PANJIM: Excerpts from Timoteo Fernandes’ opening remarks on the Herald TV programme Point-Counterpoint, wherein he speaks about the loss of people’s focus in today’s Carnival.
He spoke haltingly and simply and while editing we’ve used the same words in English or in translation for he lapsed into Konkani and briefly Portuguese at times)
Meet the fruit-selling “girl” and the Gonsaboil
Carnaval was spontaneous. People dressed up in different ways, visiting houses, and families. Before I used to dress as a woman, selling fruits to my neighbours. People were very happy. I used to keep changing my dress and many didn’t recognise me. Even my brother Lawrence and I used to dress up as Gonsaboil (bull). Every year we used to change our attire.
I had a musical group with a guitarist, and a violinist & my brother Tome used to sing. People used to ‘hire’ us for birthdays free of cost. One day Mr Vasco Alvares invited us to play for his son’s birthday. There I saw a magazine from Brazil, Rio. I read the full magazine dedicated to the carnival and decided to organise exactly the same as I read the next Saturday.
The King on a bullock cart
I arranged a bullock cart from Merces and purchased for Re 1 scrap paper of different colours, tore them into long strips and decorated this bullock cart. I called all my friends, neighbours, and relatives and gathered them at Fountains. I dressed as King Momo and sat in the bullock cart and sang all the way we went to Jardim Garcia de Orta.
When the cows had to be hugged on carnival day to calm then down
When moving around then, people didn’t know what was happening. Everyone was just staring at us. Near the (old) secretariat, the bull got excited because of all the noise the people were making. The bullock cart person got down and hugged the cows and calmed them down. We proceeded towards the Jardim Garcia de Orta. This was in 1965. I paid the bullock cart Rs 5 making my cost a total of Rs 6.
From bullock cart to a jeep; Carinval with Rs 20
Next year, I asked the municipality to lend me their open municipality jeep and they obliged. This time I organised a small procession and called some small groups also to join in and in this way, it became a bit bigger. And with all this, the procession we went on the same route and reached Jardim Garcia de Orta. For that, I paid Rs 5 for five musicians or Rs 20 for the entire setup.
In 1967, the chief minister decided to do it in a bigger way. Mr Mayekar was the minister of tourism at that time. So they formed a committee and from then on in 1967 the carnival is going on in this way.
Why in Panjim only? How Timoteo became Momo after Momo
After some time, I thought to myself why the carnaval is being held in Panjim only? So I decided to organize the same in north Goa & south Goa. Once again the committee requested me to become King Momo. I officially became King Momo three times. Then after some time Chief Officer of Mapusa municipality, known to me, requested me to organise the Carnaval in Mapusa and become the King Momo there also.
