Goa is the only state in India that celebrates the festival of Carnival with great excitement, drawing in a large number of tourists to the state. The tradition of Carnival in Goa dates back to the Portuguese regime, however, the Goans made it theirs by personalising the carnival parade in their own way. Carnival was a celebration that brought out the fun side of the village youth as they traveled to the neighbouring villages dressed fancily and playing musical instruments. Over the years, these festivities got centred in certain parts of the state, especially the four cities of Panjim, Margao, Vasco and Mapusa. The streets of the cities get crowded with people – Goans as well as domestic and international tourists – pouring in to witness the creative floats and the Goan traditional occupations and life depicted through them.
This year, the Government
of Goa will be imposing a dress code to keep a check on obscenity at the annual
Carnival to be held in Goa from February 6-9, 2016. Tourism Minister Dilip
Parulekar has said that all carnival committees will be asked to ensure that
there is no obscenity at the Carnival parades.
While many Goans
are of the opinion that a dress code is not required as participants on the
floats dress modestly, few do feel that a check is required. Karen D’Mello, a
TV presenter, accompanied her father Cezar D’Mello on the float when he was
King Momo for the Carnival Parade. She says, “A dress code is required because
most girls like to expose when they are on the floats. Carnival is meant to be
about traditions and these young girls don’t understand that wearing skimpy
clothes does not make them beautiful. Some Goan girls even stand with beers in
their hands, which does not give a good image of Carnival.”
Sharing her
experience as part of the float, Karen adds, “When we were on the leading
float, I asked the girls to dress properly but there was one girl who had a big
slit for her dress. I requested her to wear shorts, but she declined. When the
parades began, her mother noticed her from the crowd and started shouting at
her, saying, ‘What are you wearing?’ For the rest of the Carnival, she wore
shorts.”
It should be kept
in mind, she advises, that Carnival costumes are made of inexpensive fabric and
hence they can tear at any moment, especially when the person wearing it is
constantly moving and dancing. It’s better to wear something concealing
underneath to avoid any malfunction and embarrassment later.