Thanks in part to Alex and in part to Kashmera, we had a spectacular day. Alex de Sousa served as our guide. On the way south Alex drove through northern villages and along famous beaches including Morjim, Mandrem and Arambol. The weather was drizzly so our view of beaches was somewhat tempered but we could see the appeal of the less touristed north.
We’d read about a museum of Portuguese houses called CALIZZ near Candolim Beach and selected it as our first stop. Calizz is a restored village square with houses that represent both affluent Portuguese homes as well as native Goan mud-brick dwellings. The museum seems to be the pet project of a wealthy Goan who has a hobby of collecting antique objects and whose desire it is to preserve Goan heritage. Apparently there is very little in the way of museums in Goa so this small museum is a jewel. We had a beautiful young guide at the museum who knew every fact about the objects on display. She gave us fascinating insights into current Goan society by telling us stories about her own life.
We headed south, winding through more villages and fields. After two hours or so and many bumps over “sleeping policemen” (the Goan name for speed bumps) we arrived at the Intercontinental Hotel. Kashmera had only arrived in Goa a few hours earlier. She offered us her room to freshen up while she dashed off for a pre-show rehearsal. At 6pm her makeup artist and hair stylist arrived and they began final preparation. We had a great time watching the application of layers of stage makeup, including sparking silver eyeshadow. Several wigs and costumes were selected before dashing off at 7 for the performance.
The event was a corporate reward banquet for high-performing Bridgestone sales people from all over India. Kashmera was the featured entertainer of the evening and she both opened and closed the show. What looked like heavy stage makeup in her room appeared completely natural under lights. Kashmera danced with a troupe of 10 and lip-sync’d (as is customary in India) to popular Bollywood songs. The Bridgestone men adored her; they held still and video cameras high in the air despite a steady and hard rain. By the end of the performance we were thoroughly soaked but the warm rain felt good. Alex, our faithful friend and driver, had accompanied us to the performance and we were relieved to have him to drive us the long way back to Siolim.
