MERRY MONTH OF MAY����
Come the month of May and all hell breaks loose in Amchem Goem.
Come the month of May and every susegad Goenkar is charged with
activity. Come the month of May and everyone is out for the kill. The
young and the old, the not-so-young and not-so-old are overnight
transformed into Casanovas and Ballerinas. Come the month of May and all
the buses and taxis are packed like sardine tins. Come the month of May and
Amchem Goem is invaded on all 4 sides by the Kuwaitkars, Dubaikars, and
of�course the Bombaimkars (Read..Mumboikars) and last but not the least the
Bhonvddekars (Tourists), our most honoured guests. The influx is so
great and unprecedented that the easy going fun loving Goenkar is
often caught on the wrong foot. There is not a single corner of the land
left untouched where the poor Goenkar can breathe in peace. He is totally
denied of his rightful afternoon siesta, for every available place is taken
over by these holiday makers and fun seekers and the Goenkars is left out
in the cold, perhaps �out in the heat� would sound very much better. They
crowd our buses, our immaculate beaches, our churches, markets, tavernas,
theatres, restaurants and what-have-you. The list could be unending. Come
the month of May and all the wells and taps run dry, when on the contrary
the innumerable barrels piled up on the loft overflow incessantly with
�Goenchi Feni� the spirit inducing liquid. And sometimes it makes me
wonder why should all these things happen only during the month of
May? And there is no one in sight who could give me a convincing answer
and so finally I have to reluctantly accept the fact that there�s something
special about this month of the year, for after all it is the Merry Month
of May!
�Marriage are made in heaven but they are solemnised in Amchem
Goem and there is absolutely no limit to this ritual during the month of
May. And for some reasons I am fully convinced that all the eligible
bachelors/spinsters find it rather exceptionally pleasant despite the
scorching summer heat to have their Big Day in the Merry Month of
May. Across the length and breadth of Amchem Goem one will find that the
best halls, Open air lawns and all the Big City and Village Bands are fully
booked right through the month. I feel that to be a musician is the best
part-time profession one can indulge in Amchem Goem, for there is no end to
the lucrative offers coming your way not only from within Amchem Goem but
from far and wide and even as far as from the deserts of Persian Gulf
irrespective of the month whether it is August or the Merry month of
May. Just a little bit of drumming or freaking out at the drums or jamming
blindly at the key-boards and screaming at the top of your voice is all it
needs. That�s the trick of the trade. A sure way to do the fast
buck. And I still curse myself for having given up my guitar classes
several years ago and condemned my guitar for good just because I was not
comfortable playing the �F Chord� and it�s changes. In the meantime my
guitar continues to gather a thick layer of dust in the secluded corner of
my room hopelessly waiting to be strummed. But, deep within me I know that
day will never come.
The religious side of every Goenkar comes to full view
particularly during the Merry Month of May. For, every kilometer that you
travel, you are bound to come across a couple of road side �Crosses� and
small chapels. For all the ll months preceding the month of May these
sacred places are completely ignored or rather forgotten about. But, come
the Merry Month of May and you will notice that they have received a fresh
coat of white wash and the interiors and exteriors are richly decorated
with festoons and buntings. Everyday after dusk the activity begins.
Devotees gather around, singing devotional hymns and prayers to the tune of
the traditional violin. This is the best occasion for the professional
veteran and amateur violinist to come into lime light and at the same time
make hay while the sun (Read moon) shines. The ceremony ends by
distributing hot boiled grams which are washed down by the �Goenchi
Feni�. And more often than not I feel these litanys to the Holy Cross are
mere rituals and there�s nothing much solemn about them, for the younger
folks specially indulge in every conceivable fun, but prayers. For them it
is yet another form of adventure and entertainment at the cost of the few
really pious souls.
Football is the essence of life of every Goenkar. This is one form
of sport in Amchem Goem which can trigger the best of friendship and at
the same time the worst of enmity between two fans. Crazy fans will
paddle, ride, drive or traverse miles and miles on foot to see their
favourite football team in action. And the merry Month of May is the best
occasion when football in Amchem Goem is at its peak in the villages. Every
open space available is converted into a playground, every paddy field
resembles a mini football stadium. No feast in Amchem Goem may it be
church or chapel feast is complete without a football match. And more
often than not, the ever generous Celebrant of the feast will be only too
glad to donate a trophy or two to the local club in order to have a
exhibition football match to entertain the villagers on the feast day. As
far as entertainment is concerned, football comes next only to the
Tiatr! But come the Merry Month of May and there is a flood of tiatrs and
non-stop tiatrs hitting the Goan scene one after another and one better
than the other. And every playwright is hell bent on creating new records
in Amchem Goem a-la-Sachin Tendulkar hitting centuries and double centuries
within the shortest inning possible.
Come the Merry Month of May and the mercury in the thermometer
shoots up to the top, the sun is scorching hot, it actually cuts through
your tender skin. Tempers boil, well and spring waters are no longer cool,
the fans give out hot air too. But, every cloud has a silver lining, and
in this case we have the �Urraca� which acts as the Cooling Agent. It is
widely acknowledged fact by now that there�s nothing like a chilled bottle
of �Urraca�mixed with Limca on a hot May afternoon. The more you try to
avoid it, the more you feel like having it, and every sip leads to another,
and another, and yet another till you are flying on cloud nine under the
blue skies. Though I still wonder at times whether this is really true, or
dose one actually find himself on cloud nine, for I am still to try it myself.
Come the Merry Month of May, and the road accidents in Amchem Goem
are on the increase, nobody gives a damn to the traffic rules and the road
signs. All cautions are thrown to the wind, perhaps, it is the effect of
the seasonal �urraca� that plays the mischief.
And finally while all the tourists and the sons of the soil
returning to their mother land are engaged in the Merrry Making day in and
day out, the poor Goenkar is forced to follow suit with the others even
though he is painfully aware that it is not his idea of fun, but, he
still takes a break leaving behind all his daily chores, not because he
has the time or the inclination to do so, but only because it�s the Merry
Month of May!!
Com�on go ahead make the best of the Merry Month of May!
Daniel F. de Souza
Vasco da Gama - Goa
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