Which monsoon festival of Goa is known as the mud festival?

Chikal Kalo is a monsoon festival of Goa, famous as the "mud festival". It is celebrated every year at the Devki Krishna Temple in the village of Marcel, in the Ponda taluka of North Goa, on the day of Ashadhi Ekadashi, usually in July.

The name comes from the Konkani words "chikal", meaning mud, and "kalo", meaning play or a mixture. The festival recreates the childhood games of Lord Krishna, who is believed to have played in the mud with his friends, the cowherd boys (gopas), in Vrindavan and Gokul. During the monsoon, the open ground in front of the Devki Krishna Temple becomes a field of mud. On the day of the festival, young men and boys gather in the muddy ground and play traditional games, such as wrestling, mud-slinging, races, human pyramids and other playful sports, covering themselves completely in mud. They also sing devotional songs and perform folk rituals. The festival celebrates the joy of the monsoon, the fertility of the earth and devotion to Lord Krishna.

The Devki Krishna Temple at Marcel is unusual, as it is one of the few temples in India where Lord Krishna is worshipped together with his mother, Devaki. The temple's deities were moved to Marcel from the island of Chorao during the Portuguese period.

Goa celebrates several monsoon festivals, such as Sao Joao (the feast of St. John the Baptist, on 24 June, when young men jump into wells), Sangodd (the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, with boat processions, on 29 June) and Bonderam (a flag festival held on the island of Divar in August). These festivals show the close relationship between the people of Goa and the monsoon.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Sao Joao is the Catholic monsoon festival in which young men jump into wells.
• ✗Shigmo is the spring festival of Goa.
• ✗Bonderam is the flag festival of Divar island, held in August.