Celebrating the festival of flags

Flow of events on eptember 9

5 am - Allvorad - (Brass Band) all members to accompany the Alvorad
3.30 pm - Flag parade from the Club House en route Communidade of Goltim Navelim to Vitozem with the brass band back to Asilo ground Goltim / Navelim
3.30-4 pm - Flag march from Dattaram house, All Goa Fancy dress Competition.
4-7 pm - Wards to showcase their float, music and dance talent, time allotted 25 minutes each (total six floats from six wards)
7-7.30 pm - Felicitation of chief guests and guest of honour (SBI officials), vote of thanks
7-7.45 pm - Archie's band performance
7.45-8.45 pm - Judges' verdict of float parade
8.45-10 pm - O'luv (Olavo Rodrigues) pop singer performance
10 pm - Lucky coupon draw and end of show

Surrounded by the River Mandovi and blessed with lush green fields, shady trees and hills, the scantily populated island of Divar is a popular hotspot for visiting tourists, but it's the centre of attraction for the entire state of Goa during the harvest season when the annual festival of flags ‘Bonderam' (Bandeira in Portuguese, means flag) is celebrated with enthusiasm in the moth of August. While the first one is celebrated at Sao Matias village, the second one is celebrated at Piedade village on the fourth Saturday of August and is followed by the harvest feast on the following Sunday.
Founded by Our Lady of Piety Church, Divar, the Piedade Youth Association has been celebrating Bonderam for over three decades and this is the 34th year that this festival of flags will be celebrated at Piedade village. "However, while the Bonderam celebrations will be held on September 9 this year, the church associated harvest feast which marks the ripening of the crop, has already been celebrated on August 27 as usual," informs Beato D'mello, current president of Piedade Youth Association.
"This year because of Ganesh Chaturthi falling in the same week, we had preponed the celebration from August 26 to August 19. But again because of the code of conduct imposed due to assembly-by polls we had to postpone it to September," says Freddy Ferrao from Romantic ward.
The church ritual involves taking out a flag march carrying the statue of baby Jesus and the patron saint in a procession to the field where the parish priest cuts the corn while the locals take the corn and keep it near the altar in the church. Mass is then offered and home grown fruits are distributed. The parish priest sprinkles holy water on the vehicles, new or old and prayers are offered. The locals meet and greet while the brass band plays.
The Bonderam festival is a fun filled festival that needs no invitation for the visitors outside the village and the locals participate wholeheartedly wearing vibrant, colourful attires and displaying their talents through various competitions. Music, dance, food and competitions are a part of any village festival in Goa and Bonderam is not an exception to this unwritten rule. "Now, we do have mock fights among our six wards during Bonderam but no weapons are used. Everything is just a fun-filled activity which all of us enjoy thoroughly," smiles U D Aleixinho Monserrate, 57. A central government employee and the past president (1989-90) of the Piedade Youth Association, Monserrate adds, "Though times have changed, the spirit and the fervour of the festival celebrations remains untouched with no traces of enmity. Frozen in time frame is the history which now the islanders remember in a fond manner. Known as the favourite festival of the year Bonderam gives Divarkars a platform to exhibit their talents. The flags now are not signs of battles but symbols of peace."
"Last year the association tried to adopt technology and introduced live screening on a LED screen so that the celebrations could be better viewed. The area, Divar Centre, where the celebration takes place is small and the audience could not get a glimpse of the events. Our current president Beato has taken extra efforts to make it possible. He has also linked this screen to our Facebook page wherein Goans sitting in UK and Dubai can also watch Bonderam live," adds Freddy.
"Early morning a wake-up call is given at 5.30 am just like a public announcement to remind the people to get ready for the grand feast of Bonderam which begins at midday with a flag march with brass band, followed by a fancy dress parade and traditional float parade, one each from the six wards," adds Beato. There is tough competition and each ward tries to win by displaying the best of their talent in choosing the theme of the float. These are non-commercial floats that display competitive spirit and winning is tough. There is a fancy dress competition too. The music, song and dance is all over the place until 10 pm. When the music stops, the donation coup lottery draws are announced marking the end of the day long fest. Apart from the islanders there is equal crowd from across Goa gathered to watch the gala festival sponsored by the State Bank of India and others.