The Carnival, the four-day annual pre-Lent festival of fun and frolic began with festive fervour in Panaji on Saturday.

This year, it was a carnival with a difference, as more than 60 people with disabilities, either on modified two-wheelers, wheelchairs or with white canes, participated in the float parade. They used a special float organised by the Disability Rights Association of Goa (DRAG) along with Enable Travel and Ezy Mov to promote Goa as an accessible and inclusive tourist destination for people with disability.

The highlights of the parade were live music by wheel-chair-bound music-teacher and singer Jolene Dias and DRAG president Avelino de Sa on a floating wheelchair.

Rustom Irani and Shama Noorani from Enable Travel dressed as a King Momo and Queen Momo and participated in the parade in their wheel-chairs.

“I thank Goans for inviting me for participating in this marvellous carnival. I am coming to Goa for the third time, but this is the first time I am participating in the carnival and I love it so much,” an excited Mr. Irani told The Hindu. While it was also Ms. Noorani’s first time to the Carnival, she was participating because it was made accessible. “I am really excited,” she said.

Mr. de Sa said that participation in this carnival parade for many people with a disability, especially wheel-chair-bound people who had an accessible pandal to sit and watch the parade from, was a “dream come true.” He thanked Goa Tourism and his partners Enable Travel and Ezy Mov for “making it a reality.”

DRAG had also made special arrangements for a wheelchair accessible pandal for people with disability and the elderly to view the Miramar-Panaji Carnival parade.

As the crowd cheered , King Momo, mythical king of the Carnival and his entourage led a colourful parade of floats from Miramar near here to Dona Paula. King Momo declared the mock decree of “Eat, Drink and Make Merry” during his “4-day reign”, to the chants of “Viva Carnival” from the huge crowd that had lined up for the Miramar parade route.

The parade showcased diverse participants under various categories, displaying different themes and messages, including group walkers for visually impaired from National Association for the Blind. The floats highlighted various social, environmental, and wildlife issues.

The parade with over 60 colourful floats, had its interesting characters. A man dressed like Mahatma Gandhi and a look-alike of Prime Minister Modi walking together attracted public attention. A float on the controversial Traffic Sentinel Scheme of Goa police urged people to obey traffic rules. There was also a scene on the Pulwama attack with a terrorist and Army Jawans, one on Goa’s formalin-in-fish controversy and a float by people from Kerala thanking Goans for assisting during Kerala floods.

The Carnival parade will now move on to other cities for the next three days.