India needs to learn and follow Goa’s ‘Susegado’ culture

Susegado is the culture of Goa the whole country needs to learn from. It does not mean lazy but the way to live happily and peacefully.

This was the ultimate conclusion a seminar on “Susegado: Is it the Future?” held at the International Centre of Goa today on the occasion of Opinion Poll Day.

The seminar was part of day-long deliberation on different issues confronting Goa, centralised around a theme ‘Future of Goa: The Final Option’, organised by Armando Gonsalves.

The panellists were Goans like politician Vijai Sardesai and entrepreneur Gautam Amonkar as well as those settled down in Goa recently – corporate trainer Sujit Sumritan foreign affairs expert Jaspal Sindarh.

Journalist Sandesh Prabhudesai moderated.

But there was absolutely no dispute on being proud to be Susegado, which is normally a word to mock Goans.

“I have still not come across any Goan who is lazy and skips his or her work. They are disciplined and work at ease”, said Sumritan, who lives at Britona.

Are they humiliated  by the outside world because they love afternoon siesta?

“I put off my phone from 2 to 4 in the afternoon and take a nap for half an hour. That recharges me to work till post-midnight”, says MLA Sardesai, who is busy floating a regional party to take the ruling BJP head on.

Sindarh, after touring the whole world, chose to settle down little away from Calangute beach because he simply loves Goan lifestyle.

“There is no better place than Goa to live and work more creatively and efficiently, trust me”, he says, while laughing out the argument that Goa does not march forward because of Susegado attitude.

“We don’t want to work like machines but as human beings. We are fully aware of our needs and wants”, says Amonkar while insisting that Goa is the best place on the planet to live.

Supporting his viewpoint, Sindarh recalls the Hippies who moved down from Himalayas to Goa not because of beaches but the peaceful and harmonious environment it has, stating that he has great respect for their Hare Rama Hare Krishna cult.

Summarising the expressions, Prabhudesai said: Susegado means living a pleasant life which keeps people happy and peaceful, the natural outshoot of which is harmony and tolerance.

“This is the reason there are no communal riots taking place in Goa. There was one in Curchorem, which Goans still repent for and will not allow the second one”, he said confidently.

But is the influx of migrants changing the scenario?

The panel went little critical, observing that the culture of migrants sometimes clashes with Goan culture, resulting into tensions.

There was no dispute on the issue of influx of migrant workers, whom Goa needs today to run day-to-day affairs of the state since no Goan is ready to do these jobs.

 A crucial question was however raised wheher Goa equally needs the wealthy migrants, who refuse to accept Goan culture.

The panel was unanimous that such issues could be resolved provided the migrant population assimilates with Goan culture, especially the Susegado culture of understanding and coexistence.

The real issue crops up when the migrants sometimes try to impose their culture on tolerant Goans, who need to be alert about such kind of aggressive migration.

Prabhudesai, at this point, reminded the panel that today’s Goans were also one-time migrants who came down and settled here with the 16 different dynasties from North to South and even from Europe that ruled Goa.

But the whole panel as well as the audience was unanimous on one issue – Susegado is the culture every Goan should be proud of, provided it does not result into laziness and idleness but more creative and equally alert.

The Susegado culture in fact tells the whole world how to live by raising the happiness index. 

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