VALPOI: In an era where the use of natural products is gaining momentum, Suryakant Gaonkar, hailing from Bhuipal village in Sattari taluka, has been a steadfast advocate of natural products and a profound love for nature for the past 12 years.
Gaonkar’s natural colors, meticulously prepared to celebrate the festival of colours – Holi, are now sought after by people from across Goa. Despite the abundance of chemically-prepared colours in the market, Gaonkar staunchly promotes the use of natural colour powders, citing the various health issues associated with synthetic alternatives.
With the assistance of his family members, including his wife, children, siblings, and even their children, Gaonkar prepares approximately 1,500 kgs of different colours using nature’s bounty such as flowers, leaves, fruits, and other organic materials like indigo, saffron, and turmeric. “Though chemically prepared colours are available in plenty, they are also known to cause all kinds of problems for people and that is why I have always advocated using natural colours,” he said.
“This year I could not give much time for this annual activity of mine and I am grateful to my wife Jyotma who has prepared 1,200 kgs of colours to celebrate this festival on March 25,” he added.
“I generally begin the Holi colour-making process from December,” Gaonkar revealed, emphasizing his self-taught mastery in this art form. “As Holi marks the beginning of spring and end of winter, it is associated with colours and there should not be any negative outcome of celebrating this joyous festival by using chemical-based colours,” he said, explaining why he undertakes this ardous task every year.
Suryakant, in his mid-40’s now, is an avid nature lover and promotes conservation of biodiversity. In fact, he is the first person from the taluka to be awarded the Biodiversity Conservation Award.
His expeditions into the forests in search of natural fibres for colour production have turned him into a repository of knowledge regarding the flora and fauna of the region. Gaonkar has penned down 360 articles on forest trees, which have been featured in local newspapers and magazines. Suryakant has now written a book titled ‘Gomantakatil Pushpavaibhav’, meaning ‘Produce of Gomantak’, which is scheduled to be released in April.
Moreover, Gaonkar has conducted workshops at various schools to educate students about preparing colours using natural products, remaining committed to spreading the message of celebrating Holi in an organic and sustainable manner.
