Held on National Youth Day, Parikrama 0.2 is a unique event that through various competitions, fosters discussion on roots and culture of Goa
JAY JOSHI
Students in Goa need platforms that give them an opportunity to showcase their talents, but the need of the hour perhaps is an event that has a deeper impact on Goan society as a whole even after it has concluded. That is exactly what Parikrama 0.2 seeks to do. Organised by Parikrama Knowledge Terminus, the event itself is split in two parts: Zero Fest, which will be held on January 12 and 13, and pre-fest activities, which includes a series of events that took place on December 8 and 9 2018 in the run-up to Zero Fest.
“The event has a deeply intellectual flair to it, and its main objective is to create meaningful content about Goa, which could be published online,” says Yugank Naik, Chief Coordinator of Parikrama 0.2. “For instance, during the pre-event activities, we had a competition to create a blog. As a part of this, groups from various parts of Goa created travel blogs about their cities and villages. On one hand, this will generate good content about Goa, and on the other hand, the creators will receive credit for their work, and will also be able to take it forward,” he elaborates.
That said, it may be noted that the event has a rather unconventional name. However, there is a unique reason behind the same, states Naik. “The concept of ‘zero’ plays a key role in the idea. It stands for creating something from nothings. Secondly, it gives a message about the way we craft narratives. We say that history begins from ‘volume 1’. We start recognising history from the point where our elders told us to measure it. But the story existed before that too. THe land that we today called Goa existed before Portuguese colonialism, Kadambas, and other dynasties. We need to find exactly where this idea of Goa originated.” Naik smiles acknowledging that there is a quite complex idea behind the causal-sounding name of the event.
Apart from generating meaningful content about Goa, the event seeks to revive some of Goa’s traditions and generate an intellectual discussion on them, informs Naik. “We have a competition called ‘Folk Mand’ for example, where the participants perform a folk dance of Goa, but it does not just end there. During the contest, one random person from the team will have to give an erudite talk about the dance being performed, and the judges will ask questions on the talk.” Thus, it is not like a cultural exhibit in a museum which you could watch, enjoy, and let go. Instead, the participant’s understanding of the dance will be tested.
Other competitions in the event such as essay-writing and even musical performances are aimed at discussing topics such as political-economy of Goa, land use patterns, forest rights act and even Konkani cinema. “In fact, we had a segment called ‘musical warriors’ in the pre-fest activities. Here, participants have to compose and perform songs based on these themes. They had to perform the songs in streets and public places in their respective areas, and send the video to organisers.” informs Naik. “These are protest songs; composing and singing a song in protest is something which is not seen in present times, and we want to encourage such creation.” Besides becoming part of the contest, these songs also serve to create awareness among the people, he notes.
Parikrama also has a competition where participants adapt works of Konkani writers into theatre plays and translate them into English. All in all, Parikrama seeks to enrich Goa’s cultural sphere for years to come
