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Sunday, August 4, 2013

SJBHS OBA Connect 2013 Goa

The Old Boys' Association (OBA) of our school is a strong institution. In fact, the OBA will be celebrating its centenary celebration soon. One of the highlights of the Association is the series of reunion events held at different locations every year. The first weekend in August has been reserved for Goa. The much awaited Fourth chapter of the OBA Goa Connect event was held this year at Chalston Resort, on Calangute beach.



The Saturday evening warm-up session began with old boys catching up on stories of the past.



Certainly a good idea, to be rich and smart.



 The Registration Desk gets busy.




Talking about old times...




A trio starts tuning the instruments and setting up the sound system.



The OBA Goa Chapter Vice-President Mike Rozalla and Secretary Lloyd Macedo officially welcome the gathering. 




Serious discussions begin soon enough. 





The bored kids' corner and the ladies' corner.





The Batch of 1975 was the most strongly represented (as usual), with a strength of five. Three cheers! 



Old Boys from Bangalore, Coorg, Kochi, Mangalore, Mumbai and Dubai showed up. 



The resident doctors make a point.




The post-dinner meeting stretched till 3 AM on the lawns by the beach.  Thereafter, it was pizza and beer time for some (ordered from Smokin' Joes). Whoever said Goa is not alive during the Monsoons?



Sunday morning is the time for the Committee meeting, lunch and festivities.



The School OBA and Goa OBA committee members at the meeting.



Gopal makes a point.



Mike talks about  the year gone by.



Lloyd discusses plans for the year.



Gustasp confesses that it's good to be at an OBA gathering, his first after school many decades ago.



Time to cut the cake.



Old Boys practice singing the school song.



Magically, the words come back after the years. "Ring Out the Battle Call of Duty..."



Time for the music to play, and go on till late in the afternoon.



A group photo (with most of the group).



Another view of the group (from another camera).



Five from the Batch of 1975. We had four in 2012.



The lavish Goan buffet spread gets set up. Goan rice, Veg, Chicken, Fish, Prawn, Pork, Beef, Salad and Rice. Can't ask for anything more, can you?



You can tell who the experts are.



This balancing act calls for another kind of skill.



One for the records.



Another for the records.



Keyboards and vocals.



Rahul (Toddy) goes solo this time.



The sun peeps out on Calangute beach late in the afternoon.



Monsoon clouds come and go just before sunset.



The venue of the reunion in Chalston Resort was on Calangute beach, with the sounds of the waves in the background. Hard to beat!



Fun time...



And more fun...



One of several folk dances. This is the Harvest Dance.



Time to sit back and relax.



And here come the Portugese Folk Dancers.





As the afternoon wound down and several Old Boys start getting 'homeward bound', one of the endearing sights was that of the glass balancing on and on, steady as a ship, as the saying goes.




The ship is probably setting sail for the next edition of the SJBHS OBA Connect reunion.

Thank you for joining me on my wanderings in Konkan during the Monsoons!

-=-=-=-=-=








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Saturday, August 3, 2013

Calangute and Baga during the Monsoons

The entire stretch of beach in the Baga and Calangute areas is a 'sea' of red flags during the Monsoon season.



The crowd of day visitors in the 'Calangute steps' area seems to be quite dense. Do they go away when it rains hard?



Lifeguards seemed bored a little further north, looking towards Baga. There were hardly any people around, a drastic change from the wall to wall sunbeds during the season.



The waves seemed to have brought up an unexpected gift for the crow, pecking on the eel. The sound of the waves may have distracted the crow, or it may have been awfully hungry to worry about my presence. I was able to photograph the crow with its dinner with my simple point and shoot camera at relatively close range as the crow flies.



Chalston Resort to Emmanuel Shack in Baga is a short 1.5 km walk, made more interesting by photographing the beach, waves, debris and crows along the way.



Robert runs Emmanuel Shack (between Britto's and Mambo's). He got himself a 'permanent license' over a year ago. This has enabled him to stay open throughout the 2013 monsoon season.  However, rolled up plastic sheets are always ready to be pulled down.  Sand bags at the entrance have helped keep the sand from getting washed down.




Robert's dogs (three this year) relax in  the sun which has peeped out briefly.




The inside of the shack is as dry as it could be, with stone flooring, and well protected from the wind and rains.




The sun beds, several plastic chairs and most of the umbrellas have gone on holiday, till perhaps around October.



The few umbrellas planted outside furiously flutter in the strong winds, they seem all set to get ripped out of the sand.  The life guard is making his way to the area where several people have gathered. The tide is high, not leaving mush space for people to splash around.



Just north of Emmanuel Shack, silly people are playing in the water. The danger during the monsoon season is that the waves gouge out huge chunks of sand in a random manner, and the resulting treacherous dips are impossible to tell from the outside.



Robert stands at the entrance, wondering whether any more customers are going to show up that evening. The high tide line has come up a good way up the beach. Only a few tables are occupied.  



Mackerel grilled with Goan Racheido masala (used for grills) is an excellent choice that evening.




This is soon followed by yummy Goan Fish Curry and Rice.



There is really not much to tell one day from another during the monsoons. The common factor seems to be so few people on the beach. Except, as always, at spots where tourist vans and buses park for a while. This gentleman seems to be waving his arms around.



A closer look reveals that he is attempting to catch fish using a 'line'.



The lean season is a good time to remodel the 'Calangute steps'. Maybe the area will be called the 'Calangute ramp' from now on? The GTDC hotel seems to be in an utter state of disrepair. 



Good old Souza Lobo near the Calangute-steps-being-renovated is a good spot to sample Chicken Xacuti and Fish Curry.




One can peacefully watch the crowds outside by the water. The helpless lifeguards keep whistling frantically and almost continuously at the senseless people who venture too deep. I suspect this area amounts to a 'punishment posting' for the life guard community.



Some folks believe that the water's edge is as good a place as any to play with their mobile
phones.



Quiet days turn slowly into evenings. It's been dry lately, with an occasional short, sharp shower. The sun peeped out now and then, for just a few moments.  The very few people along most of the beach stretches is quite a contrast to the sight during the season in the same area.



As the sun sets, a group of crows line up in the 'attention stance' to watch sunset from Chalston Resort.



The sight of the massive grey clouds, and the crashing sounds of the hyperactive sea are interesting to crows, as well.


Next post: Old Boys' Reunion.

-=-=-=-=-=







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