It is almost four hundred years old and is still loved by everyone in the state. The Bonderem festival is native to the village of Divar and has been celebrated by the residents of that island with great gusto for over thirty-seven years. This year however like everything in the world, it will be different. The organizers have decided to go virtual. The mock fights, the friendly competition will be missing this year. This year the St Mathias Sports Club did not organize their celebrations due to the virus and it will be the Piedade Youth Association that will organize the celebrations online.
Anyone with a yen for history will be aware that the celebration of this festival has a unique story behind it. It is said that many years ago, the villagers resented the rules that were adopted for settling disputes that arose due to land disputes. The Portuguese then set up flags to mark areas where the villagers were unable to take over the lands of the nearby villages. The villagers protested by knocking down all the flags. The Bonderam festival is celebrated in the memory of those protests. Every year in August, Divar comes alive with bubbling activity of the Bonderam festival. The people residing here come together to celebrate this festival and a carnival-like atmosphere is created here. Colourful tableaux are created by the people and a massive parade takes place. This year none of that will happen.
Beato D’Mello ex-President of the Piedade Youth Association said “One has to adjust to the new realities caused by the virus and adapt. This year it will be online and the show will be available for all to see on the association’s Facebook page on August 29 from 7 pm to 9 pm”. The show he said would in three parts with the former Presidents first expressing their best wishes for a great festival followed by the President Sanjay Naik declaring it open. This year due to the virus, there will not be any parades but it will be an opportunity for viewers to learn about the festival’s past, watch clips of great performances in the past courtesy a documentary which has been made by Brijesh Kakodker. He said “I strongly believe that every Goan has a soft corner towards Divar. This festival is unique and does not happen anywhere else”.
The idea for the documentary titled XIM was born after Clarence Fernandes the VP of the group saw a video made by Brijesh two years ago about Bonderem. The documentary which will be played on the 29th focuses on the history, heritage of Divar as well as the festival. Clarence said “It is important the spirit is kept alive. People know Divar but not the island behind it”. He added that a payment gateway was being installed to encourage people to contribute whatever amount they could afford.
A man who has been deeply involved in the promotion of the culture and tradition of Divar is Marius Fernandes. He said “This virus has ensured that we will have to change the way we have been doing things”. He said last year I introduced the idea of a Bonderem Heritage walk during the St Mathias traditional Bondrem last year. People went to various houses, had sweets and it was an eye-opener. I was thinking of something this year and then the virus happened”. He said festivals will have to be celebrated differently and with the long term effects of the virus, there could be shortages of essential commodities which would be tragic he said because Bonderem was a harvest festival.
This year certainly marks a turn in the manner in which this festival will be celebrated. Time will tell if this will be the way of the future or just an aberration.
