Its time youth will again pick the dhol tashe and ignite the competitive spirits
in them to battle it for the biggest youth festival of the year. The 24th Goa
Yuva Mahotsav (GYM) is all set to unfold on January 19, 20 at Panchayat
grounds, Dharbandora. After travelling all the talukas across Goa, GYM is set
to cover the newly formed 12th taluka thus coming to a full circle before it
prepares itself for the grand silver jubilee year. The festival is being
organized in association with the cultural organizations of Dharbandora.
The two days festival will see 31 teams battling it out in 18
competitions in wide spectrum of fields. The festival will see educational
institutions and cultural groups participating in competitions like folk dance,
street play, painting, solo singing, trio, dance, shooting, quiz, Kavan
kaljatle (interpreting poetry), Mustayaki (Mr. and Miss Yuva Mahotsav), drama
etc. The festival sees direct participation of more than 3000 youth while more
than 10000 people will witness the festival and its grandeur.
The whole ambience is charged up for the two days, the thrill u
feel whilst performing on this stage and the satisfaction when you see all the
people enjoying your performance cannot be compared to any other stage. Every
single person from other groups supports and applauds a good performance
irrespective of the competition and that’s the spirit of the festival. The
euphoria felt at GYM after you get the whole hearted appreciation from all d
maestros present is a great motivation to do better next time.
This year the organizers have added a new competition that will
see participating teams spell out their dream Goa Yuva Mahotsav through PPT
presentations. “We intend to incorporate the suggestions from the participating
teams from next year so we can make this festival better”, says Chetan Acharya,
President of Konkani Bhasha Mandal. GYM organizers have always kept the
participating teams its main focus and this is one more way they have proved
their dedication to make this festival worthwhile for them.
“This festival is a platform for making new friends. It may be
in a competitive form but its intention was never winning. We want to inculcate
the Goan identity amongst our youth and we have been doing so for last 23
years. Any art form is always a better medium to pass on the message to youth
than direct preaching”, says Acharya.
“The festival has grown since the last several years and those
who were participating are now organisers. This itself is the biggest success
of Yuva Mahotsav”, says Rohan Vaskar, working president of this year’s
festival. Vaskar who has always been working silently backstage is given the
biggest honour this year of being the working president. The festival has
always honoured its silent workers and this is proven from the list of working
presidents some of whom have never been on stage but have been the biggest
backbones of the organising.
One of the biggest achievements of GYM is the organization of
various new festivals, thanks to efforts by youngsters that are products of the
Goa Yuva Mahotsav itself. This was one of the aim of GYM which began 24 years
ago with mere 10 teams. Today these festivals are doing a great job at carrying
forward the discourse that starts with Goa Yuva Mahotsav. Further, the
organizations who take part in GYM spend the rest of the year on various other
activities that ensure that the purpose of these large festivals doesn’t get
defeated.
Considering
the increasing number of participants, organisers have always been worried
about the discipline part of the festival. However they have always found new
mediums to tackle the issues. For the last few years, organizers have devised a
code for the participants and the participating teams have wholeheartedly
accepted the same. The vow they take at the beginning of the festival hand in
hand is the ideal example of unity shown at the festival.
