Described variously as the Kashi of the South, the Rome of the East and the pearl of the Orient, Goa, located on the west coast of India, is renowned for its scenic charm, its beaches, and the architectural splendour of its temples, churches and old houses. Reflected in Water is a collection of essays, poems, stories and extracts from published works that bring to life both the natural beauty and the changing social and political ethos of India's smallest state. From Mario Cabral e Sa's delightful take on the earliest Portuguese women to come to India to Gita Mehta's description of hippies at Calangute, from Alexander Frater's mesmerizing account of Goa in the monsoon to Manohar Malgonkar's ode to the Mangeshi temple, this anthology celebrates the irreverent and the sacred in equal measure. Teotonia R. de Souza's profile of the little-known 'opium smuggler who tried to liberate Goa' is as captivating as Frederick Noronha's portrait of Abb�� Faria, 18th-century priest, mesmerist and revolutionary, and one of te region's most famous sons. While Antoine Lewis fleshes out Goa's culinary delights, Frank Simoes pays a tribute to feni, the quintessential spirit of the place. Insightful essays, intense poetry and evocative fiction, as alluring as the place they describe, make Reflected in Water redolent of the very essence of Goa.