Soccorro Socio-Art and Cultural Association, Porvorim will be celebrating its 5th annual Pattoleanchem Fest. Holy Mass and the procession of Our Lady of Assumption accompanied by a brass band will take place at 9am. The festivities will take place at the Socorro Church grounds. The Independence Day programme will be at 10:30am and the Pattoleanchem Fest will commence at 11am. World Goa Day will be celebrated at 11:30am followed by Konkani Day at 12pm and Ghumtachem Fest at 12:30pm. The festivities will conclude with delicious Goenchem Jevonn at 1pm.
An umbrella dance will be performed by the students of Our Lady
of Socorro School for Independence Day. Seven groups from the village,
comprising people of different religions, will be performing traditional dances
including Kunbi dance, mandos, skits and singing of songs composed by Vera
Pereira. Alexyz will share his experience on World Goa Day, Tomazinho Cardozo
will speak on the 25th anniversary of the inclusion of Konkani in the Eighth
Schedule to the Constitution of India as per the Seventy-First Amendment on
August 20, 1992 and Miguel Braganza will speak about the history of Konkani.
The lunch buffet will comprise Goan dishes while sweets will
include sanna, pudde, pattoleo and vonn.
“We will be organising the first Ghumott Association of India on
this occasion and the largest ghumott in the world will be unveiled along with
the world’s largest mandallam. It is created by an artist from Bhatpal,
Canacona. We will be having the world’s largest ghumott circle as we are
anticipating the attendance of at least 100 ghumott players,” says Marius
Fernandes, the man behind the festival. The Ghumtacho Nazz, will be even louder
as ghumotts will be for sale at the venue in three different sizes. Carlos
Gonsalves will be spearheading the ghumott movement with a special outfit
designed by Verma D’Mello for the occasion.
“The ghumott is an ancient Goan instrument that we all should be
proud of and incorporate in all our celebrations, locally and abroad. This
amazing instrument has just about survived more than 500 years of suppression
due to colonial rulers as well as environmental laws protecting the monitor
lizard, whose underbelly membrane was traditionally used to make the
instrument. This instrument sums up Goa’s religious and cultural harmony as it
is the only instrument that is used in traditional Catholic and Hindu
ceremonies. Today, it looks like this instrument is making a comeback with
people using alternative membranes on modern versions of the ghumott,” says
Ashley Fernandes, who has worked on a project based on the ghumott.
Activities for the day will also include live demonstrations of
various traditional occupations like bamboo craft by Premanad Satardekar, who
is travelling especially for the festival. Vamona Navelkar is also invited.
Renowned cartoonist Alexyz has been promoting World Goa Day for
the past 30 years. Alexyz will be speaking about World Goa Day as he has
travelled to different countries and met many members of the Goan diaspora. “I
have noticed that Goans are not really united. There is a lot of
discrimination, which doesn’t show on the surface level. When an event is
organised, there are people who will refrain from coming because they don’t get
along with the organiser. On this World Goa Day, I hope Goans can unite as one.
Also, we have to take the ghumott to another level as an indigenous musical
instrument. I have painted one a ghumott for the event and I hope the ghumott
travels the globe to Goans worldwide,” concludes Alexyz.
‘Pattoleanchem
Fest’ will be organised by the Soccorro Socio-Art and Cultural Association,
Porvorim on August 15, 2017 from 9am onwards at the Socorro Church grounds