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MEGA HANUMAN CHALISA AT BADODKAR GROUNDS ON FEB 22
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MEGA HANUMAN CHALISA AT BADODKAR GROUNDS ON FEB 22

Feb 21- Feb 27, 2026, Stray Thoughts February 20, 2026 , by

AND a few stray thoughts for yet another Saturday. For a Saturday following the week when the double-engine BJP government is aggressively promoting spiritual festivals in Goa. For a Saturday following the week when on the mass movement of Ponjekars coming up anew against the mega casino coming into the mouth of the river Chapora overlooked by the heritage value Reis Magaos fort and church here. For a Saturday following the week when on the importance of being an RSS loyalist in Modi’s India. For a Saturday following the week when on the power behind Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant. For a Saturday following the week when on the biggest carnival event in Goa this year which was the huge carnival celebration at the Fatorda PDA grounds.
 AND a few stray thoughts on when the double-engine BJP government is aggressively promoting spiritual festivals in Goa. Besides the mega spiritual festival being planned later in February involving the Shankaracharyas and heads of various village maths, Panim’s Bandodkar stadium grounds are being taken over by Lord Hanuman on February 22, 2026.
The Chinmaya Mission is organizing a massive Hanuman Chalisa recitation on the relics of the old Bandodkar Football Stadium under the sponsorship of the Dempo Group chairperson Srinivas Dempo. A report in the “Navhind Times” tells us that 54 havan kunds (sacred fires) and 21 Hanuman Chalisa recitations will take place between 10am and 1.30pm. A devotee may participate in the havan samidha ritual by registering for a nominal fee of Rs500. See, nothing is free in this material age and even to recite the Hanuman Chalisa you have to pay a fee.
However, the collective recital of the Hanuman Chalisa only 21 times will be free of cost. The timings are 8.30am to 1.30pm. The organizers expect over 5,000 people to attend the event which is part of the Chinmaya Amrit Mahotsav celebrations. Interestingly, the late Swami Chinmayananda who was a Mallu swami with a distinct Mallu accent, promoted the Bhagvad Gita. In the meantime street side shrines devoted to Lord Hanuman are being converted into full-fledged temples all over the state. It all started with a small guddi (mini shrine) just in front of the Demphe College at Miramar. Students going in for exams used to seek the blessings of Lord Hanuman here at this shrine, the “Ramayan” hero monkey god of Hinduism is very extremely popular amongst yonth in Goa for he is seen as the patron god of blessings for body beautiful.
The old guddi ghumti was surreptiously demolished and the image immersed in the Miramar beach waters nearby, by a group of people who decided to build a big temple at the Miramar circle crossroads. The furious students searched for their Lord Hanuman image up and down Miramar beach and as luck would have it, the high tide washed up the image back to shore. The students took it back and rebuilt the gumti which still exists besides the big temple and students and old-timers still continue to seek divine blessings here for whatever reasons.
Then there was a mini Hanuman shrine at the base of a tree growing at the center of a crossroads near the Campal Grounds, the road leading to Campal Clinic. The tree shrine has become very popular with devotees on motorbikes, who park nearby and do circumbulation or parikrama around the tree which houses the shrine of Lord Hanuman. Now a brand new temple is coming up within the grounds of the Campal multipurpose stadium close by.
Similarly, we have the crosses everywhere to commemorate the Catholic beloveds who met with an accident hereabout and died. The cross at the Miramar Circle has also grown bigger and bigger over time at this traffic crossroads junction and one has to be very careful while crossing over roads here. Again, there is the Bambolim Chuch which has come up on the site of a small cross commemorating accidents here. Goans and drivers of all denomination stop by here at the “fulancho” cross and say a prayer for safety on the road on the way to Margao.

