One
of the most talked about and appreciated floats at this year’s
Carnival parade was the one with the realistic animals that touted a
very relevant topic – Save Wildlife. It
was no surprise when
this very float was declared best float in the Club/Institution
category
in Margao, Vasco and Mapusa while bagging the third place in Panjim.
Recreating the
wild side of Goa,
the float
showcased different types of animals and plants with the Lion King
taking the lead. The float was
created by the
St Francis Xavier Club of Portais – Panjim.
The
float,
which comprised nearly 30 participants including the dancers,
had a lion
on the top of the float along with Tarzan. Down the huge rock, the
peacock was the main attraction.
The float was surrounded
by animals like the
tiger,
leopard, bison, rabbit, fox, deer, wild boar, snake, squirrel,
porcupine, monkey and butterflies. Interestingly,
the feat of creating this float, constructing and accommodating so
many elements in a harmonious manner, was completed
within 20 days.
If you enjoyed reading this article, you can help support our journalism by adding OHeraldo as a preferred source.
Keeping
up with the trends, the club wanted to bring about awareness about
the wildlife as
well as the poaching
that happens on the sly.
“We wanted to represent the wildlife and a forest guard catching a
poacher. Animals like rabbits, deer and wild boar are hunted for
their meat and it is
high time that
we protect
these animals,” says Thomas Cardozo, leader
of the group
of youngsters that
created
the float.
After
winning the competition last year at different parades with their
‘Sea Life’ float, the club wanted to keep up with their
reputation and make another memorable float for Goans this year. Led
by Thomas, the boys who created the float include Rupesh, Cajie,
Romario, Saiprasad, Saiesh, Cyrus,
Gladston,
Chotu, Dean, Presley, Clive, Prenvil, Anthony, Rosario, Norbert,
Clinto, Vicky, Gauresh, Yusuf, Amey, Rajesh, Krupesh, Shetty, Savio,
Shaun, Russel, Sainath, Neil, Elton, Martin and Lokesh, who led the
dancers. The music was provided by DJs
Lenny, Dharma
and Deep.
With
less than a month for the
Carnival, the
club had to face a number of challenges in order to make it in time.
Though the Government declared a scheme for floats this year, the
float had to be prepared before they could
collect any cash. “We had to submit
an application to the Goa Tourism Development
Corporation
with specifications of how many participants will be on the float,
the music equipment and even the vehicle that will be used. One
criterion
for the scheme was that the float had to be presented at all the
venues of the Carnival parades. We would
then receive
one lakh rupees after the paperwork was
completed. We
are thankful to the members of the club and our well wishers who
generously sponsored the float so that it could be prepared on time,”
says Thomas.
“A
great float requires a lot of materials and finance. It is not easy
to carry
on without encouragement.
Though we won last year, we were still not financially strong to fund
this year’s float. The prize money of the winners should be
increased to motivate youngsters to bring new concepts to the
Carnival parades,” concludes Thomas.
