For centuries, Diwadkars have been attached to their traditions. They have treasured the flag festival through their passionate celebration of the harvest festival of Bonderam. This one-day festival organised by Sao Mathias Sports Club in village Malar will be held on August 17 this year.
Divar Island was a land of farmers and they celebrated this thanksgiving feast with great fanfare. Bonderam has been celebrated for nearly 400-500 years. The celebrations include the procession of flag bearers moving to the beat of the brass band. The procession, which has nine flags will start at the church and march across the four wards of the village, ending up at the Sao Mathias Sports Club. Flag bearers, the brass band and participants of the fancy dress competition take part in the procession.
In the earlier years, the festival was celebrated by playing the ghumott, later replaced by the Divar brass band and now Malarchim Motiam will add new flavour too to the music. Floats symbolising the harvest festival are made by villagers living in the four wards of the village, namely Belsur, Amboi, Goddar and Church ward. Each of these wards will also serve piping hot Goan sweets. Church ward will serve Tandvache manos, Goddar will serve Attol, Amboi will serve Doce bhaji and Belsur will serve donne.
Festakar Marius Fernandes is uniting the island for not just Bonderam which usually begins at 3pm but also curating Pattoleanchem Fest which will begin at 11 am. As always the festival will be inclusive and accessible by all. The Fest will begin in the morning with the lighting of the traditional lamp by environmentalist Rajendra Kerkar in the presence of the principal of Goa College of Agriculture, Old Goa.
The agriculture students will then hold a presentation on the importance of the turmeric leaves and seeds. Turmeric even as a powder is considered a superfood all over the world and it is an integral part of pattoleos. Dr Gwendolyn de Ornelas will demonstrate how to make pattoleos with grated coconut and jaggery and rice paste on the turmeric leaf. Navelim-based Armando Fernandes will recite Konkani poems based on the festival.
For Marius, this Bonderam is even more special. “In 1974, we came down from the UK as a family and participated in the first Bonderam which makes this my 50th Bonderam. This is also my 25th year that I am volunteering for Bonderam on the island,” says the proud Diwadkar.
For the first time, the festival will include Green Educational Talks (GED Talks). Eminent environmentalist, Rajendra Kerkar will share insights on environmental conservation, with a focus on tiger reserves and Ross Picardo with his years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry in Mumbai will share his journey back home to Divar.
The Bonderachem Jevonn will include parboiled red rice, prawns curry, dry prawns kismoor, khatkhatem, Manganem, raw mango wedges, seasonal vegetable and sol kadi. Following the traditional Jevonn, the Passoi will be flagged off by Fr Joao Coelho at 3 pm near the Sao Matias Church. The Flag bearers will be accompanied by the brass band led by Alden Menezes. Students of Carmel College, Nuvem will present a cultural programme at this stop. The next stop will be Goddar with a play by the Travelling Dome headed by architect Tallulah D’Silva. The traditional All Goa fancy dress competition will be held as the participants will also join the passoi.
Dr Glenis Mendonca, assistant professor of English at Carmel College for Women, Nuvem, has been attending Bonderam with the college students over the years and this will be the fourth year. She vividly remembers the first Bonderam with her students where she was a judge for the floats too. “I was with the students at the Passoi and got late to head back for the floats on time. Noted fashion designer and activist, Wendell Rodricks was a judge with me and he recorded the parade so that I could see it again and could judge properly. He was such a kind person,” says Glenis, who will be leading 60 students in two buses from the college to the island.
“The students are very excited. Those who attended last year have also prepared a short video of Bonderam, which I shared on my Instagram page. The festival is very educational for the students and is a mix of music, tradition and culture. There are 40 First Year students including seven History students and 20 Third Year students,” informs Dr Glenis.
While the crowds follow the Passoi, those who prefer to head to the Sao Matias Clubhouse will be entertained by Seby Fernandes of ‘Mira Mira’ fame. He will be singing Konkani hits for the evening. RJ Joed Almeida, will keep all the participants and spectators in an upbeat mood right throughout the day as he briefs everyone about the activities and what’s next for the evening. His energy among the crowd will ensure that the activities follow the schedule and no misses the fun.
Robin Crasto is the president of the Sao Matias Sports Club. He is the new president spearheading the preparations for the festival. “It is a big prestige to be the president and with many helping hands and the support of all the members of the committee, it is possible to plan such a big festival. The Club flag will be leading the procession followed by eight more coloured flags. The students of St Aloysius High School, Divar have always been the flag bearers. For the Feast Mass too on Sunday, we arrange the flag procession, brass band, décor and flowers. We also décor the patch of land that is cultivated for the sheaves. This year, Fr Joao Coelho, parish priest, has specially planted a patch of paddy in the church compound,” says Robin.
Earlier, youngsters shot at each other with the fottash, a bamboo stick with seeds like ansalleo and sichuan peppers (teofa) used as pellets. The fottash is banned now. “Around two decades back, we banned the fottash as we realised that people from outside the island were bringing in fottashes especially fabricated with brass pipes. It was far more painful if it hit someone and it was not in a playful vein anymore,” says Robin.
Joel Alvares is the youngest member of the Sao Matias Sports Club and is enthusiastic about the festival. “This is my first term and it is such a joy from being a dancer in the float parade to now being in the organising committee. Every year, we start preparing almost 20-30 days before the festival. Everyone is busy at work and they want to be a part of the festival, no matter what the responsibilities. Some are busy with the costumes for the dancers and participants, some are creating the decoration for the floats and setting up a dance routine for the procession with regular practises. I hope the rain doesn't spoilsport as the festival is outdoor and if we don’t start on time, then there will be very limited time for the activities,” says Joel, who will be busy coordinating the festival
on Saturday.
Rosita Heredia will be doing a Roteassão workshop. She hails from Divar and has a condition of dwarfism. Sabina D’Cunha will show the skills required to create coconut leaf weaving called Mollam and Joe Dias will demonstrate how to make coconut hats. As the day progresses, the evening will come alive with a traditional float parade of the four wards. The music for the evening will continue as Goan band Lynx will take the stage followed by foot tapping music by DJ Macattack, to end the night on a high note.
The following day, a procession of villagers carrying the statue of St Mathias holding a silver sickle in his hand, will march to the paddy fields where the parish priest blesses the new harvest and cuts a few sheaves which are later distributed among the parishioners. This ceremony is called Novidade. From a very energetic start to a humble and prayerful conclusion, Malar’s Bonderam has kept up with tradition.