The village of Socorro will be celebrating two festivals close to the proverbial Goan
heart: Poderanchem Fest and Zaddacho Utsav. Organised by the
Socorro Socio-Art and Cultural Association, the various kinds of Goan bread are
the pride of the state, and this festival will put them in the limelight, along
with the Goan dishes they go best with. The festival will span over three days,
with various workshops in music, weaving coconut leaves into moll’la and
an exhibition of decorative bread.
“There will be 15 stalls set up, with
plants, manure, spices, pottery and most importantly, bread. From 6pm onwards,
every evening, these various kinds of bread will be available with Goan dishes.
Kheema will be served with katre, choris with pao, tea
with kakon, sanna with sorpotel and ros with poyi and
surichem pao. We are working on the revival of the surichem pao,
as it had disappeared from Goan markets almost a decade ago. These festivals
are all about showing people the way forward, and how a collaborative effort
can make a big difference. We contacted a traditional baker, Dolphy Dias, and a
toddy tapper, and revived the surichem pao, a form of Goan bread, which
uses toddy as a rising agent. Dolphy will be supplying all the bread for the
three days of the festival,” says Marius Fernandes, the man behind the
eco-friendly and crowd-funded festival. Interestingly, Marius is the grandson
of Mathias Xavier (M X) Fernandes, who was a pioneer in the bakery trade in
Kenya.
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The festival will begin on September 30, 2017 with a ghumott workshop
for women, held by Pandurang Phaldessai, from 10am to 11am. The workshop is
open to all, and those who don’t have a ghumott, can purchase one at the
festival with a starting price of Rs 250 onwards. This will be followed by a
weaving workshop from 11am to 12pm. On the last day of the festival, there will
be a jam session of all who learn to play the ghumott at the workshop
and any musicians who visit the festival with their musical instrument, at 6pm.
Every evening, an expert in their own field will be conducting a
talk on a different topic. On September 30, at 6pm, Bond Braganza will speak
about his family history in baking in Majorda and how he moved on to tiatr,
before finally writing his own book in Konkani. He will also speak about the goencho
pao. On October 1 at 5pm, Miguel Braganza and the students of Don Bosco
College of Agriculture,Sulcorna, will help plant enthusiasts learn how to grow
plants in pots, and on October 2 at 6pm, Sunetra Talaulikar of Krishi Vigyan
Kendra will talk on the health benefits of the coconut, virgin coconut oil and
the making of coconut products. An exhibition of decorative breads will be on
display for three days. Hotels, bakeries and individuals can submit their bread
on or before Friday. In the afternoons, a Goan lunch, called the Goenchi
Boxi and comprising rice, fish and curry with vegetable, will be available.
In conclusion, Miguel Braganza adds to what else can be expected
from the fest, saying, “There will be 11 stalls set up by seven nurseries from
Goa. Locals who love anthuriums and orchids will be in for a treat, as Anthony
Lobo from Pomburpa will be bringing a vast variety of these plants to the
event. Green Essentials will also have their stall dealing with food,
ornamental plants and garden inputs. Assis Cardozo of Simonia Bakery from
Mapusa will also be present with an array of authentic Goan sweets.”
Socorro
Church will be hosting the Poderanchem Fest and Zaddacho Utsav (Baker’s and
Plant Fest) at the Socorro Church Grounds, from September 30 to October 2, 2017
from 9am to 9pm
