9 minute read
World Goa Day
Celebrating World Goa Day
A Proud Occasion For Goenkars Globally
Goa is known for being a hospitable state, welcoming outsiders with warm arms. However, while we amalgamate other cultures into our community, it is important that we retain and celebrate our own identity, as Goans. To attain this objective, we celebrate World Goa Day on the 20th of August every year. Goans around the world come together to commemorate our unique heritage, by organizing various events, festivals, etc. This day came into existence when ‘Konkani’ (the language spoken by Goans and people in the Konkan region extending up to Karwar, Udupi, and Mangalore) was included in the Indian Constitution and recognized as one of India's official languages by the Indian Parliament on the 20th of August 1992. This year’s World Goa Day theme song ‘Goa Mhojem’ has been composed by Colin D’Cruz from Jazz Goa and has been sung by none other than the living legend Usha Uthup. As we gear up for this year’s celebration, ItsGoa speaks to some of the organizers of World Goa Day events taking place around the world.
Along with Goa Sudharop, a California-based NGO working towards development in Goa, Mr. Rene Barretto, currently residing in the UK, is the brainchild of this non-profit endeavour. He and his team of volunteers have been working virtually to connect with Goans and Goan associations across the globe, from Sharjah to Australia, in order to make this celebration a success every year. They observed that Goans abroad like to keep in touch with each other by forming groups or associations. While some gatherings, such as Goans in Quebec and the California Goans, have an assigned date dedicated to the remembrance of Goan heritage, Mr. Barretto and his team work to inculcate the concept of World Goa Day in these and other Goan associations. Mr. Barreto mentioned two sets of World Goa Day celebrations, one in the western world, where the summer months are July, August, and September, and one in Goa, after the rains, during the months of September and October. New team members come onboard every year, spanning different time zones
and age groups. The team aids in drafting out invites, designing communications, video-editing, broadcasting, etc. The activities and events are diverse, ranging from picnics to buffets and singalongs.
However, over the last few years, as a team, they set a particular theme for each edition of World Goa Day. This year’s World Goa Day theme is “Celebrating our Global Goans.’ Organizations are encouraged to host events related to the theme, along with incorporating the World Goa Day logo, designed by Mr. Neville Menezes, into their flyers, posters, videos, and other communication material.
Marius Fernandes, popularly known as Goencho Festakar, has been organising World Goa Day celebrations in Goa since the year 2000. He disclosed that there will be a World Goa Day celebration this year on the 15th of August at the Peaceful Society in Madkai, Ponda. The celebration will start at 11 am and end at 3pm. Multiple events like Konkani cultural programmes, Konkani skits, Ghumot dance, various workshops, and a talk on World Goa Day by Dr Gwendolyn De Ornelas will take place at the celebration.
Mr. Joseph Lourenco, is the President of California Goans Association. A native of the village of CalaporSt. Cruz, Joseph migrated to the US in 2000. He was one of the founding members of the California Goans Association back in 2005. The association has a current strength of around a 100 Goans. During the peak of the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, California Goans were a part of the Northern American Association, a group put together by Selwyn from Canada, Effie Tavares, and George Pinto from Goa Sudharop, who raised funds for Covid-19 victims in Goa. Philomena Pinto, one of the founders of Goa Sudharop, has been a major promoter of the celebration of the feast of St. Joseph Vaz. California Goans, consisting mainly of first-generation Goan Americans, have been celebrating WGD since 2013. They hosts a harvest festival merged with WGD.
This year, their celebrations include a rendition of the WGD song, ‘Goa Mhojem’ , followed by traditional dances, a fancy dress competition for children representing the different cultures and trades in Goa, and an open-mic event. They will also be preparing traditional Goan sweets, this year’s special being patoleo (steamed rice pancakes, covered in a flavourful turmeric leaf and stuffed with a mixture of freshly grated coconut and black palm jaggery) and donne (a sort of steamed dumpling in a conical-shaped jackfruit leaf stuffed with the same mixture as patoleo.).
