Goa: All roads led to the erstwhile Portuguese state of Goa as global and domestic tourists rocked to the musical beat of the famed “Carnaval” from February 14 in the capital Panjim, Mapuca, Margao, Vasco and Porvorim.
While Brazil’s ‘samba’ Carnival tops the global celebrations, Goa follows next as a top “Carnaval” destination that captures the tourists imagination.
Floats representing different topics ranging from environment, fishing, waste management, partytime and even the ‘Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI)’ +Anti-Corruption+ drive made their presence felt through their messages like “No Bribe, No Fear – CBI is Here.”
Inaugurating the Carnaval from Porvorim on February 14, Goa’s Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte recalled nostalgic moments of the past Carnivals, saying “The Carnaval parades started a long time ago with +King Momo+ and his queen – riding a humble bullock cart – to give the clarion call for four-day celebrations highlighting traditional communal harmony — before +beginning of the LENT season.+
Emphasizing “saving Goa’s Heritage,” Clowns and children literally ushered in a ‘Disneyland’ Carnival moment as they dressed and danced as ‘Peter Pan’ kids in “Froggieland,” and amidst “Indian Safari” wildlife environment settings that were colourfully depicted with tigers, rhinos, bisons, storks, cranes, flamingos, turtles and hornbills.
Six-year-old 1st std student Shreyansh Pednekar chose to highlight Goa’s traditional fishing industry by dressing as its famed Goan fisherman ‘Pele.’
“Welcome to Bollywood” read one float with imitation popular actors dancing to popular Bollywood tunes.
“Drag Queens” too had their day with *Rosaline Fernandes* from ‘Dhobi Talao’ in Mumbai highlighting the Carnaval with the legend “Goa- Land of Sand, Sea and Sun-Have Fun.”
“Space – The Final Frontier” was also seen as the Jedi and Judge Dredd costumers made their presence felt.
One float highlighted a grim message – a ‘helmetless’ corpse lying atop a jeep after a fatal accident and sign “Helmet is Compulsory.”
