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THE GOA CARNIVALThe colourful three-day Goan festival, celebrated just before the Lenten fast, is an integral part of the Portuguese heritage of Goa and epitomizes the fun-loving culture, characteristic to Goa. The carnival was originally introduced as a naughty celebration in which flour, eggs, oranges, mud, dirty water and other liquids was aimed at passersby. It was also an occasion for unchecked eating. Even the convents distributed cakes and pastries. The present-day carnival in Goa has retained the core of these festivities, while adapting and amalgamating it with the local culture. A king of chaos called King Momo (the Greek god of satire and laughter) is elected, who presides over the three-day festivities during which street plays, songs, dances, and impromptu farces mocking the establishment are performed before an enthusiastic audience.Carnival in Goa reflects the natural resources, cultural heritage, artistic genius and sensitive ethos to make it an exotic pageant of colour and mirth of unrivalled beauty and exuberance. The Carnival attracts visitors from all over India and abroad. |
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