Spring Edition - Mushroom online

60 COMMUNITY
What’s new in Goa
India Update
Goa is widely used as a synonym for
Psytrance. Is the scene in the Indian
state already dead or still alive?
Goa is the place where it all began. The
smallest state of India was a Portuguese
colony for 450 years until 1961. Shortly after
Goa became India, hippies and spirit-seekers
of all kinds were drawn there. By the end
of the 80s people like Goa Gil, Raja Ram,
8-finger-Eddie, Acid Eric and Mushroom
Jack created a new psychedelic realm
with Psychedelic Trance as a new spiritual
movement that conquered the whole world
up to now. The great age of Goa was in the
90s and the first decade of this century.
Parties lasted many days, incredible locations
were created, beaches and palm trees
were painted in fluorescent colors and the
happiness of the Goa freaks seemed endless.
It was a free and open era until a few years
Pinboard in Anjuna • pic: Tomrom
ago when the authorities wanted to put a
halt to the “dirty hippie scene”. Police raids,
new laws to “protect the school children”,
enormous bakshish payments to the police
for organizing a party and check-points
Hilltop/Vagator • pic: Tomrom
outside the events jeopardized the tropical
Psytrance heaven. The Goan government
wanted to change tourism into an upmarket
package-tour scene to make tourists spend
more money in a shorter time. This plan was
successfully executed in places like Baga,
Calangute or Candolim. The beaches there
are full with shops, deck chairs, restaurants
and hordes of “normal” tourists. Well, it’s
also those tourists who are the big buyers
on the great hippie night market in Arpora,
which was closed for some time after
Ingo’s night market had stopped. Many
expat-winter-residents who produce clothes,
jewellery and leather stuff rely now on the
thousands of tourists coming to the Arpora
market as well as to Anjuna Flea Market
every Wednesday. Well known Psytrance
brands such as Nekkid, Symbolica, Chillout
Planet, Pagan, Flower of Life or Naspex are
sold there – just like on the big summer festivals
in Europe. The center for psytrancers
is nowadays still between Anjuna, Vagator,
Chapora and Morjim – as it was in the 90s.