Drink and drive may be taboo, but ‘drink and dive’ was certainly in on Monday as hundreds of heady Goan youngsters, men and women, dived into wells, swimming pools, ponds as part of a Portuguese tradition of ‘Sao Joao’.
With booze never out of reach of one’s pocket and party ambience not too far away, sprinkle a bit of tradition and lo - inhibitions are set aside, hair is let down and the music of the traditional brass and percussion instruments complemented with by modern electronic systems, gets loud.
In the face of complaints that the popular carnival is getting “commercialised”, institutionalised and lacking in groundswell support bring on Sao Joao, the feast of popular Catholic saint St John the Baptist.
Coming at a time when the monsoons have just struck and the popular cashew feni has just been brewed during the preceding summer months, the lesser known festival makes the most of the circumstances.
Jumping in wells and ponds, freshly filled with the copious monsoon rains the State receives in June, after parading the narrow, soggy village roads bottle in hand and song on the lips village youth, young men and newly married couples make their ways visiting houses distributing freshly collected seasonal fruits like jackfruits, mangoes, while the newly weds seek the blessings of the families they visit.
Being celebrated in its current form for more than two centuries, the feast commemorates a biblical anecdote. According to the Bible, when Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, was told she would conceive the Jesus, through an angelic apparition, she paid a visit to her cousin Elizabeth, who was carrying John (who later became St John the Baptist) in her womb. John, according to the Bible, leapt for joy within the womb on hearing Mary’s greeting.
Elizabeth, who was barren and miraculously conceived in her old age, is inspiration for young and childless couples, who make offerings before a village Cross and at a well, before youth jump into it. The well represents Elizabeth’s womb and the youngsters modern day “Johns”.
Still holding onto groundswell support, this feast not as popular as its springtime counterpart, the carnival is still finding institutionalised support in the form of pool parties at five star hotels, who seek to use the festival to make the most of a lean time of the year.
Sean Faia director of Faia Entertainment has tried to tap the potential of this traditional fiesta, with its native unbridled revelry can take on its infamous counterpart the carnival in terms of its fun and the ‘wild’ quotient.
“Sao Joao is a festivity filled with fun, revelry and a celebration of the monsoons. We were keen on creating an event with a great ambiance and reputed artists who offered party goers an exciting experience,” says Sean, who held two such events ‘Sao Joao Grind’ on trot last couple of years.
All he needs is a swimming pool to dive into, a pipeline of liquor and music to set the tone going, soon straight-faced neatly tucked young men and women have shed all inhibitions and their formal attire for a wet and chilly bonhomie of young and old.
And while Sao Joao is still seeing its early days of commercial exploitation, sponsors are only just beginning to see business-end of the bargain.
“Sourcing funding for the event can be very tough. It being the off-season, brands are reluctant to invest in events as they are keen to hold onto a larger chunk of the budgets for activities planned in the tourist season. It’s not impossible, but it’s definitely not easy,” says Sean.
Sean is not alone in seeking to get urban families who have no village procession to call their own. Marsha D’Souza has her own Sao Joao event this year called the ‘Sao Joao Shuffle’ at a coastal resort on Sunday, a day ahead of the actual festival in order to draw the working crowd.
“What makes it attractive is the fact that the event has something to do with water rather than partying at a club all decked up. For an event like San Joao, all you need to do is let your hair down and enjoy the rain and music. We target an audience of 18 to 40 years. But then again there is no age limit to enjoy the San Joao Festival,” she claims.