The relentless grind of the highway from Panjim to Mapusa often eludes our fine senses. But once in a while, if the grind can be paused and the wanderings of soul are followed, your path may take a slight bend at the high mast before Guirim and turn towards Socorro.

If there was a resistance movement of Goa’s villages against invaders and intruders converting villages into concrete monstrosities, Socorro would have been in the forefront and won. And it indeed has. Leafy swaying roads lined with villas and haciendas, Socorro could be coastal Spain and Mexico rolled into one. But old timers will say that it’s well and truly Goan, the Goa which was and the Goa which is meant to be.

It’s such a leitmotif of tradition and preservation. And that extends from the homes to the Socorro Church and its vast grounds which are used by a group of young men and women dedicated to the cause of preserving Goa’s traditions with a zeal which is truly missionary. But if there’s a shepherd of this movement, it’s Marius Fernandes, the London returned, Divar based crusader. The speed at which he is organising a series of traditional Goan fests in a gorgeous assembly line, is bringing in its wake a wave of followers who see them as a festivals of togetherness. For the children these fests are a picnic with valuable insights into Goan musical instruments, ceramics, handicrafts, weaving and so on. For elders and those in their sunset years, these are sights that they grew up seeing, a delirious de ja vu. If the ghumot, an instrument which was in the verge of extinction has been revived, it is due to the efforts of Marius, Prajal Sakhardande, Carlos Gonsalves and others who are partners in this ongoing mission of preservation.

At the Pattoleanchem Fest last Sunday, we met two stand-out creative artists. Shruti Mascarenhas, who lives behind the Socorro church and does ceramic art with vivacity and colour seldom seen and the specially abled polio stricken and wheel chair bound Premanand Satarkar, who lives in the woods of Keri and makes musical instruments, from the bamboo found in the forests. On display was a guitar, a harmonium and other instruments from plain Goan bamboo. If this is not indigenous art, then what is?

Last week’s Pattoleanchem Fest will be followed by this Sunday’s ( today’s) upcoming Moll'lachem Fest at the Socorro church. Marius has tapped into a data base of artists who will showcase their work today and though we have reported this it needs reiteration because describing the work of Marius and his team is never enough. The fest will dwell on the art of weaving and ‘Rotesao’. Philu D’Souza will demonstrate weaving techniques and the most difficult part of finishing the knot. Josefa Roberts and Aurora Lobo will demonstrate and spot train enthusiasts on chair weaving, Annu Surya Dargalkar will weave baskets and Augustine Fernandes will teach youngsters to peel a coconut with only the koito.

These are the soldiers of Goa’s future, wielding two timeless weapons of Goa’s past, tradition and love. From Socorro, the fest brigade heads to Arambol for the Ramponnkaranchem Fest on August 27, of traditional fishermen, where music, song and food from the heaven’s will be on display.

An intrinsic and seamless given in each of these festivals is the abundance of absolutely traditional cuisine, made at home by families, who cook for the love of cooking and feeding, a feeling which germinates in the womb and passes in to the grave of most mothers, sisters and aunts. They are born to feed and the curries, the vegetables and the sweets that emerge during these fests, are irreplaceable and impossible to clone by any restaurant. Last Sunday after huge helpings of lunch served on a traditional leafy plate, we stood in line to be served the traditional desert, Vonn, served in coconut husks. Drunk deliciously warm, Vonn is made of coconut milk, maida flour, channa dal, palm jaggery (maad gudd), and cardamom. Yours truly had two of those, standing on the edge of the Church cemetery looking into the expanse of colour, with two massive ghumots placed in the centre of the field. Families milled around, friends shouted greetings, there was song and music and shrieks of laughter. These were delirious joys of reliving and reexperiencing the Goa which we hope we have not left behind.

And hopefully each day, as we remember these fests, there will be a fest in each of our homes, as we wake up to realise what a blessed land we live in.