Traditional matoli items flood Pimpalkatta

MARGAO: Come Chovoth (the Goan version of Ganesh Chaturthi) and Pimpalkatta in Margao, close to Gandhi market, turns into the most sought after place in the commercial capital.Hindus from across Salcete visit this area's annual makeshift bazaar for the various items used to celebrate the elephant-headed deity.Among the items are those that make up the traditional matoli-a makeshift roof outlined with bamboo and decorated with fruits, vegetables and flowers.Experts believe that the elaborate matoli decorations in parts of Ponda, Sanguem and Canacona talukas carry a few hundred types of fruits, herbs, flowers and vegetables mostly found in the wild and of tremendous medicinal value.Sita Naik, a vendor at Pimpalkatta, says the most important items in a traditional matoli include betelnuts, mauling (local citrus fruit), coconuts, kangoni, kavndal, sharwad chiddo, kallawi, bhende, ghosalim, kandlam, kattam (local vegetables), besides fruits like guavas, apples, maindolli bananas (from Moira), chiptam (wild fruit) etc."We gather these from the wild and bring them to the Margao market where people are ready to pay even a slightly higher price as we save them the trouble of collecting the items themselves," she says.Though all households celebrating the festival compulsorily erect the matoli above the palanquin of Lord Ganesha, there are many urban Hindus who prefer to use modern items in place of traditional ones."Decorating the matoli with traditional items is not only time consuming but has become expensive. Even wild kattam are being sold at 5 a piece. I prefer to use wax and wooden items as they can be easily tied to the matoli and the same items can be used every year," says Margao-resident Avita Kantak.The state government, incidentally, through its art and culture department has been organizing matoli competitions where those with the most number of traditional items are awarded."The exercise is to encourage a 'green festival' and over the years it has evoked tremendous response," says an official.The competition, the official claims, has also given "earning opportunities" to a number of young men from Ponda andBicholim. "They accept orders to erect matolis, especially in urban homes," says the official.Rupesh Parvatkar, an employee of the hospitality industry, is one such young man who makes the time to take matoli orders."It's my passion which I translate into earnings during the festival. Along with matolis I also make dekhaves (mythological and social scenes) that form an integral part of the Ganesh festival in Goa, especially in sarvajanik Ganesh mandals," he says.