PANJIM: Yertward Mazamanian alias Eddie, a hippie who discovered Goa's Anjuna beach, died in the coastal state last week, his friends said. The 85-year-old, known as Eight Finger Eddie, was an American expat of Armenian ancestry, who discovered Anjuna beach for rest of the world in 1965 and stayed here till he breathed last on October 18.
Tony Almeida, whose father Joe was the first person to meet Edie at Anjuna, said that he had actually come to Colva beach in South Goa.
"He moved northwards after hearing from the locals about this stretch of shore," Almeida said.
In the 1960s, few beatniks and hippies travelled from Western Europe towards South Asia. Eddie was the first among them.
"Eddie and his companion came to Anjuna after walking through dense forest in 1965. It was a place at the foothill overlooking Arabian Sea," Tony told agency today.
Eddie also coined the idea of Anjuna's flea market in 1975 which initially began as a place to barter goods. The flea market still exists at Anjuna although it has been turned into a cluster of shops.
The page devoted to him on Facebook has been receiving comments from all across the globe. Eddie's fans also had live streaming of his funeral on website Blogtv.com on October 18. - PTI
11 comments:
Hope your culture goes to grave with you. RIP.
Any idea who was the first Ghantti that landed in Goa?
RIP Eddie.....
Why curse him, we had the choice to allow them in or keep them out. We were greedy for money and now we cry ??? Even after all the noise about outsiders, we (Goans) are building houses with two xtra rooms to give on rent with seperate entrance, and kitchenette and a small bathroom.
Get over our greed first and then see the beauty of Goa.
Must be Babu Azgaonkar from Azgaon, Maharashtra who is now the Minister in the Chor Cabinet
Babu Azgaonkar, pretending to be a Goan, is already making headlines for corruption in Cowmuth's cabinet. When he dies, he will make the headlines for being the first Ghantti to land in Goa. Headlines when alive and Headlines when they die too
Dip,Your answer will be with the so called Freedom Fighters.
Good idea Anonymous the VIII. I'll do some research. Thanks.
Poor Eddie, Must have loved Goa so much, that he choose to die here. Most of the bad things connected with the culture drew undue attention to Goa around the world. It is the presend day politicians who have sold Goa to outsiders for profit & almost every Indian is making a beeline for Goa. The garbage situation is worse than ever. The goverment offices are really dirty & most cannot get their job done without bribing the concerned staff. Anyway, it's not worth cursing these guys when most Goans invite them in, either in renting rooms, flats, or selling property. It saddens me to think about the future of Goa in the next few years. We Niz Goenkars must act before it's too late. In this the efforts of NIZ GOENKAR, Bebdo, Fernandes & others are commendable. Thank you.
Dlp: The first Ghantis came camouflaged with the flow as the so called liberation Indian Army. The numbers were many so they turned parts of Goa unto slums.
Except for the drugs and nudism most of the hippies learnt to live like Goans and took the Goan culture to Europe. Many of you may not agree with me, But I would rather have a hippie as my neighbour then the current Russian Mafia which import drugs, crime and prostitution not only in Goa but all over the world.
The Hippies came to Goa, enjoyed the beauty of Goa and lived by the local culture, unruffled. Our present day Ghanttis were so organized that they went a step ahead to immediately turn those shacks into multi media slums.
Mr.ppedru, I have to agree with you, cos I and everybody knows you are right. We invited them in, cos we were and still are crazy for the white skin. We run behind their white as...s and try to l...k them,whenever possible. Then the bloody indian hippies heard about the nudism and our cheap feni. They didn't come here for the beauty or culture of Goa. And they took advantage of our greed and stayed here. And PRESTO!!!!!! We have our present day Goa.
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