Nightlong fun on Diwali eve SANJAY BANERJEE
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2003 09:20:49 PM ]
PANAJI: The night before Diwali was a heady mix of art and tradition in coastal Goa as the excited youth waged a virtual war against Narakasura at dawn on Friday, burning the effigies with aplomb.
It was an all-night celebration in the capital town as the milling crowds with children in tow were on their annual evening out to have a dekko at the demon of the hell. Designer Narakasura with glowing eyes, emperor's outfit, jumbo sickle in the hand symbolising the evil enthralled one and all as tourists were pleasantly surprised to find a different celebration of good over evil other than the Ravanbadh (slaying of the demon) in the North.
Bikes sped around and the gung-ho boisterous youth heralded celebration in Mapusa, Margao and Vasco as in the adjoining villages.
Stuffed with firecrackers, it was all war let loose at dawn as in some places the youth struggled to break the arms and legs and the heads of the effigies setting them ablaze.
``Burning of Narakasura effigies started somewhere around the mid 1940s and since then it has been a tradition. It is a legendary story of Lord Krishna vanquishing the demon Narakasura on Naraka Chaturdashi who had kept captive some 16,000 women. The celebration in Goa has now become commercialised with competition and prizes coaxing more participation," says 80-year-old Prabhakar Angle who has authored several books on Goa.
With around one-hour non-stop cracker burst, a thick pall of smoke engulfed the wooded countryside. The excitement over, the revellers returned home, had the traditional bath; tore apart a bitter fruit (Kareet) with the toe, tasted it before savouring the special sweets made for Diwali. Predictably, the morning dawned on a quiet note with hardly anybody on the roads and few vehicles moving. After the virtual war, it was time for sleep until evening when the dwellings exuded warmth in the traditional lamps lit up to usher in Diwali.
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