PANAJI
The four-day ‘reign’ of King Momo commenced on Saturday at a splendid and colourful parade of dozens of floats along the traditional DB Marg route in the capital city, officially kicking off Carnival festivities.
Thousands lined up along the nearly 1.5-km barricaded route from the New Patto Bridge to the Kala Academy at Campal.
The float parade was flagged off by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant in the presence of Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte and Panaji mayor Rohit Monserrate.
Making a brief, impromptu speech Sawant urged Goans to join the Carnival revelry which he said is important to raise the State’s happiness index.
He also congratulated Khaunte and the entire Goa Tourism team for the efforts to promote Carnival as a major tourist attraction successfully.
It was a riot of song and dance as float after float mounted on pick-ups and larger trucks filed past cheering onlookers throughout the 1.5-km route.
Musical bands belted out popular tracks live from atop some of the truck mounted, colourfully and artistically decorated floats. Others had either pre-recorded music blaring from systems or DJs playing and most had groups dancing to the rhythms.
The floats were in traditional, institutional, family and individual joker categories.
From atop the Tourism department’s float, Margao’s Russel D’Souza who was picked as ‘King Momo’ this year, proclaimed his decree, exhorting people to indulge in fun activities for the next three days, at regular intervals along the route.
In a novelty this year, there were boats decorated like floats which sailed parallelly in the Mandovi river which hugs the route of the float parade.
The Tourism department also introduced this year a helicopter which did sorties over the route.
On Sunday the float parade will be held in Margao and in Vasco city on Monday.
The 4-day Carnival celebrations conclude on Tuesday with the float parade in Mapusa and an event in Morjim where the Tourism department is also simultaneously holding its annual ‘Food and Cultural Festival’.
