GHODE MODNI:A GOAN FOLK DANCE

                                                                                               

                  GHODE MODNI

By Shambhavi Parsekar

Goa has a unique cultural heritage, rich and lively and it is known for several folk festivals and performances. The traditional folk music and dances have continued uninterruptedly, while the influence of the Portuguese music and dance on the local culture has helped evolve new forms. This happy blending and co-existence of cultural traditions gives a unique character to the music and folk dances of Goa. The famous folk dances and forms of Goa include Talgadi, Goff, Tonya Mel, Mando, Kunbi dance, Suvari, Dasarawadan, Virabhadra, Hanpeth, Gauda jagar, Ranmale, Fugadi, Ghode Modni, Lamp Dance, Musal Dance, Dhangar Dance, Dekhni and Dhalo, but today I am going to focus on GHODE MODNI.

The pocket of Goa, for over four centuries a Portuguese colony, still observes an annual Carnival, European fashion. For three days the people surrender themselves to a mood of exceptional gaiety. Apart from pageants and spectacles, the boys and girls indulge in dances of their own. Ghode Modni is a dummy horse presentation, where the dancers, attired gorgeously and armed with swords, recapitulate, through step and movement, the valour and deeds of the Goan warriors of old. This folk dance is performed in some parts of the talukas of Goa, which lie near the northern boundaries of Goa. It represents the horse (ghode) mounted cavalier, setting off to war. Ghode Modni (‘Ghode’ means ‘horse’ and ‘Modni’ means ‘gyrations and dance-like movements’) is literally a dance involving horse-like movements. It is a spectacular warrior-dance commemorating the victory of the Ranes, the Maratha rulers of the Sattari taluka in Goa, over the Portuguese. The costume is like that of a Rajput chieftain but the head dress used is a Peshwai puggree worn by the Maratha rulers. The kshatriya dancers also wear head gears made of colourful flowers, done in full traditional livery, fix at the waist effigy of a wooden horse beautifully bridled and decorated with colourful clothes, and carry ghungurs in the anklets. Holding the bridle in one hand and brandishing a naked sword with the other hand, the dancers move forward and backward to the beat of drums, Dhol, Tasha and Cymbals to recreate the prancing of war horses. Two or eight dancers, fastened inside hobby-horses below their waist, brandishing swords, execute their war like dance to the beat of the dholak and tasha. There are no accompanying songs. The dancers go as far as the village limits and return while executing this exotic folkdance. The influence behind this seems to be entirely northern. This dance is popular in Bicholim, Pernem and Sattari talukas once ruled by the Marathas. It is mostly performed during the Shigmo festival. This folk dance is a special attraction during annual carnival season.

  

Dhalo- A Goan folk dance

 

by Samiksha Parulekar

 

Dhalo is a dance form performed by kunbis, Bhandari, Naik, Gabit and Gaudi communities. Legend tells us that radha used to sing love songs (dhalos) to Krishna. In the beginning the dhalos referred only to the love of Krishna and Radha. Later people gradually developed the songs and they started to sing praises to other Gods too.

 

The Dhalo songs tell the stories of life, society and harmonious relationship of women with nature. Through these songs, women reflect their devotion for the Earth Goddess (Dharti Mata) and the Forest Goddess (Van Devata). Women have been worshipping Mother Earth from times immemorial in varied forms and the various traditional women folk festivals, folkdances and folksongs reflect their devotion to the life-producing Mother. The people of rural areas still worship nature through various festivals, and the festival of Dhalo is an example of this. The Dhalo and its songs reveal our bond with various facets of nature. There are various Dhalo songs that make reference of the flora and fauna. It is believed that the deities, who are invited through the Dhalo songs, come to the ‘Dhalyacho Mand’ to give blessings to the women    present       there.

On the day the dhalos start, either on a Wednesday or a Sunday, the women decorate with rangoli the angod (open space in the house, where the tulass is installed) and also near the temple). Women from the village are present however the widows do not participate in the dhalos. The women offer thalli (rice, moog and jaggery), which is then cooked and served to those present.

