On 4th of November, Diwali, the festival of lights, was celebrated joyfully with the accompanying burning of the effigies of Narkasura on the previous night.

One hardly notices the All Saints Day on the first but reserve all their devotion and presence in the church to the All Souls Day. All the cemeteries in the State were cleaned, spruced up and some tomb stones given a coat of paint. Of course, the Assagao cemetery is definitely the neatest one in the State. Visit it if you don't believe me! By the way, Christians in densely populated areas in different parts of the country are gradually turning to the Hindu tradition of cremation as the cemeteries get increasingly crowded. Would the Christians in Goa entertain such an idea?

It was announced on 8 November that ALL telephone numbers in Goa will have seven digits from 10 November. ALL numbers have to be prefixed by the number 2. For example, 123456 will become 2123456. You will therefore need to dial 00-91-832-212 3456.

Travelling in the State was a pleasure with a coat of tar administered last year. However, it has worn off within a year, revealing the treacherous potholes, which Alexyz has immortalised in his cartoons. And the traffic is nothing short of chaos, not only in the cities like Mapusa, Panjim, Vasco, Margao (with the traffic island still incomplete) and Ponda, but even in our fast urbanising villages like Calangute, Siolim, Navelim, Colva and elsewhere. The increasing population is the root of most misfortunes. The Police Traffic Cell itself concedes that fatal accidents have increased by 16 per cent while other accidents rose by 19 percent during the past year.

Yes, we have to keep moving ahead, particularly with the tourism traffic almost at Goa's doorstep. The trickle has just begun…and while travelling from Calangute to Candolim one hardly gets a glimpse of the green Goa countryside or the lovely mansions because the glorious sight is now hedged on either side with gaddes (kiosks) run by Rajasthanis, Kashmiris and others, glass-fronted shops displaying all sorts of clothes and curious, gaudily painted restaurants longing for guests, hotels in all sizes and designs…Drop in there at nighttime and the glittering, colourful lights ill give you the impression that it is Christmas night.

And for the avid tourists, the tourism highway right up to Arambol is now complete with the bridge in place on the silvery Chapora river at Siolim-Chopdem. Now the taluka of Pernem is eyeing a sizeable slice of the tourism cake. For those bitten by the eco-bug, there is a unique shrine (though rather neglected), hidden in the scenic valley of Toldem in the Sanguem Taluka, en route to the famed Mahadev temple at Tambdi Surla. At the Bondla Wildlife Sanctuary there are new entrants to the animal flock. The Forest Department has acquired three Black Bucks (Antelope cervicapra) from the Poona national zoo.

The talk of the proposed Mopa international airport seems to be still alive. The Union Minister for Civil Aviation Shripad Naik seems to be all for it whereas others, even his party members, don't seem to be enthused by the proposal. Moreover, we have just read Defence Minister George Fernandes saying that the Sea Bird naval airport in Karwar will be thrown open to civilian aircraft.

From November 1, the government has privatised the collection of toll fees on Goa's 13 ferry routes, connecting idyllic villages and islands across rivers. Most visitors to Goa are often thrilled at the sight of the ferries against the panoramic backdrop at Chorao, Divar, Corjuem, Calvim and other places. However, the All India Trade Union Congress fears that the government might slowly go in for total privatisation of the entire River Navigation Department.

Governor Fazal Mohammed has departed and Goa sports a new governor in Kidar Nath Sahani since October 26. Sahani is said to be a strong BJP man, but he has assured Goans that political affiliations won't come in his way of handling his gubernatorial duties. May the new incumbent of Cabo Raj Niwas live up to his word of honour!

The thieves and dacoits keep mocking the cops in even broad daylight, and from as close as the police quarters like in Porvorim. At Agalli-Fatorda near Margao culprits broke into the third floor apartment of businessman Tajjudin Noorani and decamped with gold ornaments worth around Rs.1.27 lakh. Yet Police Chief ID Shukla feels that his force is doing a fine job. Shukla says that the police investigations disclose that the burglars enter majestically via the front door rather than bother to take the trouble to scale the tiles or walk up to the kitchen door. Murders too are not uncommon nowadays. Ms Maria Cynthia Rodrigues, a 34-year-old housewife, was found with her throat slit in her Apartment just opposite Hotel Marriott in the afternoon, on October 23.

Ask the young folk (also the elders) and they would relish relate the spicy tale of a woman's ghost replying if one dialled a particular telephone number in Saligao, particularly at midnight. The good ghost would tell the caller what latter was wearing and all other particulars". The rumours took nearly a fortnight to die down. Ghost stories aside, Goa will be caught in a perfect nightmare if the fears that the Powergrid Corporation of India Ltd's Western Region Grid is on the verge of collapse (because its five constituent States have been overdrawing power) come true.

And there were the series of four bomb hoaxes--ICICI bank in Panjim, GMC Hospital, Sirigao and the Bom Jesus Basilica in Old Goa-sending the cops in a tizzy.