What Goa can learn from the Gujaratis

You know that common notion about Goans having a crab mentality – no shade on crabs, love them, especially plated with cheese sauce and toasted bread crumbs…

Coming back to the crab mentality, unfortunately not as palatable, one would rightly draw the conclusion that most of Goa’s woes are deeply linked with this extremely selfish attitude that most people of Goa tend to have.

As my college professor, who played 'pin the tail on the donkey' with the entire class’ marks, would say, “Whose father’s what goes”. This is exactly the sentiment displayed by most.

However, it isn’t apathy individually that is the problem. It is clubbed with a venomous desire to derail someone else’s success, an envy that curtails and destroys the progress of Goan society as a whole.

And, it is not just random people who pose this threat, it is very often members of one’s own family.

I began pondering this truth about the Goan community more on coming to work with a Gujarati woman and appreciating her intelligence, focus and motivation.

It is a known fact that the Gujarati community are noted for their entrepreneurial skills. They are also extremely hardworking and understand customer service, providing for their clientele as best as they can.

Personally, I have never come across a grumpy Gujarati businessperson. It’s always service with a smile and being thoroughly accommodating towards the customer.

People from the Gujarati community have not only been successful in India, with a majority of the top Indian business people being part of it, they have taken complete advantage of the opportunities they could avail of to migrate and flourish wherever they decided to set their roots.

You find them in the UK, Canada, Hong Kong, countries of Africa and even Fiji and the Caribbean, always a well-established, prosperous community.

It should come as no surprise then that the two richest men in India, according to Forbes India, are Gujaratis: Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani, who rank 12^th and 21^st on the global scale, respectively.

Ostentatious displays of wealth and cronyism apart, it sets you wondering as to the foundational characteristics of the Gujarati community that cement this nearly definite path to success.

We could attribute this propensity to thrive and not just survive to their many admirable qualities, such as a strong work ethic, the desire to learn constantly and being open to new experiences and new information.

Whether it is blue collar or white collar jobs, the approach is much the same, which indicates that all types of work are of equal measure to them. They are a people that value education, keep up with technological changes and welcome innovation.

While Goans may have some things in common, as in holding education in high esteem, we have yet to transform ourselves in a manner viable enough to pave the way to communal prosperity, and not just amassing individual fortunes.

The greatest gift the Gujurati community has is their networking skills and the strong bond they share with each other. No matter where you go, Gujaratis will always stay together through thick and thin. They may not come from the same area in Gujarat, but the bonhomie among community members is evident without a doubt.

It goes without saying that family members are generally absorbed into any family-run business. There is no sense of one family member trying to show another up, or attempting to scuttle triumphs in various spheres of life.

Gujarati families and friends usually stick by each other, and they have some assurance that if all else fails, there is family to fall back on.

In Goa, however, it is a whole different ball game. That hard-luck case of a sister – let’s pretend we don’t know her or her condition. The effect on our vast bank balance could be devastating.

Or that cousin who doesn’t have a job – we could help, but we don’t want the hassle and will occasionally go out of our way to make sure they keep struggling.

This is the truth about Goans. We meet for parties and festive occasions with joie de vivre, but we are rarely present when one of our own needs urgent aid, or genuinely happy at the success of somebody we know.

I know of an individual who had to undergo major surgery and had asked her mother to buy her coconut water. The mother thought going shopping was more important and later flaunted her purchases in this individual’s face.

Another man was promised assistance in securing employment in the Gulf by a friend. Unfortunately, the friend’s wife dissuaded him from doing so, and the man was left to make ends meet with enormous effort.

If we could only alter this selfish attitude that we possess, how different would the Goan landscape appear. Most of the degradation of Goa that we are witnessing is born out of this 'I, me and myself' stance and the inability to accept and applaud achievements that are not our own.

Yes, Goa will slowly diminish and disappear. It is but inevitable in the face of self-serving behaviour. But, are Goans willing to rouse themselves from their lack of self-awareness and take a leaf out of the Gujarati community’s book to jumpstart the process of positive transformation?