Every year, Goa celebrates Shigmo in different cities, with each region having its own way of marking the festival until the grand Zambaulim Gulal Utsav. Shigmo is an important part of Goa’s culture, and many people have continued the traditions passed down by their ancestors. A major highlight of Shigmo is the float parade, where traditional Goan dance and culture come to life. Alongside these performances, artists from various villages and cities present scenes from the Ramayana and Mahabharata. These processions take place on different dates across cities like Panjim, Ponda, Margao, Vasco, and others.
The Shigmo parade also features a fancy dress competition for both children and adults, along with Romtamel, where groups of people march in colourful attire, carrying traditional items. This year, the parade saw an overwhelming number of participants and showcased incredible presentations of mythological stories. In Ponda and Vasco, the processions continued until the early hours of the next day, between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. Usually, the event starts around 4 p.m. and concludes by midnight. However, this year, participants went all out to display their talent, with massive effigies of Hanuman, Ravana, Shankar, and other figures mounted on open trailers.
Goan talent was evident in the fancy dress competition, the Samai Nritya (lamp dance) performed by young boys and girls balancing lamps on their heads, and traditional performances like rope dancing and Koli dance. Showcasing so much talent in just a few hours is a challenge. To ensure better representation, the Shigmo festival should be extended over two days. The first day could feature the fancy dress competition, traditional dances, and Romtamel floats, while the second day could be dedicated to floats that depict stories with large effigies, as these require considerable effort to prepare.
This year, the competition started late, after 7 p.m., and continued until the next morning. The organisers and government should reconsider the schedule so that every Goan gets a fair chance to showcase their talent in fancy dress, traditional dance, and float presentations. The processions should ideally start earlier, around 6 p.m., and conclude before midnight to ensure smooth execution.
