Goa: Divar island gears up for 'Bondeira' festival

The Portuguese-era 'Bondeira' festival, traditionally organised on Divar island near here, will be celebrated on August 23.
Interestingly, the festival of 'Bondeira' (a Portuguese word for flag), which entails fun and merry-making, had its roots in a tradition arising out of disputes over property at the island during the Portuguese era.
"During the Portuguese rule there were frequent disputes among villagers on the Divar island over property issues. Thus the Portuguese introduced a system by putting up flags to demarcate the boundaries," Deputy Director, Department of Tourism, Pamela Mascarenhas, told PTI today.
She said that otherwise laidback island of Divar, located 12 kms away from the state capital, comes alive on the day of the Bondeira festival.

"The day begins with a Flag Parade from the main Divar junction, which is accompanied by a brass band. After this the Bondeira festival is officially declared open. Later in the day, there is a fancy dress competition followed by the traditional float parade and a live musical performance featuring the famous music bands," she said.
Mascarenhas said that the state government waned to promote the festival in a big way.
"We expect scores of domestic tourists to arrive for this festival which is an annual event and would be highlighted on the tourism calendar," she added.