Background  Carnival marks the celebrations before the month of Lent, which characterizes fasting or abstinence from meat  Carnival celebration reverberates with echoes of pagan culture dating back to Roman Saturnalia and feasts of Apollo in Greece  The Goa Carnival for instance has turned out to be a major tourist attraction drawing thousands of tourists from all over the country

Culture  This carnival cum festival was first started in Goa in the year 1961  It was initially celebrated by King Momo, one of the legendary Chaos kings of the state and is one of the Portuguese festivals  Since the state has experienced the reign of different Portuguese rulers for more than 500 years, this festival reflects some of the Portuguese lifestyle

Dance and Music  Dekhnni, Fugdi, Corridinho, Mando etc. are some of the traditional art forms  Also, many classical singers like Kishori Amonkar and Jitendra Abhishekicome from Goa  Goa is also known as the origin of Goa trance which has given birth to Psytrance as well

THEATRE  Natak, Tiatr and Zagor are the chief forms of Goa’s traditional performance arts  Stories from Ramayana and Mahabharata along with other social subjects are narrated with songs and dance

Food  Rice with fish curry is the staple diet in Goa  Goan cuisine is famous for its rich variety of fish dishes cooked with elaborate recipes  Khatkhate, an exotic vegetable stew is very famous during festivals  Most popular alcoholic beverage is feni which is prepared through the fermentation of the fruit of a cashew tree  Goa has a rich wine culture as well  Wine is famous for it’s healthy benefits and on festivals and events it is consumed as a symbol of celebration

GOA CARNIVAL  The Carnival is unique to Goa in India, and was introduced by the Portuguese who ruled over Goa for over four centuries  This large scale celebration, known as Intruz takes place in the city of Panaji  The Carnival is celebrated for three days and nights, when the legendary King Momo takes over the state and the streets come alive with music and colour  Huge parades are organized throughout the state with bands, dances and floats out all night on the streets, and grand balls held in the evenings

Activities  This procession will be flocked by dancers, bands of troubadours dressed up as fortune tellers, hawkers, women, and older men in funny clothes  The preparations for the carnival begin from December. And even a week before the carnival, a few boys and girls dressed up in masks call upon their friends while playing on the banter  Carnival comes to an end with the famous red and black dance where women dressed in red tops and black skirts and men in red shirts and black trousers dance with bands in a colourful procession

Goa Carnival Speciality  The one-act folk plays known as Khell or Fell take on exciting colours during the carnival in Chandor where Intruzachim Geetam or Fella-Gitam are sung by the walking-players that go about the village, with accompaniment of musical instruments  The sound of violins, drums, cymbals, ghumats (a Goan percussion instrument), saturate the air  The dolkas, a sort of rustic drum, acts as the mainspring or director of the play, punctuating the story, whereas the whistle of the mestri (producer like) serves as the curtain-raiser to the play

Goa Tour Packages – Carnival 2016 Go through the Goa tour packages to have a fun-filled experience this Goa Carnival! Goa tour packages