29 Dec 2019  |   05:14am IST

FONTAINHAS: YOUR ENERGY CAN LIGHT A FOREST OF CHRISTMAS TREES

Sujay Gupta

T

he jolly man in the red suit is not this area’s main resident, as he is in his Santa Claus Village in Finland. This is not the Manger Square or the old city in Bethlehem with the majestic St Catherine’s Church in the middle.

But right here in the square of the St Sebastian Church in our Fontainhas, there was the same energy on Christmas Eve, an energy that could light a forest of Christmas trees, an energy even Santa Claus would have been proud of.

Through the service, as carols were sung and an energetic priest delivered his sermon, many of us reaffirmed that there is something magical in these squares, and more so on Christmas Eve.

Amidst the glow of the Christmas decorations, from open homes, symbolic of open hearts and presence of virtually every family, living here as a big extended family of fellow travellers in journeys big and small, friends for ages and across generations, every tenet of humanity, togetherness and brotherhood practised and professed, was on display. Not just as a matter of faith but as a matter of living.

With the beautifully restored St Sebastian Chapel (built in 1888) basking in its full glory and the pillar of life and celebrations on that day as a backdrop, there were people we missed. Alirio, the beloved of Fontainhas and beyond, who fought jovially and lost his battle with disease a few days before Christmas, missing out on plans to sit by the window of his beautiful home next to the chapel and participate in the Christmas Eve Holy Eucharist.

Across Goa, there would have been many homes bereft of a loved one, like Alirio’s was, someone who the family thought would be with them this Christmas. Homes which prayed for them as the departed looked over them from their special place.

As one sat there, imbibing, absorbing and enjoying this, there were other realities that kept dawning, almost like signals or messages. Look at the reality of that service and understand why Goa is special. In the India of today, sought to be divided and “otherised”, the calming effect of Goa, the benefit of living in close knit communities is felt more than ever before.

The energy of a forest of Christmas trees takes Goa along. In Goa’s festivals and rituals, from the Shigmo and Ganesh festival to the Carnival and Christmas, lie the spirit and the soul of our land. Alas, this was what our country was. Goa continues to be perhaps the only glow in the embers of that past glory.

As the Mass got over, wishes and hugs were exchanged over coffee, cake and housie, post which celebrations extended to and continued in some of the homes of families. Revelry and partying is a joyous tradition and friends and family started pouring in from different places. The music, the food and the spirits flowed, the jackets came off, ties were loosened and the banter rose to a crescendo.

As yours truly walked home before the sun rose on Christmas day, a few steps away from one of these celebrations, light on one’s feet, thanks to Lord Bacchus, I asked an imaginary tourist, “So you guys come here to party in clubs and beaches? Come to a Goan home, when invited, to know what a party really is.”