Diwali, the beautiful festival of light is around the corner and with it comes the notorious drunken Narkasur night celebrations. After the tragedy that took place in Punjab, it would be in good taste to curb the all out revelry that Goa allows to play out each year. As a former devotee of the binge drinking, hell raising and rough housing that has become a rite of passage for Goan youth on sacred festival days, I would like to advise parents to think of some of the misadventures that can occur.
After a spirit-fueled narkasur night a decade ago, a friend of mine, a gem of a human being, still bears the scars of a brass knuckles punch on his face; his only crime was trying to stop a fight and he spent years attending court hearings as a witness. Another time, our pack of 40-odd wolves spent Diwali’s eve looking for a doctor after a wannabe goon put his fist through a window and promptly passed out at the sight of his own blood. I was 16 when a San Joao bash at a resort ended with organizers fishing out the lifeless, gray body of a youth around my age from a muddy swimming pool; he might have been one of the many youngsters who were cannon-balling off the terrace into the water.
Enterprising club owners, who enjoy not being held culpable for alcohol related mishaps, are pushing for St Patrick’s Day celebrations in Goa too, following the American tradition of ritualistic debauchery in his memory. Allowing a few days for lawlessness is a western failing, our Goan kids are talented, resilient and moreover, future sole providers for parents who sacrificed tons to educate them. A small donation in cash or kind to orphanages or homes for the aged on birthdays and festivals by parents is more becoming of Goa’s unique way of life; giving teens carte blanche to commit sacrilege on what should ideally be sober and family oriented occasions is one shortcoming that has to be remedied.
