JAY JOSHI
Ganesh Chaturthi is the biggest festival of Goa, and there are a number of old traditions associated with this festival that continue to give Chaturthi celebrations beauty as well as meaning. One of such traditions is Matoli. Matoli is a canopy of fruits and vegetables, including some varieties of wild plants, which hangs above the idol of Lord Ganesh.
Many houses in Goa take pride in their Matolis, making efforts to showcase exotic and rare species of fruits and vegetables in them. However, in recent years, Matoli tradition has changed in many ways. On one side, there have emerged special markets that offer the best products for display in Matolis, but on the other hand, owing to encroachment of forests and various other factors, it is becoming difficult to find certain wild items that featured regularly in a Matoli in old days.
“Matoli is indeed a sensitive topic today,” says environmentalist Poornima Kerakar from Keri, Sattari. “Mother Nature is in full blossom in the month of Shravan, and the purpose of Matoli is to showcase the biodiversity of plants in one’s vicinity. Secondly, many items that are a part of Matoli have medicinal properties. Having a Matoli in today’s day and age is very important because today’s youth needs to be aware of this biodiversity. The tradition also helps in documentation of such plants that are found in Goa. Fortunately, initiatives such as the competition conducted by the department of Art and Culture has helped bring a lot of awareness regarding this aspect,” says the environmentalist, but points out that there are a number of difficulties in maintaining the tradition.
“It is becoming difficult to avail of a number of items, partly because of increasing commercialisation of the issue. Earlier, people used to join hands and apologise to the plants for taking their parts, then take only as many berries as required, and thank the plant for its generosity. Now, plants are ravaged without concern for the berries to such an extent that they die in the process. Apart from this, there is also increasing construction activity and encroachment of forests,” she outlines. Items such as ‘Kangla’, the flowers named ‘Harna’ which were found atop plateaus, are now almost gone, the environmentalist points out.
Raghoba Pednekar from Valpoi also makes the same observation. “Earlier, one could easily fetch around 300 different varieties of wild fruits and vegetables from the hills around Valpoi, but now, they are not available as easily as before,” he says. Items such as ‘Ghagryo’ which are a part of Matoli are still available but have become expensive, states Pednekar.
In response, there was a trend of hanging an artificial Matoli where many items are made of wood, but that too appears to be in decline. “Over the past three years, the demand for wooden Matoli has fallen drastically,” informs Pankaj Chitari, a manufacturer of wooden artefacts from Cuncolim. “Earlier, we used to sell around 500 Matoli items, but now we are only selling around 50,” said the businessman, informing that currently, the prices for artificial Matoli stand at around Rs 1000 for 27 items, and Rs 600 for 15 items for artificial Matoli.
Despite these difficulties, however, the tradition of matoli remains strong, and people across Goa attempt to make the best possible Matolis. It is one of the truly living and breathing traditions of Goa, that is still alive, but as experts underline, efforts need to be made to strike a balance between environmental preservation, commercial interests, and the enthusiasm of Goans to get their hand on the rarest plants possible for their Matoli.
