India, Jan. 4 -- I am writing this column from Goa, where my family and I escape every winter, when Delhi is shrouded in smog and biting cold, for a few days of relief. Here, the skies are blue, the air is clean, and the weather is balmy.

I first visited this slender crescent of land cradled by the Arabian Sea as far back as 1977. It was then on the cusp of being discovered as a tourist haven, with hippies on mopeds, artists in shacks, and music seeping into the night along the still-pristine beaches of Anjuna and Vagator. At first, tourism grew organically. But over time, as the world urbanised and global travel became cheaper, these footprints turned into footfalls measured in millions.

Today, Goa is among India's most visited destina...