The association aims to get the younger generation involved in the process and will teach them the entire method of preparation of patoleos and donnes. They’ve included plans to introduce local games such as Ringane, the Goan version of tennikoit, nekorio (7 tiles), and racing with bicycle tires.
Maria Gomes Fernandes, a close associate of Mr. Rene Barretto for more than ten years, has together with other committed global Goan members like Mr. Savio Ribeiro amongst a few others, has played a key role in spreading the word about World Goa Day celebrations over the years. She was originally based in Kampala, Uganda, from 1997 to 2016, when there were just a handful of Goan families in the region. The Goan community over there enjoyed their days together and even celebrated World Goa Day. Maria also resided in Arusha, situated in the northern region of Tanzania, where the Goan presence is relatively larger, with some families residing there for more than three generations. She, along with her husband, helped the Goans of Arusha organize World Goa Day in 2016.
Currently based in Borivali, Mumbai, Maria encourages people to get on board the World Goa Day organization committees. She has inspired the Goan Institute, Dabul, Mumbai, to celebrate WGD for the first time offline this year. Their earlier celebrations involved a Goan food festival on a random date, but Maria encouraged them to merge the food fest as a highlight of their first WGD celebrations, along with song, dance, games, etc. The Goan Outreach Association, Mumbai, was another group to whom Maria reached out to a couple of years ago. The association has been celebrating World Goa Day for a couple of years now, but they organize it as a joint celebration along with the Feast of St. Francis Xavier on December 3rd.
Mr. Gerard Lobo, of the Goan Overseas Association of Victoria, based in Melbourne, coordinates World Goa
said that Goans in the continent have been celebrating ’Goenkarponn’ for over 45 years. Currently the President of this organisation, Mr. Lobo spoke of gatherings in New South Wales, Western Australia, Queensland, Adelaide and Victoria. This year’s World Goa Day program in Victoria is scheduled to be an afternoon event. It will be an interactive session involving dance, music, Konkani skits and song, along with a Goan dress code.
An interesting part of the event is the bring-a-Goanarticle concept. Mr. Lobo spoke of a variety of items he plans on showcasing this year, right from the quaint gurgureth (drinking water pot) to the neunem (straw coaster ) and the kundlem ani doulo (utensil and ladle). He also spoke of the annual Goan Food Festival being organised on 16th October, offering delectable Goan dishes such as sorpotel and fish curry, which will also be a feature at this year’s World Goa Day celebration.
The last two years didn’t allow Goans to organise offline celebrations of World Goa Day because of Covid restrictions. Albeit, the online celebrations received immense participation. People sent in videos of themselves celebrating the event, which were shared with Goans globally. The submissions were in such a large number that Mr. Rene and his team organised two days of festivities, across numerous time zones.
We, as Goans, need to remain united. Fractions in our unity have been observed over petty issues, which should be avoided. However, it is beautiful to note that Goans actually wake up when situations of grave concern arise, and we do not hesitate to voice our opinions. The Goa we currently cherish, not only deserves to be preserved, but also deserves to see a better future. The Goan diaspora should respect and honour the Goan spirit, integrity, and accommodative nature, for which we are renowned.
Mrs. Maria urges that we share our Goan values, and our Goan heritage with the next generation. She admits that it's not as easy when one does not reside in Goa. “Nonetheless, our youth need to play a proactive role in enhancing the use of Konkani and preserving our traditions, language, folklore, arts, culture, and music. Goans have made a mark, no matter where they’ve emigrated, and we are proud of being called Goans globally”. As Maria elucidates, ‘In Africa, if you say you are Goan, you are greatly respected as Goans are usually associated with honesty, simplicity of heart, and hospitality.
Mr. Neville Menezes, who has been spearheading World Goa Day celebrations in Dubai, has designed the logo for this year’s World Goa Day celebrations. Speaking to ItsGoa from Dubai, Neville said that he hoped for a united international Goan community, as globally, we Goans celebrate our culture, language, history, traditions, music, and cuisine. He said that it is essential that we commemorate World Goa Day as a day of common celebration and show of Goan solidarity. Its primary objective was, is, and always will be to unify our people residing in various parts of the Globe.
