Goa, Jan. 18 -- Vivek Menezes

I miss the authoritative voice of the late, great historian Teotonio R. de Souza at this fraught juncture for his beloved Moira (the Konkani name also means "destiny" in Greek), an ancient cluster of Bardez villages that has unexpectedly become some of the most desirable real estate in the world.

My dear friend and mentor - he was the visionary founder of the Xavier Centre of Historical Research in Porvorim, before leaving the Jesuits for married life and an august Lisbon-based academic career - would have waded right into the raging angst, controversy and soul-searching that has erupted after an opulent new villa in his native village went on sale for 105 crores (later amended to "price upon request"). It ...