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A CENTURY IN MEDIA AND STILL BATTING!
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A CENTURY IN MEDIA AND STILL BATTING!

Nov 07 - Nov 13, 2026, Stray Thoughts November 7, 2026 , by

AND a few stray thoughts for yet another Saturday. For a Saturday following the week when between Pankajbala Tara Narayan and Rajan Narayan the “Goan Observer” team has sort of spent over a 100 years in journalism! For a Saturday following the week when Goan industrialists have been among the most romantic business persons in the country. For a Saturday following the week about the O’ Coqueiro which is incidentally now owned by Anil Counte. For a Saturday following the week when noise was made by a Hindutva gang over a Diwali post by actress Diya Mirza.
AND a few stray thoughts on Pankajbala Tara Narayan and Rajan Narayan, the “Goan Observer” team, which has spent over sort of a 100 years in journalism! Tara Patel’s media journey started interestingly with “Debonair” — the Indian version of the American “Playboy,” in her early 20s. The common link we share is that I published her first short story on different ways of committing suicide when I was an assistant editor of the Onlooker magazine in 1975. Tara went on to work for “Mid-Day”and “The Afternoon Despatch & Courier” edited by the legendary Parsi newsman, Behram Contractor.
Tara and me just happened to reconnect in 2021 after a gap of 25 years when she was on one of our annual holidays to Goa. She was keen on working in Goa. Unfortunately, as editor of the “OHeraldo” I could not match the salary she was getting in Mumbai. Instead I offered her option of getting married to me so that she could live in Goa forever.
Ours was not a Goa destination marriage because we got married in Mumbai but Goa hopefully has been a lot of honeymoon and not a life sentence for her. Together we started the “Goan Observer” which by a happy coincidence was launched on November 15, 2003 — just 48 hours before Tara’s birthday on November 17.
I started my career with a “Financial Express” in 1967. I moved to the “Onlooker” as assistant editor in 1975, just before Indira Gandhi declared an Emergency. From “Onlooker” I moved to “The Mirror,” the poor man’s “Reader’s Digest.” A charming monthly which carried inspirational stories for young people in small towns. My predecessor Japeth was coincidently 80-years-old and would reply to all letters sent by his young readers. Young people in small towns had no one to communicate their worries to. A young lady would write to the editor wanting to know if she could get pregnant because her boyfriend kissed her — on the cheek. A young man could complain that even though he was almost six feet his father insisted that he should wear half-pant to school. Perhaps he would have had no problems if he were to be in Goa where most everyone is attired in shorts. From “Mirror” I shifted to highbrow “Imprint” which carried excerpts from bestselling books. I converted it into an investigative magazine. My first cover story carried a cover cartoon by Mario Miranda based on an interview with Dawood Ibrahim’s brother Anees Ibrahim. The cover story was “Goodbye Bombay, Hello Dubai.”
In 1981, just before coming to Goa I worked as the deputy editor of Business India, when I had my first encounter with Dhirubai Ambani. I did not know that Tara and I would be attending his grandson Vikram’s wedding reception in Goa in February 2026. I moved to Goa in October 1993 to start the English version of “OHeraldo.” After two decades in “OHeraldo” I decided to quit and start the “Goan Observer” on November 15, 2003 and 23 years later we are still batting not out and hopefully will live to celebrate the ruby jubilee of the “Goan Observer” (that is 40 years).

