By Marcellus D’Souza

Mar 29: I woke up with a splitting headache this morning. It was the morning after the swearing- in of Pramod Sawant or as he calls himself ‘dotour’. The parties reminded one of the Presidential Balls held in the USA. The only restriction was the dress code was Kurta-Pajama and Nehru jacket oops! Modi coat.

The booze flowed like the eleven rivers that Goa possesses. Pramod Sawant could breathe a huge sigh of relief. His first stumbling block was removed by the one and only Amit Shah. He silenced the dissidents by inducting them into the cabinet.

The food was lavish. Fish, Goa’s stable; pork or choris, another must have on the table, some home grown veggies. There were numerous bottles of Goa’s famous Port Wine and freshly brewed Urak. Fish curry with poi, from Sebastian’s Bakery and chicken Xacutti were tasty. The dessert was the bebinca baked in 14 layers in honour of Goa’s Chief Minister, Pramod Sawant bab.

The crème de la crème of Goan society showed up. Driving, their swanky imported SUVs, one car bigger and larger than the other. The Metropolitan Archbishop and Patriarch of the East Indies Filipe Neri Ferrão made an appearance. He could not stay long as he has a self appointed ‘curfew’ as it is Lent and had to celebrate this morning’s Holy Mass at the Archbishop’s Palace. Various Goan business houses like Alcon, Salgaokar’s, Dempo’s and Cosme Matias Menezes (CMM) made their presence known. They spoke Portuguese to each other. Many in the assembled gathering conversed in Konkani, while a few ‘outsiders’ spoke Hindi and Marathi.

Governor of Goa P.S. Sreedharan Pillai mingled with the crowd, but did not take any questions. A special fare of Keralite cuisine, more like a sadhya was spread out for him and his entourage. Other dignitaries, like chief minster’s from seven states that had flow down to Goa for the ceremony of their newly ‘elected’ brother. The new CM on the block had just been thru some tense moments, but all issues and differences were brushed under the carpet by Motabhai.

Each of the eight MLAs, who were awarded for being naughty, rebellious children with a berth in the cabinet, was allowed to bring in a limited number of guests. But the numbers rose exponentially, when word spread about the celebrations. Everybody was somebody’s guest. I was reminded of the adage: “If you sneeze in Goa, Karnataka catches a cold”. So much so the diamonds, pearls and expensive perfumes began to mix with everybody present.

Tony Rodrigues, from Calangute, played his exclusive number. He is hired for whatever occasion - happy or sad. Ball room dancing was planned but the local flare prevailed. Succorine Bai, wearing her trademark house gown, regaled the gathering with her rustic yet innocent humour. The casinos on the Mandovi River were not hired as the organisers did not get the requisite permission from the ‘Captain of Ports’ on time. Typical bureaucratic delays. This is Goa baba and everything runs slowly and at its own pace. Paulo Travels kept their fleet on standby. They had to transport the people who attended the celebrations back home.

I was woken up by the incessant honking of the 'Poder', who was unaware of my late night rendezvous. I now await the local newspapers, to tell me what did not happen at the swearing-in ceremony as I sip my coffee. Can any of you smell it, brewed on my as old as me cooking range.
Dev Bore Karo

*The article is fictional and has no representation to any event or persons