Night of the Narkasurs!

With blood shot eyes, muscular bodies and fingers like daggers, Goan streets were filled with narkasurs, on November 5. Days before Diwali, the lanes of Goa were abuzz with hundreds of youth putting together giant size effigies of demon Narakasura, who paraded them around and set afire on the eve of Diwali, marking the victory of good over evil. Some of the narkasurs were made using fiber sheets while some had mechanical settings, letting the narkasurs move and some portraying using eco- friendly messages.
With various competitions held around the state, enthusiastic locals carried their 30 to 40 feet high narkasurs through the cities to demonstrate their skills and creativity. “We have been known for our mythological narkasurs and for the last many years we have been participating for competitions. This year we went to over three places to project our

narkasur

, which was completed within a month of hardwork,” says Varun Shenvi, from Ramnath Betal Bal Mandal, Ramnathi in Ponda.

Though there were also narkasurs which resembled and focused on social relevance, they hoped these messages could help society. Some carried out social messages like ‘don’t drink and drive’, ‘don’t litter’ and many more. “The entire plan to make the narkasur was to create awareness among the locals on using eco- friendly products. We have used paper plates which we used so that people could be interested in the design and ask us what the reason to make it. then we explained to them about the using reusable plates,” says Maganlal Lotlikar, from Margao