Connecting to Roots    - Monti Fest in New Zealand                                                    
By Sophia Rodrigues
Daijiworld Media Network

Auckland, Sep 15, 2008: I am a 100% Indian but with a name that sounds European (to non-Indians), I find a lot of non-Indians here still querying about my origin. I jump at the opportunity of answering this question and my instant reply is “I am an Indian, from Mumbai but I trace my roots to Mangalore.” The latter part of my reply is where my emphasis is because this is what I am most proud of and I have realized now - more than ever before - that it’s my Mangalorean origin that gives me a distinct identity.

Celebration of Monti Fest is an attempt to connect to this root that I am so proud of. And joining me were 150 other people in Auckland, New Zealand who desired to make this connection through the celebration of the Birthday of Our Lady in the most traditional Mangalorean way that we could possibly think of.

When I say traditional I am not just referring to our clothes, it’s about every aspect of the celebration from the Konkani mass filled with Konkani hymns with even our little children reciting some prayers in Konkani, to the sip of  milk mixed with Noven, to the lunch of vegetables followed by the Vorn. This is not all. The real traditional experience came with sitting on the floor with the meal served on a banana leaf and eating the food with our fingers – no forks, no spoon – it was just us and our desire to connect to Mangalore.

This was our second year of the celebration – from a humble start last year with about 70 people, we more than doubled the number to 150. We had to stop at that given our inexperience with managing big numbers but next year we promise to make it bigger so we do not disappoint anyone.

We started the day with a Konkani mass celebrated by our very own Mangalorean priest Father Jerome. We had the Noven mixed in milk. We had a lunch of 11 separately cooked vegetables that included our very own jackfruit, cucumber karam, Channa/Tendli, French beans, guvar, peas, ladyfinger, cabbage, cauliflower, yellow pumpkin and sprouted Moong. We had two curries of alu dento and raw banana. For the dessert it was the delicious Vorn. But topping all this was the experience of eating it all on a banana leaf. In between this, we had a quiz that tested our knowledge of Mangalore and its culture and history.

Did we succeed in making our connection? We did more than that. It was truly an emotional experience. The quote from some of the attendees sums it all!

“The mass, the procession of kids towards the statue of Mother Mary, the showering of flowers on Mother Mary and the food served on banana leaves was so authentic and traditional to Mangalore that I felt I was in Mangalore and enjoyed the feeling thoroughly.” 

“It was wonderful to be part of an authentic Mangalorean experience.  Loved every bit of it from the Indian dress code, the Konkani liturgy, the range of Mangi style veg preparations, the Mangi quiz, sitting down on the floor and eating, and most of all you guys deserve lots of credit for arranging for the banana leaves.”

“I must have eaten the jackfruit vegetable after 20-30 years.”

Nativity Fest Around the World : Report & Pictures: Click Here