The Carnival is just around the corner. Preparations are afoot to
ensure it is conducted in a smooth manner. One of the big attractions of the
Carnival invariably is the various floats that showcase various aspects of the
culture and daily life of Goa. The floats will be in six categories. People can
compete in the traditional, club/institution, family, sponsored, fun junk, and
clown/ joker categories. As always the competition will be intense and the
participants devote much thought, passion and investment whilst preparing the
floats. It is not unusual for individuals or groups of people to spend more
than a couple of months to put everything together. Yes, there are issues which
however do not dissuade the participants.
Joseph Dias from Panjim is organizing a
float devoted to Zumba. The float he said would be ready on Saturday. He said
he was trying to get as many participants as possible but it was proving to be
a bit difficult. He said the developments in the last two years had not helped
matters. Joseph however expressed confidence it would all work out fine.
Nothing comes free and the entire expenditure for the float and incidental
expenses was coming up to Rs 2 lakhs with friends contributing. He said it
needed to be done and he had taken the responsibility of getting it done.
The cultural life of the state is well represented. Alexinho Da
Silva intends to showcase how wood was used in the state in days gone by. This
was with a focus on household use and everything else. Since he was involved
with the project from the very start, work on the project commenced on December
26. He said he was using wood in the preparation of the float and it also meant
expenditure. He said “We spend Rs 7 lakhs and won the first prize in Margao.
The prize money was Rs 4 lakhs” He said along with the group they had been
attending the Carnival for fifteen years and have been wining prizes for the
past eight years.
Free time on hand motivated Rohan and friends to participate for
the first time in the Carnival. From Shankarwadi, Talegao. Participating in the
club and institution category, they have created a fantasy world dragon. He
said “We are all very young in our twenties, no college lectures and were free
and we decided to do this. We are around thirty members in the club and
everyone contributed Rs 1000 which helped us collect Rs 30,000. Work commenced
last week and we are painting now. We will be ready in time. It should be a fun
experience.”
Ramchandra has been participating for fifteen years and lost
money last year when Shigmo was cancelled. He said “We spent a lot of money and
despite assurances from the government, we were not compensated. I spend my
money and this year the float will focus on wildlife and will be in the family
category. I spend a minimum of Rs One lakh.”
Agriculture, a subject that has received attention in the state
will feature in the traditional section. Boney from Curtorim will focus on
highlighting the old methods of cultivation. He said the float was ready and
more than twenty five people would be part of the float. One person he said
spent the one lac which was required for creating the entire float. He said
they stood fifth in Panjim three years ago and would be going all over the
state.
Taleigao features again with Kamlesh with friends preparing to
be part of the Carnival with his small Ducati bike which has been fitted with a
small engine. He said he had a personal workshop to do such work and it was
worked over in his garage. Last year, he did not participate and had earlier
participated with a group but this time he expected a friend or two to be
present.
Oswin decided to showcase the pottery skills of the state in the
traditional section. He said the float would be ready today and work had
commenced five days ago. The budget was a lakh and a half was provided by
family members. He said earlier he would participate with cousins from Curtorim
but this year had decided to it all by himself. He said it was all about having
fun while doing it and having a good time while showcasing the culture of Goa.
Damodar decided to focus on the hero of the past two years, the
COVID warrior. From Miramar, he is participating in the club category. He said
they had participated every year and had done Save Planet Earth in 2020 which
won them the second prize. He said the expenditure this year was around fifty
five thousand and he was bearing much of the cost. He also admitted that there
was less enthusiasm this year.
School Children are participating this year. Shilpa Sinari of
the Sunshine Worldwide School said their float would focus on skill
development. She said the kids would be part of the float and the school
believed in competency and participation and not competition.
There
are around 18 participants who have signed up and one can safely say it will be
an interesting experience for all.
