The Mando Festival, celebrating a traditional song form with Portuguese influences, is held in which state?

The Mando Festival is a cultural festival of Goa that celebrates the "mando", the most famous form of traditional Goan song. It is held every year, usually in December, and features competitions and performances of mandos by singers and groups from across Goa.

The mando is a form of song and dance that developed among the Catholic community of Goa in the 19th century, especially in the Salcete region of South Goa. It is a unique blend of Indian and Western (Portuguese) musical traditions. The songs are sung in Konkani, the language of Goa, but their melodies and harmony show the influence of Western music. The mandos usually deal with themes of love, longing, separation, sorrow and, sometimes, social and political events. They are slow and graceful, and are performed by men and women in traditional formal dress, with the women wearing long, elegant dresses or saris and holding fans, and the men in suits. The singers move slowly and gracefully as they sing. The mando is usually accompanied by the violin, guitar and the "ghumat", a traditional Goan percussion instrument made of a clay pot covered with animal skin. A mando is often followed by a faster song and dance called the "dulpod" or "deknni".

The Mando Festival was started to preserve and promote this traditional art form, which is an important part of the cultural identity of Goa. The ghumat has been declared the state heritage instrument of Goa.

Goa was ruled by the Portuguese for about 450 years, from 1510 to 1961, and Goan culture shows a rich mixture of Indian and Portuguese influences. Other festivals of Goa include the Goa Carnival, Shigmo, Sao Joao, the Feast of St. Francis Xavier and the Konsachem Fest.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Kerala has Christian communities with their own church festivals, such as the Arthunkal feast.
• ✗Mizoram is known for Chapchar Kut and Christian festivals.
• ✗Puducherry was a French colony, not Portuguese.