The Carnival and King Momo return to Goa tomorrow with a food fest on Miramar beach

The reign of King Momo in Goa this year will begin on February 26 and go on till March 1, with the Carnival, the state’s most coveted festival, promising to revive spirits after two years of restrictions. The state capital Panaji is also gearing up to host its first-ever “beach Carnaval” with which it aims to enter UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network list for gastronomy. “Local and regional cuisine will be showcased at the Carnival,” says Agnelo Fernandes, Commi-ssioner of the Corporation of the City of Panaji.

King Momo traditionally proclaims the Konkani message Kha, piye aani majja kar (Eat, drink and make merry). In 2021 King Momo for the Goa Carnival was Mr. Sixtus Eric Dias from Candolim. Emiliano Dias of Raia in South Goa was on February 22 named as this year’s King Momo after an elaborate selection process involving an audition.

Usually held in February before the holy season of Lent, which sees the devout fast or abstain from eating some of their favourite food items, the Carnival is a celebration of ‘one last shot at having fun’ before meat and liquor is shunned as part of a 40-day period of religious penitence. Lent ends with the celebration of Easter which falls on April 17.

With the newly renovated walkway at Miramar beach as the venue, the first-ever ‘Beach Carnaval’ aims to offer culinary experiences like never before. Food stalls set up by Goa’s foodpreneurs and students of food craft, will be hosted by the Corporation of the City of Panaji and FIERCE Kitchens, India’s first culinary incubator for food start-ups.

The ‘Carnaval’ will comprise mostly of aspiring chefs who became entrepreneurs during the pandemic and will get a platform to showcase innovative dishes.

While the origin of the Carnival in Goa dates back to the appearance of the Roman Catholic Church and the Portuguese conquest of Goa, the festival itself fell into obscurity during the later days of colonialism. It is said that after 1961 when Goa was finally free from Portuguese rule, the festival was restored to life by Timoteo Fernandes, a Goan musician, who designed it on the patterns of the famed Rio Carnival.

Today, the Carnival parade includes floats from local villages, commercial entities, and cultural groups. The Carival includes staging of streetside local plays which are commonly known as ‘Khell Tiatr’, in the coastal taluka of Salcete in South Goa. As per the Department of Tourism, the Carnaval remains Goa’s most famous festival and has been celebrated since the 18th century.

Parixit Pai Fondekar of FIERCE Kitchens, a professional chef who conceptualised India’s first culinary incubator for food start-ups and launched it in association with the Atal Incubation Centre at the Goa Institute of Management recalls, “When the Panaji carnival was announced we saw an opportunity to showcase talents in local, national and international cuisines.”

Fondekar hopes to hold specially curated sessions and gastronomic events throughout the cityat different locations, showcase different cuisine and build a whole community around them.

(This was first published in National Herald on Sunday)