The Goa College of Music, Altinho, is organising ‘Prastaar: Gomant Rang 2025’ on January 23 and 24
To introduce the younger generation to Goa’s folk art forms, music, and drama, the Goa College of Music, Altinho, Student Council 2024-25 is organising ‘Prastaar: Gomant Rang 2025’ on January 23 and 24 at the Multipurpose Hall of the Department of Art and Culture, Panaji.
The event, themed ‘Goenche Daayz, Goenchi Saunskrutaay’ (Goan Heritage, Goan Culture), will celebrate Goan folk music while also showcasing the research findings of scholars studying Goa’s folk traditions. Folklorist Padma Shri Vinayak Khedekar will grace the event as the chief guest
Student coordinator and general secretary, Medhaj Dempo, explains that the event aims to revive and promote traditional Goan music forms like hovyo, morule, jagor, and kalo.
On January 23, experts including assistant professor of International Relations at Goa University, Yugank Naik; technical associate, Project Management Unit, DTE Goa, Divya Naik; assistant professor, Ganapat Parsekar College of Education Durgesh Majik, who has received a National Scholarship from the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, to work in the field of folk theatre; CEO of Event Basket Vaibhav Kalangutkar, who has written and directed two dramas based on Goa’s folk narratives, and theatre director, music designer and academician Saish Deshpande, will discuss Goa’s folk art forms. An exhibition showcasing Goan antiques and instruments will also be set up.
On January 24, there will be presentations of research papers by students and academics, performances of Goan folk dances, and a certificate distribution ceremony.
Dempo further explains that Prastaar 2025 is part of a long-term effort to explore Indian music in depth. “Folk music is the foundation of almost all music, so we decided to dedicate the 2024-2025 period to celebrating Goan traditions with the theme ‘Goenche Daayz, Goenchi Saunskrutaay,’ under which we held our first cultural event, ‘Ghumatangan’, last year,” he says.
The theme, he says, highlights the importance of understanding our roots to grow and move forward. “In Goa, we revere the soil that gives rise to our cultural expressions, from kaavi art to the ghumat to the diyas, which represent freedom and unity. Prastaar 2025 brings all these art forms together to celebrate Goa’s culture and the land that nourishes it,” he says.
