In Goa, during an exhausting year, there comes a time when folks
need to get out of town and just have some quality family time. Well, luckily,
Goans have the advantage of having the Ganesh Chaturti vacation. And at this
point any one would just want to relax and celebrate a good festival, among
bright colours, the right choice of idol, decorative houses, sweet smelled
kitchens packed with loads of food and modaks. And yes all of those things
mentioned in your high school essays on Ganesh Chaturti. Don’t forget the new
saree.
But, there is more meaning to the festival than one can ever
imagine, and one of that is simply travelling with your loved ones during the
Ganesh vacation. Like they say, ‘The true meaning of a festival only comes
alive when you share, care and enjoy with your friends and enemies’.
Many are going out of Goa, or coming
to Goa during this festive season. There are few who just do rare things to enjoy
the positive vibes of the festival and one of them is Shimonti Gupta, owner at Cuebebar Smokehouse. This
season she plans on taking her kids to Shantiniketan, the place where our
national Anthem was written by India’s beloved poet Rabindranath Tagore. Taking
them to that place is an experience in itself. The whole region has deep values
and so many important memories of our nation. What would be a better Ganesh
Chaturti surprise then travelling to Shantiniketan?“Ganesh puja always comes with a long vacation for
schools and this is our opportunity to travel with our kids. Travelling to
Shantiniketan the home of Rabindranath Tagore will be an amazing experience to
learn about art and literature,” explains Shimonti.
While some are busy travelling
outside Goa, there are Goans who are travelling to their ancestral homes in Goa
itself. The Ghanekar house in Panjim, located opposite the mermaid garden is
filled with family members coming from different parts of Goa.
Shreeya.K.Ghanekar, the owner of Study mate Academy, living in Ponda will be
travelling to visit her ancestral home like every time, “It is one time in a
year that we actually meet our whole family here. There is nothing so blissful than
this. This year will be precious because a new member of the family, my newborn
will be a part of the celebration,” shares Shreeya. Travelling to your family home
is one of the best aspects of the festival.
Journeying from your homes to
other venues and houses is yet another the interesting way of travel this
Ganesh Chaturti season. It is always know that a person observing while
travelling is a faithful traveler. Nikeeta Parab from Pernem finds it
captivating to go around towns and cities of Goa visiting several police
stations, public venues, temples, and all her friends’ house in order to get a
different experience from every quarter of Goa during the festival. Now that is
an intriguing wanderer!
Likewise, another explorer
is curious about the celebrations of the festival in other places and is all
set to leave Goa during the Ganesh week to Belgaum. The main aim to go there is
to discover how the festival’s tradition goes on there. “It’s something that I
and my friends have always done, it’s my dream; we visit
different places and get to know the unique type of celebration there so that
we get ideas for doing something creative here in Goa. Last year too we had
been to Belgaum. Next year we are planning to visit Mumbai during the same
season,” says Ashish Kerkar, from Sangolda Guirim.
This Ganesh Chaturti, Goa
does seem to have some really curious travellers, all going somewhere for a
particular reason. There’s no better way to celebrate this festival by having a
sole purpose. Because at the end of the day, this is the way that a person
truly lives, loves and enjoys the festival.
