WHERE is all the huff and puff and tall stuff everyone talked about when the calendar was about to change to 2000? It was merely the end of the last millennium but many made it out to be the beginning and took a lot of gullible folk for a ride, using the millennium as a pretext for selling things for a heavy premium. The changeover was waited with bated breath last year. Many had to keep duty beyond normal working hours at their computers. Others had to forego their much-longed for winter holidays. At the end, nothing phenomenal occured, and 2000 began like any other year, people not even minding writing the year with just two naughts.

In comparison, the year 2001 was born without any fanfare or anything Y2Kyish about it. Everyone seemed to have taken the millennium for granted. Goa too seemed to have expected nothing great, not even the fall of the BJP-led government. The boisterous hordes that descend on Goa on the New Year eve were there but more of the domestic type. Several upcountry visitors didn't even bother to check in hotels for the night, but spent the night dancing to the music from the stereos fitted to their vehicles.

The State was certainly decked up brightly to welcome the foreign tourists but there was hardly any sign of a rush, not even at Baga, as had become a tradition for several New Year eves on the trot. Where had all the tourists disappeared? They were missing even on Christmas night. The streets, stretching from Candolim to Anjuna, were practically empty that night...So unusual on the festive occasion. One usual thing occurred on the Christmas evening. The entire Candolim-Calangute resort belt was plunged into a blackout with electricity having failed.

The more sensible tourists, who cannot avoid being here year after year, believe that the din and bustle of the congested coastal villages of North Goa has scared away the big rush. Many changed plans on hearing about the "m v River Princess", stuck up stubbornly at the Sinquerim sands since the monsoons. There could be several other reasons, which the persons in authority have to find out, if the next year's results are to show any improvement.

Of course, one could not complain about the noise clause, preventing music, to be an excuse for lack of tourists. There were quite a few night parties thrown up in Anjuna but which didn't draw the expected response, frequenters say. The scene is a bit bustling at the Coco Beach at Nerul this year.

Yeah. Tourists there were, booked in several hotels. But they wouldn't step into the restaurants to taste the inhouse cuisine. The hotel guests preferred largely to trek to the cheaper joints and to a few select places to dine. If the restaurants took a severe beating this year, the burgeoning tourist vehicle trade didn't suffer any less.

The lukewarm response need not repeat itself next year. The coastal scene and the beaches, in particular, have to junk away a lot of unwanted, un-Goan clutter, well-meaning tourists say. But whatever anyone may say, the villagers would prefer their lives to remain less cluttered, polluted with noise or anything else. Some even heave a sigh of relief looking back. But a sigh is not necessarily a manifestation of cheer, but a smile is. We look forward to a more cheerful atmosphere this year.