Saturday, April 4, 2009

Calangute - Queen of Beaches

Calangute - Queen of Beaches



Calangute's heyday as the Mecca of all expatriate hippies is way of past. On the shores of the Arabian Sea, under the shade of palm trees, bathes the Queen of Beaches. Calangute. Fun in the sun, sand and sea along with great opportunities for feasting on fresh seafood and Feni is what a day on the Calangute beach. One can see children making sand castles, colourful crowds surging towards the sea, hippies busy remembering the good old times and the young and old alike lazing on the golden sands. This picture of a perfect tourist haven is completed with shacks under the shade of palm leaves selling everything right from fried prawns and beer to trinkets made of seashells. In a green semi-circle, the villages of Arpora-Nagoa, Saligao and Candolim do their bit to enhance the divine beauty of Calangute.

The word CALANGUTE which has become kolngutt or korgott, is derivedf rom KOLI-GUTT, (or Gudi), which originally meant land inhabited by fisherfolk. It must have become Kolyiangutti, kalangutti, kolngutt, kongott With the advent of the Portuguese, the word probably got distorted to Calangute, and has stuck till today. The name Koli may be connected with the goddess kali, worshiped by the fisher folk. there was a temple in the area of MOTTH. Another possibility is that it comes from KALYAN-GUTTI, which means a village of art, a beautiful village. this is quite a plausible derivation. a third derivation is from konvallo-ghott. which means the coconut was good (strong pith), since coconut trees are believed to possess strong pith which is the "marrow" or soft substance in the center of the plant.

Highly trained and well equipped lifeguards stationed at the Calangute Beach

Water sports and Parasailing at the Calangute Beach

Rows of beach beds all along the Calangute beach


A couple relaxing in the waves of the beautiful Calangute beach

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