“Massage is must,” the young Ayurvedic therapist recommended, as her hands attempted to unravel my knotted muscles. Pia looked like a slip of a girl, yet her hands were strong. Working with warm, herbal oils her fingers unrelentingly located spots to untangle.

Just 10 minutes away from North Goa’s Arambol beach in a very simple, breezy, dorm-style room, I was on a table lulled by trance-mantra tunes. Each time I arrived at the ‘spa’ if Pia was not already there, a phone call and bike ride later she’d arrive in her traditional costume with her long dupatta nonchalantly draped around her shoulders.

Even if she was hurried, she would take her time to prepare the space. Always mindful of the rituals: thumb-to-forefinger, whispered invocations and warm hands to prepare the body and soul.

Pia likes giving massages. For five years she had trained and worked with her uncle in his Kolkatta centre.

“How old are you?”

“Married?”

And lastly, shyly, with a slight twinkle in her eye, she asked: “love marriage?”

When I asked her if she had a boyfriend, she hesitated. “Yes, he is in Arambol. So I came to work here.” Although Kolkata has its own coast, she loves the beaches and the sea in Goa best. She goes home to visit her family for Diwali but would like to live in Goa. “Maybe in two to three years, we’ll get married.”

Day by day the lower back pain I had been nursing for almost two months slipped away… leaving only a twinge that I sometimes forgot to acknowledge. Each massage was INR500, with an INR200 discount after being recommended by my Ukrainian friend Katrina.

“You come every day.”

“What time?”

“Come, come, come.”

“Don’t miss. Come until you go.”

Pia is 21 and she’s right. Massages are a must.

Suva Ayurvedic Body Care, Mandrem, Goa. +91-9049503798/+91-9637962175