NEWS

Goa celebrates its annual ‘Carnaval’ or carnival, the colourful festival, a vestige of the state’s erstwhile Portuguese rulers

WHAT IS GOA’S ‘CARNAVAL’?

• Four-day celebration
• Marks the days before the month of Lent, observed by Catholics as a season of abstinence and prayer
• According to the Goa Department of Tourism, in the pre-Christian era, Carnival marked the end of winter and the beginning of spring
• A legacy of the Portuguese, carnival celebrations in the state attract several tourists as much as it has locals eager to view float parades flocking to various parts of the state

HOW IS IT CELEBRATED

• While carnival celebrations are held across the state by the Goa Department of Tourism, in Panaji, the centre of the soiree, the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) plays a major part in organising the celebration
• Panaji is the centre of action during the carnival
• Like in other parts of the world, the celebration kicks off with an opening ceremony and has parades of floats in the streets. The best float is judged based on originality of concept, costume, performance, music and the visual effect of “displaying the carnival spirit”
• The streets are decorated with striking masks, colourful streamers, lights on its tree-lined streets
• According to the Goa Department of Tourism, King Momo, or the king of Chaos, is a character derived from the Greek god Momus, the god of satire. Like in the many Latino Carnivals, the Goa Carnival also crowns a King Momo, usually “a large gentleman” who leads the carnival parade.