 

The leader locally known as Mandkann invokes a salutation to the divinity, the Earth Mother and seeks blessings for the whole village and for the festival rituals. The women sing about the clothes ornaments and looks of Gods. The songs are typical but sometimes there are simple and spontaneous additions. The singing continues till late in the night.

 

Around midnight the various dances and games start. Stories are narrated and any events are described through the songs and dances. These dances are performed on the first six nights of Dhalo. It is interesting to note that the dances and the ngs are traditional and there are no props. Originally the themes of the songs sung during the dhalo were about Krishna’s romance  the  Ramayana  and  the Mahabharata. However of late Marathi and Hindi songs is included in the pertoire. The women of Goa have kept alive the tradition of Dhalo, which reflects the rich cultural heritage of the state.

 

ISKCON organizes Gita Champions League

by Palia Gaonkar

Ponda: International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) organized Gita Champions League based on the eighteen chapters of Bhagwat Gita on Sunday, 27^th of January 2013. The competition was held all over the state at various centres in each taluka in order to encourage students as well as adults to take interest in the teachings of Bhagwat Gita and to spread awareness about Krishna Consciousness. 

The notice of this competition was released in the month of October in the previous year and forms were dispatched to every school and college in Goa along with the copy of the questionnaire series. The participants were divided into two categories according to their age group. The questionnaire which was provided with the form had detailed questions from the Bhagwat Gita and out of over a thousand questions listed in the questionnaire, a hundred of them were included in the final question paper. The nature of the Champions League was that of a competitive examination, with an answer sheet provided with four options and participants had to tick off the correct one. 

At the end of the one hour examination the participants were awarded participation certificates. Results of the competition will be declared as soon as the assessment is over.

Goa..Misinterpreted!!

One day I came across a video posted on a social networking site.The song was "goyche nav vhad karunk lhan jale mahan" a lovely poem by our great poet Bakibab Borkar who dedicated this poem to great Goan freedom fighters who sacrificed their life for the liberation of Goa, those who saw the dark nights and hoped for a better morning.And the picturisation of that video was a complete contrasting picture of Goa. They saw the sun of liberation but today when we see Goa and its culture being misinterpreted the real Goan who actually knows what Goa is, feels pathetic. Some days ago media tagged Goa as "rape hub" was that fair? Just because some rape cases from Goa got media attention they had to tag us as "rape hub" till what level is this justified? Who gave them the right to spoil the image of Goa?

Goa the land of vivid cultures, the land of kind people, and the land of greenery has been always misinterpreted by the media.

Not just the news channels but if you remember some of our old Hindi movies then you will remember that a typical Goan is shown as someone chilled out, drinking fenny and always a Christian, as if people of no other religion live here. A very few people know the fact that Goa has Hindu and Muslim population too. And ironically the Hindu population of Goa is higher than the Christians and still the film makers feel that it is dominated by Catholics.

Even when outsiders or tourists are asked to describe the image of Goa they will say it’s the land of beaches... When will they realise that Goa is not just the land of beaches and wine? Its lot more than that... this sand sun and surf image of Goa is being popularized so much that now even Goans while boasting about their land are flaunting about the beaches.
Why can’t at least we be the “Goan”in real terms and start changing perspective?

Goa.... you know what it is about? It’s the land which has one of the largest biodiversity in the world, it belongs to Western Ghats one of the “hotspots” that is the places which has a huge biodiversity,and one of the rare species of flora and fauna of the World. Why Goa is not popularized as green land instead of making it a sand land? Goa... it’s about the divinity....the old temples and churches which carry on the messages of worshiping nature, the traditions filled with zeal, enthusiasm and joys... the art, maybe in the form of paintings, drama or music... Goa... the land of purity...Kindness and oneness... And finally the land where west and east meets, the union of two cultures but prevailing in harmony...That’s Goa...the smallest state but “by heart” the largest state in India...feel It is high time that all the Goans, inside and outside Goa  come forward and do something to change the “misinterpreted” image of Goa... It’s not just our duty but it’s our right to get interpreted in a right way. One doesn’t need to go and shout out. A small thing people can do is just tell others what is true...before that you make yourself aware about the “real” image of Goa and then spread it everywhere however possible... I think as a Goan we can do this bit to “retain” or “regain” the real image of Goa. Let us all “reinterpret” this Golden land.

