SUNDAY, APRIL 21, 2024
Come August 15, every Catholic Goan families is busy in the kitchen or at the dining table with containers of rice paste, a mixture of grated coconut and jaggery and a tray full of freshly plucked turmeric leaves. One family member will clean the turmeric leaf with a clean, wet cloth and pass it on for a thin coat of rice paste followed by a layer of coconut and jaggery before neatly folding the leaf. The compro, a huge copper steamer is heated on a three-stoned fire in the outer kitchen and these leaves are steamed into Patolleos. The feast of Our Lady of Assumption is incomplete without sinking one’s teeth into this traditional delicacy.
Celebrating this very sweet is the annual ‘Pattoleanchem Fest’. This year, the fest has moved from Socorro to Madkai in Ponda. Curated by festakar Marius Fernandes, his goal is to take the festival to a new place so that Goans learn about different cultures and traditions. The ‘Pattoleanchem Fest’ will be held on August 15 at Peaceful Society, Madkai from 11 am to 4 pm. The participants will be welcomed with the traditional coconut and jaggery sweet steamed on a turmeric leaf called pattoloe.
“This year there will be a live demonstration of making the ‘Patolleo’ or ‘Patoieo’. We will be celebrating many festivals under one umbrella on that day, Independence Day, World Goa Day, Feast of Our Lady of Assumption, Konkani Day Goenchem Jevonn and Ghumtacho nach. Dr Gwendolyn de Ornelas will be curating the festival along with me and we have identified various women from the village of Madkai who will showcase their skills,” says Marius Fernandes.
The enterprising women of Madkai will conduct workshops on pattoleo and pudde, ghumott, ganvtti medicines, garland making, broom making and even how to make dung cakes. Artists are welcome to bring their own paints and stationary to recreate their expeience of the fest on canvas within a timeframe of 40 minutes. The festival is without any sponsors or chief guests. Those who would love to enjoy the piping hot meals are requested to bring their own plates and glasses.
Rashmi Naik, a resident of Kundaim, Madkai is also a part of the Shree Ganraj Self Help Group from the village. She is excited about hosting the fest and the crowd it will pull to the quiet village. “There are three groups that are working together with Peaceful Society in organising the festival. We are nearly 20 women in this one self-help group. We already started with the preparations for the food that will be served on that day. Besides that, many women will also participate in the cultural programme that will be presented for the audience. We are also going to set up two stalls for those who would love to buy and try something different. There will be pickles and masalas, laddos, chakreos and even brooms and coir mats. For lunch, we will be preparing Pattoleos, tarochi bhaji, methichi pez and talkuchi bhaji. These are monsoon vegetables which are a part of our cuisine,” says Naik.
Another village that is equally enthusiastic about the fest is Pilerne. A group of parishioners will accompany Fr Derrick Fernandes, parish priest of Pilerne to learn more about the festival, as they will be hosting the next fest, ‘Matienche Fest’ on October 2. “We will be attending the fest as I want the parishioners to experience the fest so we can organise our own fest in a similar way. Secondly, this is an unique opportunity to learn about the ancestral village life and how people lived with simple means. It is important to understand these primitive ways and how these traditions have survived all these year,” says Fr Fernandes.
Pilerne Theatre Group headed by writer and director, Edmer Barreto will also perform at the fest. “This is the first time we are performing outside the village. The title of the play is ‘Xrishti Samballuia’ and features six actors and other members of the parish. They will be playing the ghumott and kottios to attract the crowds. We will also perform at the Bonderachim Passoi which will be held on August 20 in Divar,” says Barreto.
