Ever since Goa’s Art and Culture Department introduced
seventeen years ago, the event has grown in size, variety and attendance; the
number of people visiting the cultural festival, whether for the handicraft
items, events or delicacies has seen an increase with each year. For every
foodie, the ‘Kachori’ from Rajasthan, ‘Rosgulla’ from Bengal, Dhokla from Gujarat
are old friends come to Goa for their annual visit.
India is famous for its multifaceted cultural
heritage and Lokotsav brings forth every layer of this aspect of India.
Historian Dr Rohit Phalgaonkar says, “Goans do travel worldwide. But we hardly
get a chance to taste the local taste of states like Gujarat, Rajasthan etc.
Lokotsav provides a wide range of food items which have a local traditional
flavour of their own.”
In Goa, we could easily source a restaurant
selling fish thali, however, finding treats popular in other states, that too
made by the people of that particular state, can be a rather difficult task. “The
only thing better than savouring these treats at Lokotsav would be to actually
travel to these states and savour the local cuisines, but that isn’t really
feasible in terms of time and money. These stalls from different states with
their freshly made food items are a great way to literally taste a slice of
life different from our own; it’s like a mini trip via our taste buds,” says
Namita Shirodkar from Panjim.
Patrons of the festival have been travelling
from across the state to be a part of this annual fair. “The fair has a wide
range of garments and handicraft items. It’s rare to get such exhibition or
festival happening, so we flock here every year,” says Maryann D’Souza from
Margao.
Another aspect of this festival is that it
brings to Goa pocketful of memories for the people from other states who now
call Goa home, whether it is eating their favourite snack or setting their eyes
on an artistry that reminds them of home, or the opportunity to watch their
traditional dance in all its brilliance. Says Kapil Kishor Korgaonkar, “Though
Goa is a small state, it is home to people from different states of India, who
attend this festival in large numbers to enjoy the delicacies.”
This year, the Department of Art and Culture is
organising the 17th National level Arts and Crafts fair ‘Lokotsav’ in joint
collaboration with West Zone Cultural Centre, Udaipur in association with Kala
Academy and Sports Authority of Goa at Darya Sangam, Kala Academy, Panjim. The
festival is being organised to provide a platform to the traditional craft
persons and folk artists from different parts of the country and from the state
of Goa to display and sell their arts and crafts. The ongoing festival will
conclude on January 17.
