PANAJI: Goa is not just a party destination made to look like to market it’s night life and casinos over the last two decades. The western coastal state is a rich mix of heritage with nature worship deeply embedded in every festival celebrated here. Right now, it’s the ‘Shigmo’ in the spotlight, celebrating the spring season via traditional music, songs and dance.
Thousands of people took to the 18th June Road in Panaji today evening to enjoy the annual festival where music lovers were treated to an awesome range of traditional drumming, metal instruments (kasale) and the fervour binding the act together as youth and elderly marched in ‘romtamel’ for over four hours to the applause of the spectators flanking the road.
That is not all as the Shigmo parade is a big draw for the mythological-story lovers especially the children, as superbly crafted tableaus based on episodes from the epics were mounted on trolleys and driven slowly.