'What is the name for those who collect the beautiful?' is a sentence from Salman Rushdie’s new novel, Knife , that appeared to slice through the sand belly of Agonda beach, in South Goa, after three days of incessant rain. “This is not the best time to visit the place, but after COVID, the number of domestic tourists addicted to Instagram, visiting the beach has increased manifold and that explains the few souls on the beach,” says Davina, as she awaits customers for the gelato she sells. Agonda, during the season or when it is at its peak – normally from November to February – is picture-postcard perfect.
Pristine beauty. The beach is serene, the sand a mixture of softness peppered with the coarse feeling of the earth, and it leaves many with beautiful memories entirely worth storing. As the monsoon starts, the village resembles a stage with its curtains down and the beach, a barren ground littered with waste.
“This beach has been accustomed to receiving the waste from the sea for long, though it keeps getting worse every year,” laments Sharon, as she waits for her daughter to finish her tuition classes. About 70 per cent of Agonda is closed during the rains with some locals giving a facelift to their establishments, and others designing new landscapes – to lure more customers in the coming season. “The place is not as dead as it seems.
There are quite a few Indian tourists staying at some places, and we have customers opting for our South Indian cuisine,�.
.jpg?w=480&auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=max)
