A sleepy village with a beautiful beach, Siridao will
awaken to the beats of the ghumott on Sunday, February
26, 2017 as likeminded individuals will gather to celebrate
one of Goa’s oldest musical instruments, the ghumott.
The first ever Ghumtache Fest will be held near Sea View
Restaurant, Siridao from 11am to 3pm. The day will be filled
with great events, bringing out different facets of this unique
instrument.
Marius Fernandes is the man behind this unique festival.
He has introduced Goa to festivals like Pattoleanchem
Fest and Poddearanche Fest and this festival is especially
dedicated to the musical instrument. “This is the first
crowdfunded festival that is being celebrated. I put up a
post about celebrating this instrument and many likeminded
Goans came forward to show their support, from Goa and
international shores as well. The ghumott has been an
underground instrument since 1972 when the use of monitor
lizard skin was banned. However, the instrument still exists
with different materials replacing the monitor lizard skin and
it is time to set it free through the festival. The festival will
spread the word about the instrument and hopefully it will
make a place for itself on the world stage,” says Marius.
The Ghumtache Fest will begin with a welcome song
and dance with ghumotts by school students from Goa
Velha. This will be followed by the students of Dhempe
College, Miramar, who will be performing ‘Chaniche Rati’
with ghumotts. “The interesting fact about this song is that
it was written Adv Uday Bhembre, the editor of the Konkani
newspaper Sunaparant, and it was composed and performed
by Ulhas Buyao during the Opinion Poll days. They used to
perform to the beats of the ghumott to spread the word in
support of the anti-merger movement for the Goa Opinion
Poll in 1967,” explains Marius.
After the performance, Fr Santana Carvalho, the parish
priest Our Lady of Succour Church, Socorro will give a brief
about the festival. There will be speakers who will throw
more light on the ghumott. Speakers include Pandurang
Phaldesai, ex-Member Secretary of Kala Academy, who will
talk on the ‘History of Ghumott’, John Fernandes, founder
of the Christian Adivasi Festival, who will talk about the
‘Present day use of the Ghumott’, and Dr Rajendra Kerkar,
environmentalist, who will speak about the ‘Future of the
Ghumott’. Madhavi Parab will give her take on being the first
female ghumott player in Goa.
“The festival will welcome girls to play the ghumott as
it was earlier considered taboo for girls to do so, especially
in the temples. We will be having the first all-girl ghumott
group performing on stage. They have been practising
well and feel a sense of pride in what they are doing, as
compared to the fear they felt while growing up. The music
will also focus on Konkani songs from the 1950s and 1960s,”
adds Marius. For the first time, the hindu ghumott group
and a catholic ghumott group will perform together on one
stage. Those who have ghumotts at home are requested
to come along with their instruments and be a part of the
ghumott circle.
Besides the stage events, the open arena will have food
stalls and the art of ghumott-making will be demonstrated
by potters from Socorro who will make the pot, while two
men will place the skin/material and tie the rope to tune
the instrument. Art College students will paint the scenes of
the festival and noted Goan cartoonist Alexyz will also be
present to draw about 20 ghumotts individually. Marius also
hopes to have the largest ghumott in Goa on display.
Elaborating on how the entire festival was crowdfunded,
Marius says, “People on social media are very active and
many likeminded people have been very forthcoming to
make this festival a reality. Many villagers in Siridao are
excited about the festival and are offering to help with
the cleaning and cooking. Youngsters took the necessary
permission from the authorities and in one home where the
cooking for the lunch will be done, they started receiving
rice, coconuts and dry fish and other ingredients a week
in advance. People are constantly messaging on Whatsapp
to know the status of what is happening and what else has
to be done. It is not just about a village but the entire state
coming together in Siridao.”
As the festival is without any sponsors or chief guests, it
will begin right on time and each one has the responsibility
to keep the place litter- and plastic-free. The organisers only
request fellow participants to carry along drinking water,
a bed sheet to sit on, and watermelons, if they find any
along the way to Siridao, which can be served to the other
participants.
