It is a time to relax and let one’s hair down. Four days of absolute revelry. Good food is consumed in
considerable and theres lots of merrymaking.One should not be surprised to see
men applying makeup, wearing dresses and dancing down the streets of Goa. We
are of course talking about the carnival, a celebration of life and an
opportunity to party. It is also an opportunity for those interested in showing
their artistic side.
Every year the carnival is organised and the people
participating take a great deal of effort to present a skit or a message which
they believe is appropriate for Goa. This year was no different. Participants
come from all walks of life and participated with great enthusiasm. There was a
fire fighter who won the clown and joker category and a garage owner who won
the fun junky car category. No surprise there but the attention to detail and
effort taken was commendable.
Dancing away to the
top in the Club category
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Many of the winners
have been participating for several years. There were first timers too like
Joseph Dias and his troupe of around 52 to 55 participants on the float. The
Zumba group they won the Club and Institution Category. Speaking to Café Joseph
said “It was an exciting experience. We were trying to spread the message that
being health meant being happy. Zumba was a perfect fit in the carnival.
Carnival is happiness. People loved watching us and the latin music with that
great vibe made people move with it. Many followed our float. It was wonderful.
This year we only participated in Panjim next year perhaps Margao too”. He said
the latin music he played this on the float brought a whole new level of energy
to the parade. The changing landscape and the change in the social dynamic was
displayed on floats too.
Fate of the
Blacksmiths, gets the traditional winners cap
In the traditional
category Raul Pereira depicted the fate of the Blacksmith with a focus on the
Dovall community which has been swept aside by the movement of outsiders into
the trade. Pereira said, “I create a float after conducting research on an
issue. I then go ahead and create a float. I start work in the month of
November and I take great care. I took my float to Panjim, Margao, Quempem,
Curchorem, Ponda and Shiroda”. He has won on several occasions in the past and
this is another feather in his hat.
Life on a train is a
winner
Melvin Fernandes and
his friends showed life on a train and came away with the first price in the
family category.
When Junky is funky
Terence Carvalho came
first in the fun Junky car category. He said “Every year we have the junk car.
I have been participating for 15 years and every year we win a prize. We had an
old Maruti 800 car made of scarp parts from 8 to 10 different cars. We travel
by the car during the four days and participate. It’s great fun”. You will be
able to see him next year for sure.
When the
fire-fighter is the joker
And finally, there
was Dylan Rodrigues a firefighter who is an artist and he won in the clown and
joker category. He has been participating for six years. A self-taught painter,
he fights fires and saves lives during the day and in the evening, he is
painting. He has taken great effort to depict various movie characters and this
year he was present as Groot.
Every
one had a great time, taking time away from the realities of life with its
myriad challenges.
