By Dominick Rodrigues
Panjim: It was Carnival time in Goa as hundreds of tourists and revellers soaked up the sound of music, taste of cuisine and danced on the streets which vibrated with booming tunes and tapping of feet of the numerous artistes competing to outdo each other in accompaniment to bands playing and cheering crowds on the two-day weekend of February 13 and 14.
However, with Covid-19 playing spoilsport, the Goa Carnival – pronounced “Carnaval” in Goan Konkani and in Spanish and Portuguese-speaking countries – was held only in the two major cities of Panjim and Margao while leaving out previous constant venues like Mapuca and Vasco.
The revelry began in Panjim on Saturday with singing and chanting “Viva Carnaval” as Goa Deputy Chief Minister /Tourism Minister Manohar ‘Babu’ Azgaonkar and Panjim Mayor Uday Madkaikar flagged off the numerous colourful floats that wound their way through the streets of the cities led by a tableau trucking King ‘Momo” and his maidens dressed in dazzling costumes, who exhorted the crowds – wearing protective anti-Covid masks and Carnival joker masks — to sway to the foot-tapping songs and music
Adding its charm to the float parade was the Health Department’s moving tableau of the “FRONTLINE WARRIORS” highlighting the Covid-19 vaccine with the message “stay safe, wear mask, obey the rules,” while one tableau depicted a skull head and cigarettes captioned “Smoking Kills’ and “How long will you live?” Yet another highlighted the need to save the environment from deforestation through a wildlife display of elephants, lions, zebras , giraffes bearing the message “The Earth is what we all have in common.” Goan traditional cane weavers too showcased their intricately-woven baskets and other articles, while fisherfolk highlighted Goa’s fishing industry with swaying hips holding their fishy wares.
Earlier, Goa Tourism Minister Manohar ‘Babu’ Azgaonkar pooh-poohed criticism for holding the carnival this year by stating that Goa would lose out on tourism competition with other states in cancelling this festivity. “We will be spending Rs 54.70 lakhs on the Carnival celebrations this year in which 31 floats have registered and tourists are pouring into Goa despite plane fares being hiked three-fold,” he said while assuring that SOPs issued by the Collector would be followed in the celebrations.
Carnival is celebrated globally including Goa for four days before Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent for Christians – meaning forty days of fasting and Prayer. The four-day Carnival merrymaking period, which witnesses the revelers indulging in fun, food and frolic, presents a colourful extravaganza. Carnival is celebrated in over 50 countries with the most popular ones– besides Goa – being Port-of-Spain (Trinidad and Tobago, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Spain).
