It is usually a city like any other trying to handle the challenges of the modern age. Incessant
traffic jams on roads filled with potholes. And yes, accidents that either end
in injury or death. But come September 2, it will change dramatically for a
week at least. As the residents of the state welcomes Ganpati into their homes,
the city empties out. With offices shut for a couple of days or for a week at
the most, it brings home the fact that the city is home to around 10,000
residents who cannot be found on the streets. The others who come in the
thousands stay at home to celebrate the presence of Ganpati at home.
On September 2, restaurants, jewellery
stores, stores selling FMCG products will be all shut. And yes, the bus service
will be as consistent as the sightings of the Yeti. For businessmen who are
keen to open their offices and conduct business, it will be a frustrating time.
Vikas Chopra, who set up Glitters, a jewellery store in Panjim, will not be
able to celebrate the anniversary of his store because it falls on September 2.
He says, “We don’t celebrate Ganpati but we have staff that have left for their
villages and will return on Wednesday in the morning. We cannot function with
just 25% of our staff and so I will keep the store shut.” He also alludes to
the fact the celebratory mood is very subdued due to the increase in the cost
of the basic necessities required for the festival like vegetables, etc.
Restaurants will be shut for at least two days, leaving bachelors and the few
office goers battling empty stomachs and trying new ways to get nourishment.
The return to one’s roots is a very
dominant feature during this time of the year. Luiza Gera, who runs a travel
and ticketing business in Panjim, says that with her staff back in the
villages, it would not be possible to run the business. However, come
Wednesday, she would start operations again. The functioning of a city is based
on the seamless functioning of people across functions. The private buses may
do a great job transporting people across the length and breadth of the city
but the pilots on the bikes also provide much needed service. Many of these
pilots may live in Panjim but are from villages in Savarde or Bicholim or even
further. This season is the time when they all go home to partake in the
festivities. Hanuman, a pilot who operates in Panjim, says that he will be
leaving for his village to be part of the festivities that will last three
days. The pilot service is expected to be hit severely on those days.
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As a resident of Panjim, Conal Lobo says, “It is the
only time I experience the charm that my grandfather used to talk about that
Panjim possessed. The empty streets, the absence of traffic on 18 June Road,
the reduced pollution levels and the absence of garbage makes for a heavenly
experience.”
