The night of the Goan kinda awakening

MEGHNA MAITI

Mumbai



It doesn’t take long for ghoulish, cavernous fiery eyes to assert
themselves through the wild carousing of the Goan hippies and the
creepy darkness of the night. As they come closer and closer I see a
pair of those beady green eyes assuming form and shape to turn into a
colossal demon or Narkasura of pre-Diwali night. Standing around Goa’s
bustling Panjim area at 12 0’clock in the night before a gigantic
effigy of Narakasura I feel a sudden sense of smallness as the demon
seems to howl like a hot wind and demands obeisance. I wait dumbstruck
like a deer in headlights. Meanwhile, at one of the retro pubs along
the sea shore in North Goa, after a fair dose of drinking and dancing
people are all set to party till the wee hour of the morning to dispel
the gloom of their souls and usher in collective hope.



On the sultry end-October night before Diwali in Goa, people in
general are not horrified or repelled by the demons in every nook and
corner of the main city. The night is not merely about the huge
effigies of the demons filled with grass, waste paper and crackers but
that where evil could always be overpowered by good. Thus on this
night, Goans wait till the crack of the dawn to burn the effigies of
the demons. They light lamps in their houses to mark the end of
darkness and the beginning of light in their lives. They also come out
in hordes to be part of the celebration of goodness. Viva La Goa, a
reveller wishes me from his open- hooded jeep in Panjim, cordially
passing on his bottle of Fenny as a gesture of goodness. I refuse him
bluntly and move on, yet again fearing the ire of the demon.



Legend says Narakasura is the son of the earth goddess Bhudevi and
Lord Vishnu and is said to have grown to be a demon through his
association with Banasura. Drunk with power, he turns into a
control-freak and a womaniser who steals the earrings of Aditi, the
mother goddess and usurps some of her territory and also kidnaps
around 16,000 women! He pursues devi Kamakhya for marriage, solely
motivated by his carnal desire. However, soon lord Krishna comes to
the rescue of the hapless women. During the wee hours of Naraka
Chaturdashi, he kills Narakasura. The overnight festival of Narakasura
in Goa has a sort of soul-cleansing impact on the common people with a
significance of a larger life outside the narrow confines of humdrum
existence.



On Diwali eve, a part of North Goa is almost flooded with people from
all across India and the world. A flock of tourists gather around the
majestic Panjim church, wearing Hawaiian shirts and cowboy shorts or
loose white cotton pajamas, hissing and hooting the slow traffic and
cheering brightly-lit Narakasuras on the back of the trucks. Right
across the church, a big poster claims this is one of the big
festivals of the state and this is only going to get bigger from next
year onwards. A group of chirpy blue-eyed women hula hoop backwards
and forwards to the tune of a Goan remix while a gentleman donning a
floppy straw hat goes all bleary-eyed with the swirls of smoke from
his tobacco pipe. The place becomes a carnival magic, resonating to
everybody. It lifts the burnt-out spirits of everybody. It disappoints
nobody.



This time around, Goa welcomed me with an air of festivity and
promise. The Goa Tourism Development Corporation hotel in Panjim where
I put up is a modest accommodation which provides basic amenities-
clean sheets, water among others. Nikhil Desai, managing director of
GTDC says the company plans to portray Goa as monsoon wedding,
festival tourism destinations. It has also invited private players for
activities such as hot air balloons, segway tours (guided city tours)
and horse trails. They are planning to start helicopter services in
the state as well.



Later that evening, I attend an exclusive Diwali-special mid-night
cruise on Santa Monica. From the deck of the boat, Mandovi River looks
like a dark, sinister terrain forming an illusory world with the
floating casinos on one side, small steamers on the other side, the
sight of flickering ships far off- on the horizon and the neon glow
signboards of the city away on the shore. Gavin Dias, deputy general
manager of GTDC inaugurates the programme on the boat.  The local
dancers put up a colourful performance of Goan folk dance, Divli
dance, special UV Diwali act while the audience too joins in to play
fun couply games. Hale and hearty evening ends with much cheering,
clapping and laughter over bottles of beer and Bacardi Breezer. To add
to that, the dinner spread includes wholesome Goan delicacies such as
prawn xacuti, chicken balchao, fish amboli among others.



The following afternoon, I stroll along the narrow, clean lanes of
Fontainhas; peep into the neat, elegant interior of the Portugese
villas on either side, most of which have been converted into hotels.
I also visit Mario Miranda gallery.



On the last night of Goa, I go to the retro pub on Baga beach. The air
is thick with the ebb and flow of smoke, the changing waves of gritty
rock numbers, the boom of the microphone. The deejay slowly increases
the tempo of the music to pull people to the dance floor. While some
people hit the psychedelic dance floor, others romance along the
moonlit beach till the wee hours of the morning…soon it would be time
for another sunrise- the end of darkness or illusion and who knows-
even a new kinda awakening.



meghnamaiti@mydigitalfc.com



ENDS