Viva Carnival. Let’s hear it from the man who started it all. Goa’s first King Momo, post Liberation: “It was all for fun; we had no expectations. I knew someone in Merces, who owned a bullock cart; we got it decorated at Patto Bridge, Panjim. I stood in front dressed as King Momo and asked my 15-20 friends to come along with me, singing and dancing till the Municipal Garden. We almost lost control of the bull as the commotion must have made him nervous, but the owner quickly calmed him down and we reached the garden safely,” reminisces Timoteo Fernandes
This was the first Carnival held, three
years after Liberation.
Timoteo Fernandes was the first King Momo
for the Carnival Parade in Panjim in 1965. “I used to lead bands with string
and wind instruments. I once visited the home of Vasco Alvares, President of
Club Nacional, and found magazines of the carnival celebrations at Rio De
Janeiro, Brazil. I went on reading about the preparations and decided to
organise the same in Goa on a smaller scale.
The tradition of Carnival in Goa dates
back to the Portuguese regime. However, after Liberation, the Carnival parade
had a new look with King Momo taking the lead for the four days of celebrations
across Goa. The fanfare has continued since then but the focus is mainly on the
cities of Goa rather than its original birthplace, the villages. Today,
carnival is on a grand scale, with booming speakers and sound systems and people
who are paid to participate.
This year, the King Momo, who will head
all celebrations in the state with the Carnival parades, is Shalom Sardinha,
who was also the King Momo in 2016. “My earliest memory of Carnival dates back
to 1986-87, but I have been actively involved in carnival celebrations from
2000 onwards. Earlier, we didn’t need to invite people to come for carnival. It
was at its peak and the enthusiasm and involvement was much higher. Youngsters
would throng to the parade to see the carnival. Now in the world of gadgets,
everyone is watching carnival on their devices and the tourism department has
to coax people to come to the streets. This year, I plan to come back walking
from Kala Academy to the starting point after the parade to give people the
opportunity to interact and click selfies with King Momo,” says Shalom.
Floats are now done mainly for prizes
Geovani Bosco Santimano, Joint
Commissioner of Goa Customs and Central Excise and Service Tax, was King Momo
in 2015. “I have been participating for the floats in Goa for the past 25 years
and have won at least eight times in different competitions. In the ‘Goa-Then
and Now’ float, I tried to depict ferry boats in 1910 and casinos in 2020 in
the Mandovi river. It didn’t go down well with the authorities. Earlier, there
was a free hand to promote or showcase different causes, especially against the
government. I feel there is more censorship now and the floats are done for
prizes for the sale of the competition. I miss the big floats from Francisco
Martins and Henry Music Café,” says Geovani, whose float ‘Tribute to Mario
Miranda’ won the first prize in Panjim and Mapusa.
And now comes the King of floats Fankit
Martins
Known as the ‘King of Floats’, Francisco Martins have been
adding his magic to the Carnival for the last 46 years. He has designed
numerous floats in Goa, India and around the world. “I won the best Carnival
float in Goa for seven consecutive years and I won the first prize in the
Parade of the Nations in Mumbai. This year, I will be presenting a float for
CCP on the theme of Goa as a wedding destination. It is a long float and will
feature two bands and a brass band and 160 participants. When I started my
first float in 1974, I had only 18 participants. This year, I will give senior
citizens an opportunity to experience carnival though my float. Times are
changing and everyone has to evolve. Earlier, it used to be small floats with
no speakers. Now as the crowds are getting bigger, you need bigger floats and
more sound to reach the audience,” says Francisco.
Joaquim Teles is the President of the Panjim Traditional
Festival Committee. He was the President of Panjim Carnival Committee for 12
years till 2011. Being a part of the Carnival celebrations for more than three
decades, he has seen the Carnival being organised minutely. “The fun and frolic
is not there anymore. Politicians should not be allowed to organise carnival as
they don’t know anything about the festival. There are no more folk dances and
the floats are participating for the sake of participating,” says Joaquim.
The Panjim Traditional Festival Committee are organising two
tiatrs – one by Comedian Ambe on February 22, 2020 and the other by Lawry
Travasso on February 23, 2020 at Kala Academy, Panjim.
Joseph Dias is a Zumba instructor and runs a restaurant in
Panjim. For this year’s Carnival parade in Panjim, Joseph is bringing all Goan
Zumba instructors on one float. “I am creating a Zumba float with 45-50
participants with nearly 25 Zumba instructors. There is a positive vibe to
zumba with dances of Samba, Salsa, Meringue, Bhangda and Goan dances. Earlier,
the floats had a different vibe, people were celebrating and there were big
awesome floats. In the last 2-3 years, the floats have not been great at all. I
hope we can bring in a buzz of energy with our float,” concludes Joseph.
Times have changed And the Carnival is supposed to a spectacle. But does it have the same simple spirit of joy and celebration before the liturgical season of Lent? Many would agree that it does not.