Panaji, Jan 24 (IANS) Goa's King Momo may have just gotten lucky this carnival.
Goa's portly carnival mascot will now rub shoulders with petite Bollywood actresses and fashion and musical icons as the sussegado (a plane of contentment) state shakes off its slumber and readies for the annual festival, which begins Feb 8.
According to Goa Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar, Bollywood starlets Neha Dhupia, Isha Koppikar and Tanushree Dutta have confirmed their participation at the five-day event, which has socio-religious significance to Goa, a Portuguese colony for over 450 years.
"This has never happened in Goa before. I think people will like it more than the commercial floats which we have every year," Parulekar told IANS Thursday.
The minister also said that commercial floats had seen their day in the sun and would soon be phased out and replaced by entertainment, a portion of it in the Bollywood vein.
"Over the years we have seen that the commercial floats have lacked creativity and beauty. Therefore, we may phase them out in the coming years," Parulekar said.
Goans perhaps did get lucky, this year.
Had Parulekar's earlier plan worked, a large cut-out of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi would probably have been paraded through the streets of Goa.
Parulekar, had come up with a much-criticised scheme last year that the floats should also have representation from neighbouring states like Maharhastra, Karnataka and Gujarat.
The intention, Parulear said, was to "make sure that people understand and not misunderstand" Goan culture. The proposal stoked so much fire amongst the civil society in Goa that the tourism ministry backed out from it.
This year round, however, not just Bollywood actors, but Goan stars will also be shedding some stardust on the carnival celebrations. Musician and Padma Shri award winner Remo Fernandes will be performing at a food festival running concurrent to the carnival festivities.
"Wendell Rodricks will also be holding a fashion show for the event," he said.
For the week prior to the austere Christian season of Lent, the state celebrates 'one last shot at having fun' before the liquor bottles and beef and pork is stacked away as part of a 40-day period of religious penitence.
The event draws tourists from all over the country and the world and features a package among several tour operators.
Goa's carnival is similar to the carnival parades in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil and not quite unlike the Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans and France. The parades involve the entire populace of the city pouring onto the streets to participate and watch men and women in colourful costumes and various whacky attires.
Goa's colourful carnival processions, which are normally held in February before the holy season of Lent, are symbolic of the state's colonial Portuguese legacy.
The parades are typically led by a specifically chosen King Momo who decrees three days of fun and frolic.
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