relentless gaze on this nubile young girl. “Hi, I am Sandra, Sandra Gomes. My father rang me and asked me to help two young strangers who were with him. He has got busy looking at a patient in the outhouse”. The girl said with perfect innocence, even Mini forgot her anger and responded with a Hi. Rajiv was bending over backwards to shake her hand, an act was not lost on Mini. Rajiv was bowled over this girl, by her physical beauty, and he wanted to express his admiration. Mini was noticing this. “You want to go to Baga beach, right? That’s what my father told me, no wait, he said you wanted to visit a private beach if that was possible, is that right?” She stated as a question to them. Any doubts or apprehensions that they might have had, vanished immediately. “Don’t mind my father, he is little absent-minded and forgets”, she said to them.
She took her brand new scooty and started it. She asked them to follow her. On reaching the main road, she turned right away from Panjim. It was a half-hour ride and the most exhilarating ride both Rajiv and Mini since they came. They saw Goa in a new light. The beauty of its countryside the palm trees, the groves. The lovely old Portuguese styled houses with the conical roofs at their entrances. The beautiful carved doors and windows. The delicate woodwork, which they had failed to notice earlier had now caught their eyes. Both were wondering how come their power of observation had improved all of a sudden. They attributed it to the excitement and anticipation of visiting a private beach.
Sandra took a sudden turn left and found a small foot trail on which she was driving her scooter. Rajiv would have missed the turn even in broad daylight. It was so sudden and so small that only a person who had ridden a couple of times would spot it. Glad that they were now nearing the sea, Rajiv and Mini’s felt their spirits soar as they could smell the sea. There was an opening in the trees and behold; it was the most beautiful sight they had seen since they had come to Goa !! Pristine blue waters and white sands, and not a man in sight. Whoo.. they thought to themselves, it’s a virgin beach. Rajiv had naughty thought for a fleeting second, but he let it pass. There was a white cottage near the beach and Sandra informed them that it was their family cottage and that they should move there. “We can keep our belongings and then move onto the beach”, she said. “Great,” said both Rajiv and Mini almost in unison. They parked their scooter in the shade and went inside the cottage. It was a small and modest cottage. It had one bedroom and bathroom and a dining cum drawing and kitchen.
Mini and Sandra took turns to use the bathroom to shower and to change into their bikinis. Rajiv couldn’t help but stare at Sandra, who looked stunning in a low cut, yellow, two-piece bikini. Mini had a more conservative one-piece, floral blue swimming suit. She felt a pang of jealousy run through her when she saw her younger companion in an hourglass figure and shiny tanned body in the skimpiest of a two-piece bikini. She was now cursing herself, why the hell did she accept the girl’s invitation. She knew Rajiv would not be able to keep his eyes away from her. She couldn’t stop herself admiring the nubile beauty and felt guilty of looking at her, why blame Rajiv then?.
Mini was not a swimmer, and she was scared of water. Near beaches, her spirit of adventure was limited to ankle-deep waters. Rajiv, by contrast, was an expert swimmer and no sooner he came near the sea he dived and took off for a swim. That left Mini alone with Sandra and gave her a chance to strike a conversation. She asked Sandra about her current occupation, to which she replied that she was a physiotherapist and helped out her dad with his patients. “And what about your mother?”, Mini asked “She died a long time back”, Sandra replied with a melancholy face. They spoke for about 15 minutes, and Mini realised that Sandra was a lonely girl and had carried an immense amount of sorrow in her heart. Rajiv came out of the water after his swim. Mini caught Sandra looking at his water glistened muscular body, she sensed a tinge of desire in her. She felt a streak of pride run through her that felt possessive.
