The festival man of Goa
He calls himself “Festakar”—derivative of a Goan surname merging festival and the common Goan surname suffix ‘kar’. Marius Goencho “Festakar” Fernandes is Goa’s self-appointed revivalist, born in Kenya but always rooted in Goa. The ‘festival whisperer’ is the force behind curating 84 festivals in Goa; the Jackfruit Festival, the Poderanche fest, the Raponkar festival—all Goan, and only Goan.
At 40, he relocated to his ancestral home in Divar from the UK where he had a well paid job in British Telecom. That was 25 years ago. Festakar’s is a dynamic legacy which is deeply embedded in rural Goa’s norms and folklore. “Each village has a unique identity, story, culture, cuisine, and beliefs that should be kept alive,” he says.
For instance, the Jackfruit Festival explores the agricultural history of the fruit grown in the state, and what it represents to Goans. He harnessed the expertise of housewives, cooks, artisans and artists, to tap into the region’s indigenous spirit and nostalgic meaning.
“Our festivals often include locals singing dancing and acting in Konkani to promote the language. We hold workshops that revive cooking traditions, talks on relevant environmental issues and launch drives to bring back lost practices,” explains Fernandes. One festival he organises, Bonderam, at Malar, St Mathais, was hugely successful.
“For the people of St Mathias, Malar, Bonderam is a symbol of their eco-heritage. About 7,000 people attended the daylong event. Renowned environmentalist Rajendra Kerkar spoke about Goa’s immediate need for its own tiger reserve to save the big cats in the Konkan belt.
We initiated a drive to bring the famed turmeric leaf sweet pataleo under a GI Tag,” Fernandes says. The activities are planned to suit the season, proclivity and desire. Candle making, coconut plucking, fishing, celebrating artisans, cooks, artistes, heritage markets or a display of the oldest percussion instruments are part of his flexible repertoire.
Next on his to-do list is a honey festival. Divar Island which consists of two panchayats, St Mathias and Piedade will for the first time in history come together to celebrate honey making from the famed and oldest fruit of India, the mankurad mango, from which honey was made in the old days. He hopes the festival will revive the practice. “Why wait for the government, let’s preserve our culture ourselves,” he smiles.
A festival close to his hearts is the Ghumtanche Fest featuring the Ghumot, the oldest instrument in the world. “I did the first-ever Ghumot festival in 2017. This instrument is made of sheep skin and was recently featured in a composition launched as a collaboration by my son Ashley Fernandes on Spotify, titled Goa Beach,” says Fernandes, who funds all the festivals himself.
Then there is the Poderanche fest, which celebrates the Portuguese-Goan origins of breadmaking, giving thanks to the figure of the poder (breadman) on his bicycle pedalling away with a cane basket covered with blue tarpaulin tied to the handles. The Fishing or Raponkar Festival celebrates the bounties from the sea.
“My purpose is to bring back the lost glory of a way of life,” Fernandes says. In tourism-ravaged Goa, where deluxe villas and apartments are sold to outsiders, the fading identity of Goa needs resurrection. The Festakar might be the right person for that. Festively.