MEGA NEW CASINO BLUES
AND a few stray thoughts on the mass movement of Ponjekars coming up anew against the mega casino coming into the mouth of the river Chapora overlooked by the heritage value Reis Magaos fort and church here. In theory the 100 metre long 10th storied casino with a built up area of 65,000 sq feet of gambling space is a replacement for the old existing Deltin Royale in the Mandovi river, a much smaller boat. Initially, residents of Panjim led by Patricia Pinto and Sabina Martins accompanied by centenarian freedom fighter Libby Lobo confronted Panjim mayor Rohit Monserrate. Reportedly, Rohit Monserrate had given an appointment for the meeting but he did not turn up and ignited the fury of the citizens delegation which had gone to meet him.
 New president of the Aam Aadmi party Valmiki Faleiro was asked to leave but he squatted on the floor of the mayor’s office, refusing to leave and he was manhandled rudely. Reportedly, Rohit did turn up later but Vamiki who was forcibly removed from the office premises by bouncer cops posted pictures of the bruises he got during the manhandling. All the citizens were incensed by the orders and behavior of the mayor Rohit Monserrate and organized a mega meeting at the Institute Menezes Braganze hall on Tuesday, Feb 17 to protest against not only the new monster casino, but also to demand the removal of all casinos from the river Mandovi.
Patricia Pinto, veteran activist and former councilor of Panjim Municipal Corporation revealed that the total sewerage released exceeded 16,000 litres as against the CCP claim of just 500 litres. Patricia contradicted Rohit’s claim that the municipality had no jurisdiction over the casinos. She pointed out that the ticketing officers and the illegal jetties built by the casinos were within the jurisdiction of the CCP. The anti-casino activists are now approaching Minister of Ports and Inland Waterways Digambar Kamat to prevent the new monster casino vessel from entering the Chapora river or any other river. By virtue of the initial licenses given to the offshore casinos vessels may only anchor 12 nautical miles from the coast let alone in any river. However, the irony is all of them are anchored within a few meters offshore the capital city of Panjim. They pose a major obstruction to the movement of barges and the tourism boats taking tourists to for pleasure cruises up or down the Mandovi river.
The growing toxicity of the river waters has been dramatized by the National Institute of Oceanograpy in multiple studies but it looks like the NIO has gone back on its claim that the waters off Caramzalen beach are polluted with heavy metal waste and this makes the quality of fish and other marine food too dangerous to eat. People don’t want to buy local Mandovi river catch of fish or any other seafood from this river at least, but local fisher people have launched an agitation — against the report. They lament, who will buy our Mandovi river fish and other seafood?

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING A BJP LOYALIST
AND a few stray thoughts on the importance of being an RSS loyalist in Modi’s India. In a recent interview held at the Goa Marriott Resort with Chief Minister of Goa Dr Pramod Sawant, the CM revealed that he belongs to an RSS family. That his father was a karyakarta who had contested and won the zilla parishad elections from Sanqualim. Pramod Sawant, who is from the tiny Bhoma village, was asked to contest the assembly elections from Sanqualim by the late chief minister, Manohar Parrikar, when the BJP was not in power either in Goa or at the Center. Pramod Sawant lost that election in 2008 but he won the election subsequently in 2011, when BJP later formed the government. It was on the instructions of Mohan Bhagwat the RSS chief that Pramod Sawant was appointed as the chief minister in the 2016 election.
 Pramod Sawant was the vice-president of the youth wing of the BJP which was then headed by the new BJP party president, Nabin. So much so that Pramod Sawant is perceived as being very close to the newly appointed president of the BJP. Narendra Modi believes in rewarding young RSS karyakarta . A most recent example is the appointment of Rekha Gupta as the chief minister of Delhi. Only RSS cadres can occupy the highest positions in the BJP states. There is, therefore, no chance for defectors like Vishwajit Rane, whatever noises he may make about how indispensable he is to the BJP.

POWER BEHIND CM PRAMOD SAWANT
AND a few stay thoughts on the power behind Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant. His wife Sulakshana, a teacher, also hails reportedly from a staunch RSS family. Sulakshana bai has been very active in creating institutions like the Padmini Foundation which runs a physiotherapy college in Sanqualim. She is educated, articulate, organized and is active politically, she campaigned not only in Goa but in Maharashtra during the assembly and the recent Municipal elections (in Maharashtra).
Sulakshana is also active in drumming up support among women for the BJP and campaigned for Pallavi Dempo. Never mind the alleged charges that she is a conduit for the money for government jobs and the patron of Puja Naik — who was arrested in the money for jobs scam.

PORVORIM `DURKOR’ STATUE NOW SORPOTEL!
AND a last stray thought on the biggest carnival event in Goa this year which was the huge carnival celebration at the Fatorda PDA grounds. Vijai Sardessai converted the carnival into a political tamasha. He reiterated that a combination of the Congress and the Goa Forward will throw out the BJP in the 2027 assembly elections. According to BJP sources the elections may be held before December 15, a date considered auspicious by the party’s official astrologer. Incidentally, Digambar Kamat also attended the carnival celebrations in Fatorda.
Meanwhile the dukor pig installation with a toilet seat sticking to its mouth, installed at the traffic circle down CHOGM road, was quietly removed. As somebody commented the pig got tired of the heavy traffic or was taken away to be converted into a sorpotel by Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte.

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