“Let’s go for a swim,” Sandra said to Mini,” the water is pretty warm, and you will love it”. “No, no, I cannot swim, and I am afraid of water”, protested Mini. But Sandra was insistent, “don’t worry, I am a national swimmer, and you have nothing to worry about with me”. Even Rajiv insisted Mini to go with Sandra at least up to knee-deep water. But Mini was adamant and petrified at the thought and refused to move. “Cummon,(Come on ?) be a sport Mini”, said Sandra in the sweetest of her voices. Finally, Sandra relented and asked Rajiv to come along. They had fun and frolic in the water, Mini had never enjoyed an outdoor more than this. She decided to be bold and ventured a few more steps into the water. She could see Rajiv and Sandra swimming in the water ahead. Something touched Mini’s her leg, she thought it must a fish, a moment passed and then again it felt. Before she could react, a hand grabbed her leg, and she fell face down in the water. The hand was pulling her deeper into water. Her head was underwater and she was unable to breathe or shout for help. She was drawn deeper into the water, and then everything went blank for her.
“Mini, Mini, wake up”, she heard Rajiv almost shouting at her. Wake up what’s happened to you? She saw Sandra next to Rajiv, seemingly perturbed and asking the same thing to her. Mini lay on her back, and Rajiv had given her mouth to mouth resuscitation to revive her. She gained consciousness and sat down on the beach. She asked Rajiv what had happened, and Rajiv replied ” Sandra and I were swimming a little ahead of you and after a few minutes I did not spot you. I started shouting, and even Sandra joined in the efforts to find you. When we found you, you were lying face down inside the water unconscious exactly at the spot where I had seen you last. We pulled you out and gave you the physical resuscitation, and just as we were about to give up, you threw out the water. Thank God you are safe”.
“But you tell me how did you slip and fall unconscious in the water”, asked Rajiv? “No, I did not slip I was pulled by someone inside the water, it was a human hand”, Mini replied, almost breaking down. “But how is that possible, there was no one near you. I saw it, and so did Sandra, we were barely ten meters away from you”, Rajiv replied in complete amazement at Mini’s statement. “Did you see anyone Sandra?” He asked, and she replied in the negative. Mini was not sure if she was dreaming or was it for real. She was confident in her mind that she was dragged inside the water for a full ten to fifteen meters if not more before she lost consciousness. But as per Rajiv, she was right where she was standing, lying unconscious. How is it possible for her to come back from the depths of the sea? She had a chill run through her spine in that fatigued state. She sat there for a while and then declared she had had enough for the day, and that she wanted to return. Rajiv agreed, and they all decided to leave.
“You take the lead, I will follow, you now know road”, said Sandra to them. They didn’t resist as they wanted to get back to their hotel as soon as they could. They were riding in silence. Mini was wondering if she had lived a nightmare. Rajiv was watching Sandra following them. As they approached the road which they had taken to go inside to Doctor Gomes, he slowed down as he saw a man standing with a lantern. Rajiv didn’t realise that it had started getting dark. No sooner the man saw him he came running, “where did you vanish young man, I was tying up lunch for you at the private beach site. It must have taken me not more than five to seven minutes, and by the time I returned, the main door was open, and I saw the two of you driving away in a hurry”. He uttered all this in one sentence with no full stops or commas. Realising that he was doctor Gomes, both Rajiv and Mini were confused,
“But we went to the private beach with your daughter.”
“How is that, possible, the beach I was talking about; the private beach is in the opposite direction. I sensed you may have gone to Baga beach, and hence I was waiting for you here to give you your keys, maybe they are your room keys?
“Please wait a minute, did you not ring up your daughter and tell her to take us to your private beach,” asked Rajiv?
“No, I don’t have a daughter”, he said. Both Rajiv and Mini looked at each other. They looked back, waiting for Sandra to come and join them. But there was no one behind, and Sandra was nowhere to be seen. Rajiv was spooked, he asked; don’t you have a daughter, pretty looking, tall and slim, with long legs, about 20 years of age.
“No, I had one, she drowned with her mother in an accident near Baga beach ten years back”, he replied sadly.
Rajiv and Mini travelled in silence back to their (Hotel?) room each wondering if they got lucky today. On reaching the hotel, Rajiv parked his scooter and started towards the reception where the young boy was waiting to give him his room key. “Sir, room 510, am I right”? That’s the time it struck Rajiv and Mini, they had left their keys at the reception. Which keys did the doctor handover? Rajiv took out the keys, he was holding the white cottage key ring.
By: Nitin Gadkari 