Joseph Lewis D’Silva
Carnaval was started by the Portuguese and the Goans have kept it alive long after they left.
As I drift into my days of a very long past, the spirit of ‘intrus’ (as it was then called) which is etched in my mind permanently; and have remained firmly fixed in the folds of my memory; forcibly comes out, whether I welcome it or not, during the carnaval days every year. So, for the benefit of my young readers, I journey back in time to put on view the Carnaval in my slate and pencil days.
Some memories have faded; some are fragile; but, I remember; in order to get into the spirit of ‘intrus’, we wore strange costumes, filled our pockets with ‘cocotes’ (power bombs); pulled a mask over our face and perched a ‘topi’ on our head. Then it was difficult to recognise the person behind this disguise. Some indulged in naughty behaviour with naughty happiness. With ‘cocotes’ we had street fights and every road had its own group of youngsters armed with it. Many people were hit and caught unawares when made a target. Victims showed their discomfort and the culprits’ triumphant laugh boomed all around. Local boys stopped girls on the roads and emptied powder tins on their heads.
In the Goan ‘pastoral’ villages of yore, a few musicians and singers gathered together with the sole aim of preparing a Carnaval ‘Khell’ (street play). The ‘khell’ troupe practiced for months in advance and its drum beats were echoed by hills even at dead of night making even the trees dance in the breeze like Wordsworth’s golden daffodils.
Their stories consisted of humorous skits and sketches of village life; dramatization of folk tales and traditional mythological stories.
In those long-ago days, the music of the ‘Khell’ would wake up the snoring village even from their deep saturated sleep. It would swell everyone’s heart with excitement and pull them towards the sound of Carnaval music, just as a magnet pulls the iron filings.
The ‘Khell’ would fold its tired merry wings just before the sombre penitential period of Lent.
The present Carnival is the show of colourful parade of floats, life size puppets fun frolic and foot-tapping music which wind its way through crowded streets across the state.
This Carnival is associated with the King Momo, who reads in a loud stately voice the decree of fun and frolic in the state. He says: ‘Kha, piya and majja kar’ (Eat, drink and be merry) and to dance to one’s heart’s content by giving up all shyness. He orders thus before the commencement of the Lent season of the Christian calendar, when abstinence becomes the focus. Crowd of spectators gather on the streets to watch this annual spectacular show. Such was the Carnaval of the past; and such is the Carnival in the present in this land of my birth.
