goa ki leela

we’re in goa! since the fifth month is relatively a quiet and comfortable time, we decided to plan a last vacation before we got into the hectic and demanding times ahead. naturally, i can’t do anything really rigorous right now – nor is it safe to – and we managed to get some really great off-season rates at the Leela, so here we are!

DAY 1: Saturday, 19th September 2009

the difference starts as soon as you get off your flight, when two attendants are waiting for you outside with a luxurious Nissan x-trail SUV with leather upholstery. we literally could not stop smiling. the property is way out in the middle of nowhere, so it takes nearly an hour to get there from the airport, in spite of the expert fast driving.

the first view of the Leela is deceptive – we didn’t feel as though we were entering a luxury resort, but rather as if it were some low-cost government guesthouse, because everything is painted a rather strange pinkish colour. of course, as soon as you enter the lobby, everything changes. we were greeted with genda maalas (like phoreners! bhelcome to india saar!) and daab as we sat comfortably while the concierge checked us in and dealt with the teeny tiny matter of x-raying our luggage for security reasons. we were then shown around the place. the entire property is spread out in cottages, interspersed with landscaping, restaurants, club, spa, golf course, tennis court, swimming pool, lagoon backwater and private beach. water sports are organized on the lagoon (the sea is too choppy right now). it’s quite pretty!

we have a lagoon-facing suite which is said to be decorated in the portuguese style, but it’s all fairly generic hotel furniture except shuttered sliding doors covering the windows and the doors onto the balconies instead of curtains. the bedroom and bathrooms (they have two! in one suite!) are fairly luxurious, as expected, with a soft bed and comforter and lovely marble bath and shower set up in both bathrooms. we were expecting four-poster beds and dark wood appointments, maybe some tile or chip decorations etc, anything to make it seem more portuguese, but that hasn’t happened. the prices of food and other necessities make your hair turn white, but i guess that’s to be expected. prepare to pay up to half the cost of your entire stay just to keep away hunger! :)

we had planned some sightseeing but we’re dealing with some limitations. my husband’s knee got twisted somehow yesterday, and he’s limping. this is a recurrent problem (old injury – ligament tear), so we are dealing with it, but it does mean that long walks are out. we can’t drink (well, i can’t hehe), we can’t do bumpy water sports, the sea is too choppy to enter, and we can’t even go on long drives if they last more than one hour, cos i need rest-stops constantly! so where does that leave us? to enjoy our suite and maybe take short walks around the property. we’ll see how it goes, maybe try and catch a city tour on monday. anyway, we’ve both been here before and we will come again in the future, so there’s no real anxiety to go out and see everything – which was really one of the reasons we chose this place, because we knew my limitations.

hehe but it really is a small world! we were being driven to our cottage in a golf cart (which in the Leela means a full-fledged six seater buggy with comfortable upholstery) and saw one of my husband’s college classmates coming from the opposite direction in another buggy with his significant other! unfortunately the buggies crossed each other so fast, we didn’t get a chance to do more than just wave.

DAY 2: Sunday, 20th September 2009

today was such a lovely, lazy day! we stayed mostly indoors, because first it was way too muggy and hot to step out (just the walk to the lunch venue had me sweating and gasping), and then it started raining in the evening just as we stepped out to go for a walk. so we only went out for lunch, which was excellent! they had set up a lunch buffet which was very elaborate and, by leela standards, surprisingly economical! we picked up a dvd to watch from the main desk, sat outside in the balcony chatting for a while and then ordered in dinner (an excellent chicken biryani). all in all, a nice day. i’m so glad there’s no pressure to go sightseeing, because with all this rest, hubby’s knee is recovering nicely and i’m really enjoying having him to myself for so much time!

tomorrow we might check out the water sports, swim a little in the pool and take a walk by the beach, whatever’s possible, and if we feel so inclined. hehe what a holiday! :)

DAY 3: Monday, 21st September 2009

today we got up with a mission – we had to leave the suite! :) so by lunchtime, groaning and complaining, somehow we were ready to go! after the elaborate lunch buffet (and a really disappointing chicken stuffed with ricotta and spinach for me), we felt so sleepy that all i wanted to do was go back and sleep. but the weather suddenly turned really nice, and we went for our walk on the beach after all. it was amazing! the minute the sea air hits you, there’s something so invigorating about it that you wake right up and want to run into the waves. i love the sea! pity it wasn’t safe to go in – everyday there were reports in the newspaper about tourists being swept out by currents and having to be rescued, and even a couple of fatalities, so we weren’t about to risk it. just getting our feet wet as we walked was more than enough, even though many people were in up to their necks.

from the beach we took the buggy to the riverside where water sports were organized, but didn’t end up doing any because the only one we could have done was a cruise on the river, and there wasn’t much of a view of anything as far as we could see. in fact, it was quite commercialized with all kinds of shanties on the sides, so a cruise would have been quite pointless. the buggy guy then took us for a drive around the property, and that was quite nice. there was a botanical garden, club suites with their own pools and all kinds of luxuries. we got dropped off at our suite because even though the pool was inviting, it had started to drizzle. the sea air had really got us hungry, so we changed and went off to dinner. unfortunately, by this time we were so overloaded on good food that we really couldn’t do the buffet justice, though that didn’t stop me from filling up my dessert plate! :)

after dinner we thought about going for another walk, but the property is kept quite dark at night, and there wasn’t much to see. so back to the suite and some together time.

