Aami Goyenkar Goa Festival at Dadar

                                             Goa fest was literally a crowd puller 

The two day long “Eighth Goa festival organised by “Aami Goyenkar”, at Dr. Antonio da SilvaTechnical High School at Dadar in Central Mumbai was concluded with over 20,000 people attending grand finale on Sunday.

On the occasion, a veteran dramatist Arvind Pilgaonkar was felicitated with “Life Time Achievement Award’.Replying to felicitation, he said that he could essay various roles in plays/dramas, since he never severed his ties with music. I received excellent guidance from my superiors and I accepted all type of roles, instead of being choosy. He advised youngsters to study deep, instead of collecting information only from the Internet. Pilganokar also lauded efforts by “Aami Goyenkar”, in organising the fest to encourage and make available market to artists/artisans.

In his speech, “Aami Goyenkar” Secretary Sanjay Hegde said that it was a misconception that Goa food means drinks and non-vegetarian food. In fact compared to non-vegetarian food, there are more food delicacies of vegetarian food. Such festival will be organised also outside Mumbai, where Goan people reside so that they would be able to interact with artists, artisans and others, he added.

The festival was made up of over 50 stalls set up at strategic places around the grounds. The chefs used their considerable talent and expertise to best showcase the best of the Goan culinary delights. The festival offered mouth watering delicacies, including fish cuisines and other culinary flavours.  

The food ranged from the down-to-earth cooking to the sublime heights of haute cuisine a flavourful fusion of Goan and Western cooking. The delicacies were not restricted to savoury and spicy dishes but ranged over sweet meats and desserts as well. The festival tempted even the most finicky of palates, titillating their taste buds. Besides food, there were also stalls displaying handicrafts, household articles and artistic work etc.

There was also an exciting line up of events. They included an elocution contest in Konkani and other events like “Gajali”(chatting), “Udags” (memory) related to Konkani literature, healthy child contest, cookery contest, talent hunt, debates, musical and entertainment programs. These events undoubtedly turned to be a fan favourite.