Live the Villa Life in Goa

This Tiny indian state has been done To death in The Tourist circuit. but moving away from The hustle and bustle of party spots are idyllic home stays That redefine one’s idea of a perfect getaway

Tous, Goa, at times, seems to have been overtaken by its own legend — as the ultimate sun, fun and beach destination. Just when we thought that the former Portuguese colony was on the verge of becoming a tourism cliché, we discovered that Goa still hugs to itself a secret, an inner core, pure and inviolate, which she refuses to share with the casual tourist. Only the genuine wayfarer, who wants to burrow into its leafy interior, will discover that in this tiny state, bright with Indian sunshine, life still goes on at the pace of a softly flowing river every day.

And Goa offers the traveller a unique gift: the ability to find fresh wonder in doing nothing.

This is why a cross- section of India’s so- called wealthy and titled has chosen to periodically escape to their own lavish villas in Goa or permanently settle in this tiny sliver of a state to live the good life amidst the lush, generous landscape.

Today, some Goans and new settlers have gone a step further and opened up their luxurious villas to guests to discover the other side of Goa like a local rather than a guest.

We stayed at the award- winning Summertime, secluded on a hill, with easy access to Calangute and Candolim beaches. Here, the flavours of the real Goa unfolded like an unscripted play. The three- bedroomed, one- storeyed villa — with a deep, pillared verandah — is ensconced in its own private wilderness and enveloped in a silence so deep that the mere crunch of dry leaves underfoot made trilling birds pause.

In the distance, lush paddy fields, groves of mango and coconut unfurled; and a short drive away from the estate were vintage Goan homes daubed in Mediterranean colours, a whitewashed church where elderly ladies conferred with a cassocked priest; a bakery that churned out fresh poee or bread with insides as soft as a sigh… And, best of all, we got a glimpse of how it takes just a glass of feni at his favourite tavern followed by a sizzling plate of fish curry for dinner to make a typical Goan happy!

But it’s the hedonistic escape that Summertime provides,