Heading To Goa This Week? Don't Miss The Demons Wandering The Streets

Dussera and Diwali may otherwise be pretty muted in Goa, but if you happen to be there on the eve of Diwali? Then you definitely need to head in to the villages to catch their Narkasur or Narak Chaturdashi celebrations.

We can already see giant and monstrous chests, legs and hands being constructed in every Goan village.

Goa has a special legend about Narkasur and the main reason why Goans celebrate Diwali. What is now Goa used to be ruled by the demon king Narkasur at one point. But as with most rulers, he got arrogant with all his powers and became a tyrannical ruler. So unhappy with him, and also his policy of kidnapping young girls, it seems the people of Goa prayed to Lord Krishna for help. This of course led to a great battle between the two with a lot of Ramanand Sagar-style weapons, we presume.

Lord Krishna of course used his version of an Excalibur cut of his head and tongue in the wee hours of the morning. And then if that was not bad ass enough, he went ahead and smeared Narkasur’s blood on his forehead as a symbol of victory.

The young girls were released and they lit lamps in their houses to mark the end of darkness. Hence every year on the eve of Diwali all these giant effigies are paraded with great music and celebrations and then burnt off in the wee hours of the morning. So it is pretty much an all night party. Usually all of these effigies are made of grass, waste paper in the hope to keep them environmentally friendly. So avoid the beach for once, and check out this unique to Goa only, Diwali celebrations. And of course now that they have competitions and prizes for the best-made Narkasur, they get grander and more innovative every year.

Just take out your vehicle and go riding around the villages of Goa to see this spectacle pretty much around every corner or maybe paddy field. And you can even join in the parades and celebrations.