Madgao
I missed the carnival in Panjim, so I went to the one in Madgao. It was a very tame affair, for although many of the floats pumped out old recorded calypso numbers, there was no hip movement during the dancing - no unseemly showing of cleavage or thigh. Instead the dancers hopped from side to side, waving large handkerchiefs in the air, or stepped demurely sideways, one way, then the other.
One in every five floats was advertising something. There was however, a float with a rice plantation being planted, complete with papier mache' buffaloes, a float with a fish market with real fish, a giant swan and a giant preying mantis; wealth out of garbage, producing petrol from garbage and a giant bee made out of coloured rope. Several giant puppets ambled along the road, together with men in drag, and a lot of people in fluorescent wigs and plastic masks. A large police presence did not, however, prevent the public from invading the road that the floats were travelling down, thus impeding progress.
When people started throwing coloured water about the place I decided it was time to leave, but leaving was not as easy as that, for all the streets where the bus passed through had been blocked off. In the end I shared a taxi with a German couple.
Today the carneval is coming to Benaulim, but I haven't seen any sign of it yet.
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