Beyond The Beach: The Village of Arossim, Goa, in Historical Perspective

Arossim is today widely known for its pristine sandy beach and scenic beauty, but this village on the South Goa coast is equally rich in history. If this can be said of many parts of Goa, in the case of Arossim, one of its expatriate sons did painstaking work to document and narrate its story, resulting in this well-researched book. Information for it has been drawn from private and public records, augmented by detailed maps and pictures. Situated between the river Sal and the Arabian Sea, and dotted with many ponds, this agricultural piece of land has sustained its inhabitants with rice, coconuts and fish. The earlier Hindu and later Christian faiths, nurtured by long-standing traditions and beliefs, have molded the character of the people, producing a uniquely Goan culture. Understanding the roots of the village structure allows the tremendous changes of recent years to be viewed in a broader perspective.