Shasak

Describe a phase in life that was difficult to say goodbye to.

Two months stay in South Goa. A place named Chicalim is just three and a half kilometres from Dabolim International Airport and about twenty-seven kilometres from the state capital Panjim.

A govt cottage hospital was in reconstruction and I was appointed as a site-in-charge under a senior engineer Y K Singh from Uttar Pradesh, India. Another civil engineer and a few more colleagues in the team were stationed in a couple of flats juxtaposed to the working site.

That was the beginning of February 2015 when I reached Chicalim to join the team previously deployed to make initial arrangements. A Rajasthan-based cook was a man of class who would prepare meals for the members coming from different parts of the country.

An overcast climate with intermittent showers was a daily experience. Actual construction activities were still a week away and a lot of paperwork including permissions from different govt departments was in process. Frequent visits to Vasco City and Panjim were more of a picnic than the workload assigned. We had almost all the time the opportunity to roam around a nearby beach. The international traffic of tourists was receding after a euphoric period in winter and the beaches were marked with supernatural silence in the pounding surf along the coastal lines.

Bogmalo and Velsao Beach in South Goa:

Sometimes we had evening plans to drink and dine on Bogmalo or Velsao Beach which fell in the vicinity. Old Portuguese Vasco City has its crowded credentials which fill hearts with real Goan taste when you make a walkthrough in a fish market. Sampath, a Telangana youngster would enjoy the alcohol until his full capacity. I was a bitty customer, a health-conscious fellow contended with 330 ml Kingfisher beer; just one in all.

Zuari River and Ponda Town:

It was a wonderful time crossing the Zuari River in ferry boats and official visits to the greenbelt Ponda town. The lush green geography of Ponda is blended with the cultural heritage of Hindu temples there in large numbers.

Construction Started to End:

A two-year reconstruction project of the cottage hospital was terminated in just two months following strong protests from the local population. The thing is that the board exams came to the front in February and March. We were in the field with dumpy levels and theodolites to mark the foundation structure for RCC works. But the rock soil of the terrain trembled throughout the whole area as the hydraulic breakers of JCB machines almost 6 to 8 in number at a time were positioned.

The sound beyond decibels aroused a stormy disdain from the residents and after a few days of negotiations, the project was put on hold, to be shifted to another location after due process. The government procedure uncertainty caused our sudden return to the Navi Mumbai office near Thane from the venue. An unforgettable Goa time in my career.