All wasn’t “well” this Sao Ja as COVID played damp squib

It is
a pretty important date in a Goan’s life. June 24^th is marked
in red and the date to be remembered. A day for fun and frolic. The day of Sao
Jao is spent leaping into, and swimming in, wells, streams, and ponds as a form
of tribute to St. John the Baptist. It is a very unique style of celebrating
his birthday but it is quintessentially Goan. And yes, eating great food and
consuming the local elixir, of feni. This
year however has been rather different. The virus has ensured that. It has
changed the way life is lived and enjoyed everywhere. No more get-togethers, no
more parties or music shows or for that matter football matches or any sporting
encounters. In such a scenario enjoying local customs and traditions come with
a lot of restrictions or curbs. Prajal
Sakhardande , Associate Professor, Dhempe College of Arts and Science was
rather categorical when he said “ Goa without festivals is very boring. One of
the dimensions of this place is its festivals. You have to understand that for
three hundred and sixty-five days, some festival is being celebrated in the
state. I am not making this up. Either national or regional, something is being
celebrated”. He said some village or the other in the state would be
celebrating a festival. He
said “Something is now missing in the air, the pulsating life that one
associated with Goa is certainly missing. Goa is lost, adrift so to speak.
Spirits have been dampened.” Another executive in the tourism industry who did
not wish to come on record said “This year with the restrictions in place,
festivals like Sao Jao have come and gone without a whimper. I hope this is a
one-off”. Researcher
and writer Pantaleo Fernandes had an entirely different take on the dull
celebration of Sao Jao this year. He said it was important to understand that
Sao Jao was the birthday of St John who was a crusader for positive values of
earth. He said “Whatever that is happening in villages is very rustic but
elsewhere, people have turned it into something else to suit themselves. The
materialism, the wastage of water, electricity is vulgar and does not benefit
anyone. This year the Sao Jao’s message came through. Not caring about the
earth resulted in the virus coming to infect us. However, it also resulted in
the ozone layer improving, pollution-reducing. It is important to keep green
festivals green and not turn it into something else. One should not
commercialise or overexploit anything. It will always come back and bite us.
Mother earth is being rejuvenated. I feel it was all very positive and I hope
next year people will remember this and act accordingly next year”. So
one may have not quite jumped into the well, but this message should make us
deep dive into the reality of today.