Viva Goa! Modi & Gandhi Impersonators Steal the Show at Margao Carnival 2019
Margao-Goa: The second day of the Goa Carnival 2019 at ‘Margao’, the commercial hub of Goa had more fun and frolic, and not chaotic like it was on the First day of the carnival in Goa’s capital city-‘Panjim’. King Momo held sway over the state’s commercial capital as music rent the air, fun and frolic spilled onto the streets, and revelers made merry with Margao playing host to the Carnival float parade organized by Margao Fatorda Carnival Committee.
The parade took off from the old market circle and culminated near Lake View Plaza, Fatorda. Dignitaries joined the revelers in welcoming King Momo and his contingent as they led the procession. A mix of tradition and creativity marked the tableaus across categories. Thematic floats depicting social issues and public causes were the hallmark of the parade. Several other floats and participants sent a message on giving Goans formalin-free fish, to not litter water bodies, not to dump garbage in plastic bags and not poach tigers. Yet another float had a social message to do away with drunken driving.
Tableaus themed on conservation stood out from the rest while those carrying messages of social awareness and communal harmony also garnered attention. Before the parade began, a look-alike of Prime Minister Narendra Modi stole the show with many people clicking selfies with him- The white beard was real, and the look was damn good! He was joined by another participant who was a look-alike of the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi. The energy among those gathered was high with many of them were dressed in colourful attire with face masks and hairdos. The dance and the Goan traditional music also enthralled the gathering.
Tons of Fun, Frolic, Food, Music, Dance and Feni was at Margao Carnaval, and “Viva Carnaval” cry echoed the whole parade route by the thousands of people gathered. The streets were adorned with colorful buntings, banners, masks and themed decor. At the floats parade in Margao, Innovative minds were on display at the carnival float parade while at the same time the tendency to caricature even serious matters were also seen. Over 70 floats participated in the parade that commenced at 4.30 pm and ended at 7.30 pm with King Momo’s float taking three hours to travel the 1.2 km route of the parade.
While a bunch of Harley Davidson riders went ahead of the King Momo float including two lady riders, a few Royal Enfields followed King Momo with three ridden by ladies. King Momo read out his decree inviting visitors from India and abroad to enjoy a clean carnival. A float paid a befitting tribute to the 40 soldiers who lost their lives in a bomb blast in Pulwana. One float parodied the fire services quite badly as a junk vehicle that had to be pushed to start was part of it and the dancers were just freaking out without any synchronized steps.
For a few families from Mangaluru who had to attend a Catholic wedding in Goa, had “Double Damaka” -attending the Wedding reception, and also enjoying two days of Carnival in Panjim and Margao. Speaking to Team Mangalorean, Ms Anitha Pinto from Mangaluru said, “Yes it was a “Double Damaka” for us. If not for the wedding invite we wouldn’t have experienced the Carnival, since it was our first time. The whole family enjoyed every bit of the fun and frolic, the carnival had to offer, and we all loved the floats, even clicking a bunch of selfies. If everything goes well, we will plan on going for the 2020 Goa Carnival”.
Yet another senior couple attending the same wedding reception in Goa, Austin Dias and his wife from Lady Hill/Surathkal, Mangaluru also speaking to Team Mangalorean during a lunch at Anoshka restaurant in Margao said, “We had a nice time at the Panjim Goa Carnival, but unfortunately we have to leave to Mangaluru and therefore can’t attend Margao carnival. If we had known that the Carnival was so much fun, we would have booked our train tickets for later days. Being our first experience of Goa carnival, we will surely plan on visiting Goa for the carnival next year”. Team Mangalorean also ran into more Mangalorean men, who didn’t want to be on camera or comment- I bet they might have lied to their wives that they are going on a work duty?
Following the Parade, was the Carnival Street Dance at the iconic sit outcome massive sidewalks along the Ravindra Bhavan Auditorium which was last year thrown open to the public by the MLA Vijai Sardesai, with a complete revamp and renamed as “Opinion Poll Square”. Going with the whole ideology of Goenkarponn and creating a sit out of a kind. The Carnival night witnessed a huge crowd who simply made the best use of it-dancing, Eating and Drinking! With Goa’s professional bands namely Purple Rain, Pure Magic and Sky High, the crowd grooved to the beats and enjoyed every bit of these live performers, which comprised of Western, Bollywood and Goenchi Baila tunes.
As the night got younger, the stage of bands and musical instruments suddenly upped the tempo and allowed the crowd to let their hair down and dance into the carnival celebrations as these noted Goan bands continued playing. Syed Javed Jaffrey, the Indian actor, voice actor, dancer, comedian, impressionist known for his work in several Bollywood films made a guest appearance, along with Goa’s minister Vijay Sardesai and bunch other business tycoons and politicians, on stage and joined the fun in singing couple of old Hindi songs and a “Juliana” Konkani song, which received loud applaud from the crowd.
Truly it was a memorable event with a great set up, that enthralled the audience, with more to come in the last two more days. Until then Viva Carnaval-Viva Goa! The fun Never Stops in “Amche Goa”!
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