Sunset at Arambol, a north Goa beach village now popular among tourists.

Getting ready for the drama: poster for a Konkani 'tiatr' at Siolim. The 'tiatr' is a popular form of Konkani drama, though some sections of Goans look down on it.

Slugfest... buffalo-style. This is not an artificial bullfight rigged up by man. It's a real-life thing in the fields at Saligao. Incidentally, artificial bull-fights have been banned by the courts in Goa, after complaints from animal rights activists.

Piety... at Anjuna. Candles illuminate a roadside shrine. Goans, both Hindus and Catholics, have traditionally been known for their religious outlook to life.

Sunset at Sant Estevam riverfront.

Riverside temple, at Sant Estevam's Akhada locality. Goa's temples have a unique charm of their own, and are architecturally different in some ways from those of other parts of India.

Full moon rises over Saligao.

Readying for the procession, cape-clad men in red and white get set before a centuries-old church in central Goa (at Sant Estevam).

Evening view at Sant Estevam.

Tiles waiting buyers at Marcela. Goan homes have traditionally used mud-tiles, which lend a unique characteristic to the place and also keep the house cool.

Age old culvert. Though taken for granted, the traditional infrastructure is what has kept village Goa working for long.

Ruins... but scenic ones. Many homes have come crashing down, as locals migrated far and wide for a living. This photo is from Pernem taluka.

Moonlight view of Arambol. Called Harmal locally, this beach has become a tourist haunt. Earlier, many hippies thronged to these areas, to escape the crowds of first Calangute, and then Anjuna.

Pernem riverside view. Pernem is Goa's northernmost taluka, just adjoining the state of Maharashtra. It offers scenic sights and rustic settings.

Village settings. This home at Siolim has the quaint charm of a rusting village. Many parts of Goa are still like this. But if real estate speculators have their way, they may not remain so for too long.

Temple view. Shantadurga temple from Marcela in Ponda taluka. Due to colonial persecution in the Portuguese era, a number of temples were resettled in Ponda taluka, from the so-called Old Conquest areas of this state.

Where time stands still... This bullock-cart, a legacy of the yesteryears, is still used for transport in much of rural Goa. Though it's big role is seldom recognised, such traditional modes of transport have played a crucial role over the years.