DAY 4: Tuesday, 22nd September 2009

The days have flown by so fast! We can’t believe it’s time to pack up and check out! We finally woke up in time for breakfast! After the somewhat disappointing meal, we got ready and packed, and checked out by noon. We still had 3 hours to kill before leaving for the airport, so we played some TT, carrom and pool, which was such good fun that we didn’t even realize how the time flew! We were both quite stuffed from our breakfast, so we shared a quick sandwich. the maitre d’ offered us some complimentary dessert from the buffet as it was our last day – to take some sweet memories with us, he said (so adorable!) – and we really had a blast because they were the best array we’d seen in the past four days! after that it was finally time to regretfully bid this idyll adieu. it had been a lovely, relaxing vacation! just what we wanted!

section 377: homosexuality - the new sin?

the famous section 377 of the Indian Penal Code was much in news recently when a Delhi High Court division bench took matters into its hands and re-interpreted a century-old law. kudos! not so heartening was the reaction of the people, as reported.
i'm not even going to get into the debate about whether or not homosexuality is morally or ethically "right", because i feel there can be no meeting ground between people who think it's a perversion of nature and those who believe it's as natural as heterosexuality and deserves the same respect.
what i want to talk about today is the legal position. it is quite obvious to any homosexual person that gay marriage is not permitted in India. heck, it's still amazing that inter-religious marriage is allowed! but until recently, homosexuality was actually a crime under the Indian Penal Code, punishable by imprisonment for life or ten years and a fine!
this is how the section reads:
"377. Unnatural offences: Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine. Explanation: Penetration is sufficient to constitute the carnal intercourse necessary to the offense described in this section."
a simple reading throws up the following observations:

• this section can only be used against men i.e. lesbianism is not targeted as there is no penetration involved.
• the section does not reveal its intention or the acts it means to prohibit, but in fact uses the very vague wording "against the order of nature". in my view, the section was intended against the biblical sins of sodomy and bestiality, not homosexuality at all. no prohibition of homosexuality would have targeted only male homosexuality and ignored the female, no matter how unacknowledged and under the covers (hehe) such acts may be in society.
• the punishment is severe indeed for what is essentially a private act.

the Delhi High Court judgement in the Naz Foundation PIL has attempted to modernize this archaic law by stipulating the following condition on the implementation of this section: the intercourse should be non-consensual, or with a minor or animal i.e. intercourse between consenting adults cannot be charged under this section. according to the court, any other interpretation would violate the spirit of articles 14, 15, 19 and 21 of the Indian constitution, dealing with equality, discrimination and freedom of life and liberty. thus, homosexual intercourse between consenting adults is finally decriminalized. a small step for two judges, a significant leap for the Indian society.
the judgement, though laudable, can only do so much. firstly, it is only binding on district courts and any smaller bench of the Delhi High Court. to become the law of the land, it needs to be ratified either by the Supreme Court in the form of a judgement, or by the legislature in the form of an amendment of the act itself. secondly, it does not legalize gay marriage. it only decriminalizes homosexuality. it's a step, but a small step. the court appeals to the legislature to come up with a comprehensive law to deal with the issue, as clearly a judgement on section 377 cannot talk about gay marriage. the legislature, however, seems to be content with this limited re-interpretation by the judiciary, and does not seem to have yet formulated any clear policies, let alone any bills, on the matter. gay marriage remains a vexed issue.
well, that's all i had to say about that. it seems to me that society is very unfair to homosexuals, treating it as an offence against nature and a perversion as heinous as sex with a child or an animal. from what i can see, it takes abnormal courage to go against all established norms and take the path less traveled. it's confusing enough to try and figure out your sexual orientation when every societal and parental force is pushing you in one direction, and on top of that to be treated as if there were any choice in the matter is just absurd! it may be a choice for some people, but for many it is just who they were born to be, and to be punished and shunned by society for something that may just be genetic is criminal!!! after all, it's not a teenage rebellion aimed at hurting authority figures, it's a life-altering, painful, difficult decision to make, and deserves all our support! society waxes so eloquent on love - love is blind, love cannot be controlled, predicted or decided, "pyaar kiya nahi jaata ho jaata hai" etc etc. then why can't it see that when a girl falls in love with a girl or a boy with a boy, they are equally helpless in the matter? it's not just a physical act!
i agree, i haven't had to deal with this decision personally, or in any close family member, so maybe i don't know how the parents feel. but seriously parents, get over yourselves and see what your child is going through! i pray that if my time comes, god gives me the strength and vision to be able to support my child through such tough times!