cting
business deals with the business class, being a
journalist for all of my earlier years. It was a
different experience altogether dealing with all types
of people, including some who could be safely
classified as crooks of the first degree.. But one
passed this agni-pariksha (test by fire).

Being behind a small time publication, one had to be an
all-rounder -- looking after all areas of publication
-- editorial, circulation, advertising, printing,
accounts, and whatever work was left to be done. One
could obviously not appoint professionals and
sufficient staff to look after all these departments,
simply because overheads had to remain in check.

To prevent this venture going into the red, I managed
the show mostly with one staff-member, and by deploying
my Merces flat as the office. The first one year was
really tough, as one could hardly recover the printing
charges leave alone my salary.

It was a great eye opener; before starting, I had set a
target of some 1000 subscribers within a couple of
months at a subscription-fee of a fairly reasonable Rs
120 per year. But it did not take me long to come in
terms with the harsh reality. Even my close friends did
not bother to pay subscription as a support to my
efforts. Those in the thick of IT sector of Goa also
did not care to subscribe it too. One got the feeling
that people were scared that with their single
subscription I may get rich or Digital Goa could
overnight grow into a big publication.

I experienced the much spoken-of Goan crab mentality
very closely during this time. One thing that can be
said with certainty is that Goans are very hostile
towards those who make a new beginning. They would
waste lots of their energies to discourage you from
aiming higher, or pull you down, instead of supporting
enterprising people. It is only when they feel that one
has survived their onslaught and have made a mark, that
they would be sympathetic to you.

This is precisely the reason why the average Goan youth
doesn't take a risk and avoids aiming higher. To
succeed in Goa, one should either have money-power or a
godfather or extraordinary perseverance. Most of my
energies still goes into Digital Goa, though today it
has grown into a professional, self-sustaining
magazine. It has not only gained acceptance but even
attained popularity within industry, IT businesses,
students and general IT users alike.

There is no dearth of advertisement and, most
impor