The Tempest Redefined

The Footsbarn Theatre Company of France has been redefining the classics as we know them since 2007.  Their most recent production, The Indian Tempest, was created as part of Guimarães (European Capital of Culture) 2012 under the project “The Dream... to tour India in a Tent”. It was performed in collaboration with the Directorate of Art and Culture on 28^th January 2013 at Kala Academy’s open amphitheatre.

The Indian Tempest was a glorious rendition of Shakespeare’s The Tempest and saw the artists of France collaborating with those of Kerala. It was communicated in what Mr. Joseph Cunningham (actor, Footsbarn) called “the language of the theatre”-and rightly so- for the languages used in the play included English, French, Malayalam and Sanskrit. What could have been the biggest mess ever on stage was actually transformed into one of the defining moments of experimental theatre and one of the most endearing. It was two and a half hours of pure entertainment.

No doubt, the plot had been tweaked a little; or rather, a lot. Many of the sub plots had been left out, and while the intrigues were certainly there, they were hard to spot. One thing was for certain in this tragicomedy turned pure comedy, and that was the fact that Prospero and Ariel were centre stage. At the curtain call the actors playing these characters got a well-deserved 2 minute standing ovation. Their energy was infectious; such joy, such commitment!

Also noteworthy were the instrumental music, the shadow play in the background, the special light and sound effects, and the smooth transition from scene to scene without once needing a curtain call in between.

The Indian Tempest is certainly full of “Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not” (Caliban Act III, Scene 2); a must see for all the theatre fans out there.

Two days theatre festival at kala akademy

National school of drama sikkim training center gangtok sikkim with colaboration to kala akademy have organised a two days  theatre festival at kala akademy on 24 and 25 january 2013.
 National School of Drama’s Sikkim Theatre Training Centre is invited by kala akademy.
the festival will be inaugrated by honourable chairman of kala akademy Mr.Vishnu Surya Vagh. A play ‘Hum Hi Apna Aap’ in Nepali will be staged on 24 january 2013 at 7.00 pm at open air auditorium of kala akademy.  The play is inspired by Padma Sachdeva’s Hindi novel, ‘Ab Na Banegi Dehari’, scripted by Asif Ali Haider Khan and was translated in Nepali by Jagdish Sharma. The play is designed and directed by Bipin Kumar. 

    IOn 25 january 2013 at 7.00 pm at black box kala akademy.the momental play "Kalosonakhari"  will be presented by the same group.this is a good oportunity for viewers to see some different kind of stuff.

Report on Water Scarcity In Vasco Goa

TUESDAY, 22 JANUARY 2013.Sada Vasco,
 By Mrs. Samiksha S. Parulekar

The local residents of Vasco, Goa are frequently been facing the problem of water this days.The locals have often made complaints in writings to the P.W.D.  No actions have been taken till date by the authority.On 09-01-13 the residents conducted a morcha where large no. of people(children, mens and womens) participated.

The locals demanded that atleast 2 hour water should be made available smoothly so that they can store water in their tanks and other sources to avoid problems in their day to day activities.Speaking to media, Assistant Engineer, disclosed that they are going to have meeting on this issue and solution to this problem would be made available at the earliest.

Many new industries and other agencies have been set up in Sada, due to which large no of water and electricty is been consumed in large quantity, because of which the quantity of water consumed by this bodies increases and thus leading very less water supply to the local residents here.

Speaking to our reporter the Assistant Engineer conveyed to the locals to make proper use of water and also urged the goverment to lauch water storing shemes and programmes.

Human Interest Features

This blog is created by the students of Journalism Course run by the Department of English, Goa University. The students are solely responsible for the content displayed below. Comments and suggestions are welcome.

 

The following features are based on women related issues.

FEATURE 1:

Her Power!

By

Ms. Tanvi Kamat Bambolkar

There is a measure in physics called “horse power”.  According to Google its “Horsepower (HP) is the name of several units of measurement of power. The most common definitions equal between 735.5 and 750 watts”. But recently I visited a young girl suffering from a serious disease in hospital and encountered what I term as "her power". 

