PRITIE D’SOUZA
For THE GOAN
Some days are planned on a calendar. Others are remembered for how they are felt. Our World Goa Day 2026 celebrations was definitely the latter.
Organised by Susegad Goans Borivli on August 30, the day was a celebration of everything we love about Goa - the food, the music, the laughter, the easy-going spirit and most importantly, the people who make it what it is.
The celebration brought everyone together Goans and non Goans at the D’Souza Farms, Manori. There was no rush to get anywhere, no agenda to follow too closely, just good company, good food and plenty of reasons to stay a little longer.
It began with an ice breaker game followed by performances. One of the highlights of this year's celebration was something we had never done before. For the first time, participants from among us were invited to take the stage and perform. The performances brought a wonderful sense of excitement to the celebration and it was lovely to see people step forward, share their talents and have fun all for the love of Goa.
And then, of course, there was the Live Band – ‘Open Notes’ who lit up the whole atmosphere with their music and songs and got everyone on the floor for the rest of the day. People were singing along, dancing, cheering and simply enjoying themselves.
A Goan celebration without good food would hardly be a celebration. We were treated to traditional Sorpotel and Vonn at Lunch. In addition, participants were also invited to display Goan food and delicacies which brought back memories of Goa.
We are grateful to everyone who joined us and helped make the event memorable and a big thank you to our sponsors and well-wishers whose continued support makes celebrations like these possible.
As the core team of Susegad Goans Borivli, we could not have asked for a better way to celebrate World Goa Day 2026. For one day, we brought a little piece of that Goan spirit amongst all of us and the feedback we received confirmed that everyone went home with a heart full of good memories, a full stomach, and perhaps a little more of that Susegad feeling.
And who says you have to go to Goa to experience Goa? Just get the right people, great music and a whole lot of Susegad Goan spirit… And Goa comes alive…right here!
[The writer is a team member of Susegad Goans Borivli, Mumbai]
