Three Feasts, Two Cheers! Recently, I've tried to participate in Goan village culture so it was a trip to Betalbatin, Colva, and then the Navelim church feasts.
The Betalbatin feast was on a small scale and well organized. It had the rustic, old-world ambience along with the usual plastic buckets and other items which were on display including traditional Goan sweets. What appeared odd, to my eyes at least, were the sweet stalls which were identical and in need of careful investigation. The sweets, I noticed, in more than ten stalls were all the same; variety, color and size. I smelt a rat and so befriended the owner of one of the stalls who confidentially explained after a few queries that they all get the sweets from the same source. His explanation appeared to be satisfactory although it did leave me with a touch of disappointment in my heart. As I was still curious and in the mood to explore village feast culture, on this occasion at Colva, I saw the same intriguing pattern although this time it did leave me with a sense of déjà vu rather than a feeling of being letdown. Is this how it goes in Goa's village fairs nowadays? Is this how we celebrate our feasts in the twenty-first century? The Betalbatim and Colva feasts, to end on a positive note, were well organized. Next, a few weeks later, I visited the Navelin church feast. It was something else. Compared to the other two village feasts it was on a much bigger scale. I guess Navelim is more important and developed than Betalbatim and Colva. But is it organized? At the Navelim feast there was more confusion than I could handle, a real leader in making a mess of everything. I was on a scooter on what I thought at the time was a road but to my surprise there were people criss-crossing the street - very crowded it was - along with cars and vendors competing on both sides of the road. How will I get out of this mess became the most existential question in my life. When I decided to brave it and somehow return to my quiet and peaceful banana garden around my house, having reached almost the end of the road, I was told the exit was shut! It was time to make a u-turn (not a political one however) and start all over again. Are the people of Navelim proud of their ability to create anarchy? Does this go on year after year? Surely, neither the villagers nor the visitors to the feasts are masochists. Is there any other explanation? I enjoy fish even though nowadays I feel like a fish out of water in Goa. The wholesale fish market is one of my favorite places where I can interact with the vendors in a way which is reminiscent of a Goa from a distant past. It would be nice to see the fish market a lot cleaner, though. Nothing fancy but if each fish vendor made a nominal contribution the wholesale fish market near Betalbatim would be a lot cleaner and more people would want to visit it I suppose. More cleanliness, good for business? More than cleanliness being next to godliness, I believe it is good for business. Will my suggestion be heard and acted on? Or do we need our Goan Defence Minister to fly down to Goa's wholesale fish market and execute 'a surgical strike'?
