Over the years, be it for weddings, anniversaries or any ceremonious occasions, ‘mando’ followed by ‘dulpods’ has always been part and parcel of the Goan lifestyle. No occasion would ever conclude on a musical note, without a traditional ‘mando’ and those satirical dulpods.
Today, for festive occasions, especially
in the Goan Catholic households, it might have become a rarity. But
nevertheless, at the wedding reception the common and catchy ‘dulpods’ can
still be heard from the band in attendance. And then, its nostalgia that
follows for the one rendering them from a platform and the audience listening
and tapping their feet on the dancing floor.
Before the Goan ‘mando’ and ‘dulpods’
becomes a rarity and results in natural extinction, for the past 40-odd years
the Goa Cultural and Social Centre, a recipient of Goa state cultural award,
has been striving hard to preserve this rich Goan heritage. And the only way
the centre thought befitting was by organizing a mando festival annually.
Since 1965 this festival came into
existence with Club Nacional organizing it initially, followed by Clube
Nacional and Konkani Bhasha Mandal. The Goa Cultural and Social Centre took
over in 1974 and continued shouldering the responsibility with equal zeal and
enthusiasm till date.
The cultural centre has come organizing this festival with
active participation of various social and cultural groups and clubs from
different villages, both in north and south Goa. And their active involvement
has only motivated many others to follow, thus keeping the age-old Goan
tradition alive.
On account of the Covid-19 pandemic, the centre couldn’t
organize the festival last year. But following all the SOPs, the centre took
the lead and organized it this year, with involvement of six groups (only the
seniors), excluding the children and teenagers’ groups.
The uniqueness of this year’s festival was the livestreaming of
the event for the first time, resulting in bigger viewership from across the
globe. Elaborating more about this new plan, the general secretary, Milagres
Fernandes said, “Considering the present scenario of the pandemic, we thought
of livestreaming the event and reaching out to a wider audience over the
world.” “The event for two consecutive days, namely December 9-10, was easily
available on YouTube and Facebook, thus bringing in more than 2,000 viewers,
especially those abroad,” he added.
“With limited entry at the venue,” Fernandes said, “the online
response was overwhelming from all ‘mando’ lovers across the globe.”
Considering the positive response from the online viewers, he said that the
committee may consider continuing with the same trend in the years to come.
Fr Kelwin Monteiro SJ, who is currently pursuing his Ph.D on the
mando festival, said, “As part of my studies, I have visited most of these
performing groups during their practice sessions. It is very impressive to
witness the journey that these groups have gone through, from their first
practice to their final performance.” “Despite having very little time to
prepare, unlike previous years, and the Covid scare, all six participant groups
put in their best performances,’ he added. “This year, for the first time,
since 1965, the festival was also streamlined,” Fr Monteiro mentioned. “This
livestreaming of the mando festival is a big feather in the organizers’ cap. I
believe that for the good of the ‘mando’, a rich heritage of Goa, and for the
greater benefit of the Goans overseas, this new beginning should continue in
the years to come. From the livestreaming chat notes, I could feel the sense of
nostalgia that Goans experienced, whilst they watched live the mando fest.”
“As expected,” Fr Monteiro said, “the dulpods at the festival
focused on the themes that affect the Goan lives, namely Covid, lockdown, price
rise, elections, Mollem heritage, 3-linear projects, etc.” “This year, the fact
that despite not having age-based categories, most participants were from the
younger generation certainly speaks of a bright future for this musical
tradition in Goa,” he concluded.
Fr Bolmax Pereira, who has been closely associated with mandos
by his involvement with groups ‘Kepemchim Kirnnam’, followed by ‘St Xavier’s
Kolejicho Nad’ and lately with ‘Sant Juze Vazachim Pavlam’, Cortalim, said that
mandos need to be preserved for posterity as it helps to preserve our unique
Goan heritage. “We are slowly losing our rich heritage due to new techno music.
Consequently, considering the globalization,” he said, “our original mando is
dying. Due to new genre music, we may tend to lose our age-old mando.”
As
an assistant professor of botany at St Joseph Vaz College, Cortalim, Fr Pereira
was instrumental in roping in the students and teaching staff in the mando
presentation, before the pandemic. “But this year,” he said, “it was only the
teaching staff involved in the show. More youth have to come forward to learn
this traditional art. If you teach them, they are willing and ready to learn
from you.”