ROMANTIC BUSINESSMEN
AND a few stray thoughts on how Goan industrialists have been among the most romantic business persons in the country. Perhaps the first great romance was that of Manda and Nana Bandekar. Nana Bandekar was studying in Pune, and Manda lived in the same building where Nana had a flat. They fell in love and got married in true Hindi filmy style. Nana would show off Manda in a luxury open-top car. The car was on display on their 25th wedding anniversary. Sadly, Manda is no more.
 Coincidentally, the other same-society, same-building romance was of Dipti and Dattaraj Salgaokar. Both the late VM Salgaokar and the late Dhirubai Ambani had flats on the top floor of the Usha Kiran building, then the highest ten-storied building in Mumbai way back in the late 70s. I understand that VM Salgaocar and Dhirubai became good friends. Since Dattaraj was the same age as Mukesh Ambani and was doing his engineering course in Mumbai, he had many opportunities to woo Dipti. Dattaraj later told me that he had dated Diptii for eight years before they finally got married on December 31, 1983.
I would also like to share three of the big romances of Panaji city. The first of these involved Anju and Auduth Timblo. They met when they were both law students at the Government Law College in Mumbai. In fact, I met Anju and Auduth quite soon after their wedding in 1981 as I was handling the public issue of Fomento Resorts, which owns Cidade de Goa. Indeed, Cidade de Goa was the “Taj Mahal” that Auduth Timblo, the mine owner, gifted his wife Anju Timblo.
Similarly, the Dona Sylvia Resort in Cavelossim was Victor Albuquerque’s gift to his wife Sylvia. Victor Albuquerque and Anil Counte together started Alcon (Al for Albuquerque and Con for Counte); both of them gave up their jobs as junior engineers in the PWD Goa and started Alcon.
Among their first projects were Dona Paula beach resorts and the Panaji Municipal Market. In the 80s, Alcon, along with Kamat, were the most trusted builders. Anil was active on the Marathi stage too and his stage heroine Nutan became his real-life heroine. Anil continues to deeply cherish Nutan and they are a couple still in love with each other; both of them are now super senior citizens.

`O’COQUEIRO’ STORY
AND a few stray thoughts on famous or infamous O’Coqueiro at Porvorim which is now owned by Anil Counte. O’Coqueiro was started in the early 1980s by Gines Viegas who has just returned to Goa from Kenya, where he had managed a huge farm. Gines was a chef himself, and O’Coqueiro was located in his ancestral twin homes in Porvorim, the restaurant became the first Goan cuisine specialty restaurant. It became extremely popular as a family dining place, much before Copperleaf came up in Porvorim and Panjim. Gines Viegas was a great gracious host and would personally supervise his chefs in the kitchen.
 WHEN I first came to Goa I would spend many hours at the O’Coqueiro with the late Dr Wilfred D’Souza who went on to become the chief minister of Goa. O’Coqueiro became internationally famous for the wrong reasons. Wanted criminal Charles Sobhraj who had victimized and killed many beautiful women, was convicted and confined to Tihar jail in Delhi. Sobhraj escaped and was apparently hiding it out in Goa though as usual the Goa Police did not know anything about this. Now, besides the Goan food, O’Coqueiro was the only place which operated a phone service doing international calls. Those were the days long, long before the smart phone came along, when you had to book a call and wait for six to seven hour for the operator to make you your connection. The O’Coqueiro cashier had an understanding with the Telecom department for this service.
Along came Charles Sobhraj with his hippies to O’Coqueiro to make an international call to his latest girlfriend in France. Inspector Zende of Mumbai Police was waiting for him, Sobhraj was attired in snazzy Goan shirt and straw hat. He was arrested at O’Coqueiro and taken back to Tihar jail. Subsequently, Gines Vieges, a bachelor, sold O’Coqueiro to Dr Wilfred D’Souza who later gave it to his good friend Anil Counte. I recall Anil Counte inviting me to the makeover O’Coqueiro where at someone’s suggestion he had put up a bust statue of Charles Sobhraj. I was a little shocked when I saw it and told him to at least put chains on the hands so that he could not be accused of abetting the crime. I have celebrated several birthdays at O’Coqueiro.

HINDUTVA GANG NOISE!
AND a last stray thought on the noise made by a Hindutva gang over a Diwali post by actress Diya Mirza. On an invitation by the Mumbai Municipality, Diya Mirza was among the celebrities who appealed for a quiet green Diwali — a Diwali without crackers. She was immediately attacked as a Muslim interfering with Hindu sentiments. The Mumbai Municipality withdrew her YouTube video and Facebook post. But mercifully the Mumbai high court slammed the BMC and asked them to restore the green Diwali: “We are a secular nation.” The high court sternly told off the Hindutva gang.

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