Dinner and dance and the clack of kot’tis mark World Goa Day in Melbourne
On 16 August, Melbourne witnessed its grandest World Goa Day celebrations to date. More than 450 Goans and their friends got together to celebrate in an event organised by Golden Events Management (GEM). At 7.15 pm on the dot, the Master of Ceremonies Mr Alan D’Cruz gave the signal to the band VIBE, to start playing their introductory numbers. In a few moments the floor was packed with dancing couples. It was a great start to the night which was only going to get better by the hour.
From dance to entertainment, a small troupe led by their choreographer Mrs Lidia Martins performed the Kotti Dance. The MC had a real hard time holding the eager crowd at bay as everyone wanted a better view of the dancers strutting on the floor to the clacks of their kot’tis (coconut shells).
Dinner was next, and the caterers rose to the occasion with a variety of dishes which besides the usual fare of pea rice and tomato pulao, roast beef, eggplant, salads etc etc, they also served Goan Pork Sorpotel and Chicken Xacuti to everyone’s delight. If only there was some, oh yes, we missed a swig of Caju Feni (local drink of Goa) which would have been a great compliment to the fantastic food presented on the night.
VIBE with Natasha Rodrigues on the mike took over once again, and began to build the tempo for the night. Then came Goan star Dilip Chico who enthralled the crowd with a selection of Goan and Latin numbers, bringing on memories of Goa to mind. Dilip in his own imitable style got those on the dance floor doing a fair bit of ball room dancing too! As is usual with these functions, came a draw for many prizes. Besides the prizes, the organisers also had a bottle of Shiraz on every table. The tables were decorated in such a way that the ambience had a ‘WOW’ factor right from the beginning to the end of the event.
As the clock ticked away into the night, Dilip Chico came back to enthral the crowd with his repertoire of Konkani songs, dulpods etc. A mini march was set up to his music as an ice breaker enabling strangers become friends before they departed at the end of the show. It was so nice to see both the young and the not so young all having a gala time dancing and catching up with old friends while also making new acquaintances. Many voiced an opinion that we must have such occasions more often, if only to meet and greet while having a good time too. Regretfully, many people missed out on World Goa Day as they left their booking for the last moment.
With Melbourne celebrating World Goa Day since 2003, the reverie has only been getting more vibrant with every passing year. The organisers have promised that next year will be bigger and even better with more events being planned for 2015. See you again next year.
Published in the Indian Sun (Goan News in Melbourne )
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