The girl was pinched with all sorts of wires around her neck; she had been out of ICU just that morning. To my amazement, the girl was smiling, laughing actually and talking endlessly. Her mother narrated an incident where she was being taken inside the room even the doctors were shivering to start medications on her as the case was really serious but the doctors said that just because she did not scream and was smiling they were able to save her. That was “her power”. 

Women! She suffers, she gets hurt but something is there in her that allows her to smile and carry on with the life. There is a misconception among the men and also women that women are emotionally weaker and they tend to cry easily and quickly. Psychologically, this notion totally wrong. By crying she just vents out her emotions. She doesn’t hide it somewhere deep inside like men do. They try to show that they are strong and control their cry. But I have seen women in my life who have stood strong during the tough times of life. The reality of life is hidden somewhere in the cobwebs of our customs and traditions. Traditionally women are considered as weaker than men in the physical aspect  but women are stronger in emotional, psychological, social, intellectual and sexual aspects. Ask yourselves, when do guys ever try to express their emotions? Do women start smoking out of little stress? Actually women go through so many stressful events in life. Naturally their psychological health is better.  Women are “gossip queens” because they are socially strong. They survive because we talk and we express. It’s not that men do not express but they do it little. Of course I don’t need to talk about intellectual side of it as it is already known that most of the state rankers are girls and more girls pass in the board and university exams than boys.  Sexually, well, if I start I would repeat only what research has proven.

I guess my heart was too feministic this time. Yeah… the “her power” hidden in me do come out in such way sometimes. This doesn’t mean I intended to hurt men. I love men. All of them in my life but just wanted to say that don’t underestimate women. We are not weaker sex! When the time comes “her power” does arise and it would keep arising! Salute to the "her power"..! 

FEATURE 2:

 

Gender Bias: When Humans Take it Beyond Themselves

by 

Ms. Palia Gaonkar

Day by day, the number of abandoned animals increases fourfold. The moment they can walk on all fours and can see clearly through their novel eyes, they are termed fit to survive on their own and left at the gate of a stranger. They would probably be females. No. Obviously females. The owner cannot support too many of them. Replace the animals with a female human baby. There is not much difference in both the cases.

There are many situations where female counterparts of pets are given away or left at someone’s gate, or left at the market place, or left to die. Reasons may be myriad, genuine…justifiable?

Why should the females of most species undergo similar fate? Just because they bear female offspring or because being born a female in itself is a misfortune? Except the offspring of the animals considered as livestock, others find themselves on the roads. Always looking out for gains, the humans! It’s funny being born one.

With the snapping of string of compassion and reason, the world is free to commit any kind of wrong against any life in the world. By crying out till the throats bled, abortion, female foeticide, female infanticide, prenatal sex determination has been strictly prohibited, practice of which would lead to heavy punishments. Nevertheless, it goes on, illegally. “Every legal activity as an illegal counterpart in India,” he said as he shifted the gear, “The one that earns revenue for the government is legal, and whatever does not, is termed as illegal. But corruption works in both cases.” 

After birth she becomes a victim of molestation, rape, prostitution - a mere toy to be played with. They forget, though, that they have been born out of one such toy. 

Taking care of a female life is considered expensive. It requires special attention and a lot of sacrifice on the part of the guardian. But it is only so because they deserve it. Though conception of life may require both the partners, during the period of gestation it is only and only the female who is to be given the credit for the healthy growth of the child that belongs to both of them. She nurtures life. It is a blessing, a power. To have a life growing within oneself would be such a magical experience. And only the female of every species is fortunate enough to be blessed by this miracle. Why not then consider her gifted perpetually, and thank the almighty for being blessed by having her in one’s life? Or is it too extravagant for the ego?

The world has become entangled in so many illusions that basics of life have been forgotten. There is a need to peel off the thick cosmetic layer and realize our true identity as human beings, and not as a man or a woman. If life is viewed in plain and simple perspective, many differences would vanish and things would fall in place.