The Goa Govt. has rightly decided to reduce funding for the carnavil bash in Goa. It is wrongly presumed to be a Christian festival prior to the period of lent and penance. It is the state that has exploited this tradition by excessively allocating state resources to attract the tourists. It has therefore, succeeded in creating an image of fun and street revelry. Along with the carnavil, the otherwise quiet shigmo celebration received a shot -in-the-arm.
In fact the shigmo parade is artistic, elaborate in its display of mythical characters and conveying a pure message of culture religious tradition of significance. This custom and festival of sorts of merry making has albeit benefited the hotel industry, transport business, alcohol and beverage manufacturers, traders et. al. It is perfectly justified now, for the state to withdraw itself limiting public funding and let the beneficiaries foot the bill. Of course, care must be taken that it is not completely commercialized and there is an element of culture and entertainment in a right proportion.
The original carnavll was confined to villages only and mostly in the south Goa It was time for country plays staged in different villages, sometimes centralized through local contributions. The govt. capitalized it as street tamsha on the lines of carnaval in Brazil to exploit its potential for tourism purpose and thus corrupted the original tradition by drawing the villagers on the streets of towns, creating unprecedented traffic problems and crowd management.
