From where he stands ahead of all others, King Momo would probably not get a vantage view of the floats that follow him and his entourage at the carnival parades. He leads the parade, always facing forward and occasionally turning sideways to wave out to the crowds lining up the streets, little aware of what is occurring behind him. Had he to turn around and look behind, he might just have noticed that his decree of fun, frolic and merriment wasn’t being followed as he might have wished it to be. Yes, there was music, there was dance, there was colour, there were masks and there were huge smiles, but there was also on display the grim reality of a population not entirely pleased with the polity.
Amidst the many floats that have been parading the streets of the major urban areas of the State over the past few days, were a number that loudly proclaimed their ‘no’ to various issues – large one and small ones. ‘No Coal Hub’ was one float that has already trundled through three parades and is expected to do so at a fourth on Tuesday. ‘Kalapur PDA Naka’, ‘Save Bondvoll Lake’ are other floats that walked the parade route in Panjim. And then, even as some protest made its way into the carnival parades, the government’s aim of an Open Defecation Free State too found place in it, and even the Police Department and GSUDA got into the act with floats to raise awareness of issues.
Swachh Bharat too jostled for space in the carnival floats, but next morning there appeared to be nothing swachh about the streets through which the parades passed by, or the squares where programmes were held. In the light of day, these streets and squares were not only deserted but even appeared unfriendly to the tourists, without the lights and sounds of the previous night.
In a sense, the carnival float parades showed the spectators the real world, the issues that haunt the people of the State, and that Goa is not just a place for song and dance, as perceived by sections of tourists.
Where then, does this place carnival as a festival of fun that is seen as a major draw for tourists? Would a tourist be satisfied with a float parade that raised local issues, rather than being entertained through music and dance? Though a pertinent point of discussion, that, however, is not the main concern with this column today, and can be addressed at another point of time, though they are questions that the tourism trade body may seriously consider before the next carnival comes along.
The issue being discussed today is how people are finding new ways to grab the maximum audience to their concerns, taking their messages to the streets, not through morchas and strikes, but through imaginative ways. If carnival, traditionally, has been the medium to poke fun at the establishment through satire, here on display, over the weekend and now, has been a direct challenge to the establishment with no attempt to disguise it through satire. What was on display was groups not afraid to go out there and stake their claim, even if symbolically, of problems and injustices, on a public platform.
This is not entirely a new phenomenon where the Carnival parades are concerned, but the number of floats with social issues as themes have been rising, with the messages delivered more pertinent and not veiled in satire or other forms. Take for instance the float on coal, the organisers were open about voicing loudly and clearly their ‘No to Coal’, or the section of St Cruz residents that are unhappy about their village being included in the Planning and Development Authority, were equally loud and clear about this at the carnival parade. If creating awareness about issues is what the aim was, then they have managed it. They got the eyeballs and got the message through, but it doesn’t resolve the problem they are fighting.
There was a time when the tiatr and the ubiquitous cantar held a mirror to society. It was on the Konkani stage, where through sharp lyrics and hard-hitting dialogue that issues – social and political – were outlined to the people, taking home messages that the mainstream media could not. They still are. The tiatr today continues to be the medium through which criticism is levelled at the government, especially during the musical interludes, where singers hold the audience spellbound with their stinging lyrics, drawing wolf whistles and curtain calls. The Konkani stage is unlikely to abdicate its role as a mirror to society, it is there 365 days a year with a large and loyal audience, but are we seeing carnival step in as another medium to raise the red flag of discontent?
It does appear – it is still quite early to make a categorical statement – that carnival will soon help explore the political mind of the people, besides providing for entertainment on the streets.
Carnival has changed course often. The festival that before liberation was one that saw youth from different wards of the village or town in mock battle flinging missiles known as cocotes at each other, was revived in the late 1960s with a King Momo and a float parade. It was halted in the late 1980s due to certain excesses, to be brought to the streets again in the form of a junk car rally, and eventually has taken the current form. But, it is again going into a transition, dropping the satire and right now, from carnival to, given that the ‘No Coal Hub’ float created a little stir, to perhaps coal-nival.
(Alexandre Moniz Barbosa is Executive Editor, Herald).
