I live in the small state of Goa. My state is the country’s top tourist destination. And probably because of that, we have an image. I just want to clear out a few of the myths regarding Goa that people from outside seem to have.

and churches: Most of the tourist brochures that Goa has shows only beaches and churches. I am not saying that we don’t have these. But it does not mean that we have nothing else. We have some beautiful temples, some old forts and so on.

Where are you going? : Goa is not a city, it is a state. A state has various cities within it. We have two districts and eleven talukas. So don’t just sit in a bus thinking this is just one big beach.

Bad Hindi: This image of Goans speaking Bad hindi has been projected thanks to Hindi movies. They probably found one guy in 1950s who spoke an accented version of Hindi. But please, change that, we speak excellent Hindi.

Goa is a party zone: Whenever I tell an outsider I live in Goa, they say I am lucky. I ask them why, and they say its a party zone. Honestly, there are not that many parties here. Just as many as would be happening in any metro city. And hardly are any locals invited to these, only celebrities.

Goans spend most of their time drinking feni: Feni is the alcohol produced through cashew. That is totally not true. Even we have to live, and in order to live, we need to earn a living.

We only eat fish and prawns: Lots of Goans eat fish and prawns, but this is more of a generalisation. I am a vegetarian and I live here. And I have never had a problem.

In clearing out these points, my intention was that people come to my state with an open mind. I hope that now people will come to my state without any prejudices.

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