Khyati Shree

Khyati Shree Instagram – When I first came to Goa, an artist from Morjim told me that if I really want to see how Goa was 20 years back I should go to Divar Island. So here I was, driving for an hour from North Goa to the ferry point in Old Goa. The ferry has no charges if you are on 2 wheeler and will cost you ₹10 if you are in car. Ferry comes and goes every 15 minutes. Taking ferry is an everyday routine for Divarkars for going to office, schools, shopping, even medical emergencies. Its a big debate in Goa whether Divar Island should be connected with a bridge or not, and while waiting at the queue for ferry under hot sun for 20 minutes, I realised a bridge would be such a convenience but the only reason Divarkars are saying no to it is to keep certain nuisances away. Nuisances like loud cars, unnecessary honking, reckless driving, traffic, over-crowding, mis-behaviour and a hijack of their culture and economy. Believe it or not, so far for centuries the Divarkars have not needed a police station on their island, it’s been that peaceful and safe. The moment you enter the island, you are cut off from the traffic noise and you ride your scooty through a long stretch of paddy fields and ponds. The island is small but has a total of 4 separate villages and two panchayats. There is only one resort and a handful of home stays. The quietness and stillness is carried throughout the island, you won’t see any ruckus anywhere. Go around the island with scooty, enjoy food at Rock-Inn or Avinash, you can do fishing, I saw some people chilling in the pond as well, some were camping, the architecture of the old villas is too beautiful and inspiring, visit the beautiful Lady of Piety Church and enjoy sunset from there, locals are all very friendly to talk to so feel free to engage with them nicely. The people of Divar island have their own unique traditions, they celebrate Bonderam festival and also Potekar festival. I visited them when its the end of 2025, so I got to see how enthusiastically the community celebrates Christmas and New Year too. I saw houses lit up, families sitting together, drinking, feasting, beautifully decorated cribs, and Christmas trees sparkling. | Posted on 30/Dec/2025 19:50:48