Ganesh Chaturthi 2025: How Goa's Kamat Family Keeps a 400-Year-Old Paper Ganpati Tradition Alive

Outside, the world rushes by in a blur —horns blare, traffic inches forward, and tourists linger around the Abbe Faria statue in Panjim. The square overlooking the River Mandovi is not only famed for the imposing Adil Shah Palace on its right but one of the city’s oldest homes, the Mhamai Kamat House behind it. The 400-year-old home with its series of inner courtyards belongs to the colonial era prominent trading family. When you walk the old corridors, you can still spot a few antiques, reminiscent of the past. 

Deep inside the chambers of the Kamat ancestral house, there's a buzz of festive activity. The household welcomes its extended family for the annual Ganesh Chaturthi or as they call in Goa — Chavath — celebrations. The Kamat family has been in news, globally, for their unique paper Ganpati, dating back to colonial times.

Together for Ganpati

In the old kitchen, the ladies of the house sit cross-legged in a circle on the floor, preparing coconut-filled neuris and other sweets. “When I was a child, we lived as one big joint family of nearly a hundred members,” recalls Sangita Gauncecar nee Kamat, daughter of the house married to Upendra Gaunecar.

“Our family has always been strict about following traditions. The women prepared festive foods, while we children soaked in the atmosphere.”

Their worship of the paper Ganesh dates to the Portuguese era. Since the colonial power restricted all forms of idolatry, the mud idol couldn’t be bought in the market. Families found ways to continue their faith under wraps.

Known as Patrecho Ganpati, Historian Dr. Maria Lourdes de Bravo da Costa Rodrigues notes in Feasts, Festivals, and Observances that during colonial times, the Kamats pasted the Ganesh image onto an old food storage box to preserve their faith discreetly.

Despie the changes in government and trends, Kamat family continues to honour this tradition. They still do not consider having a clay or metal idol for worshipping on Ganesh Chaturthi. Today, they worship a panel of three framed paper paintings: Shiva and Parvati on either side, with Ganesh at the centre. 

“We are still living in those old days. Though the house has been restored, we are still mentally in that era,” laughs Sangita remembering her family’s attachment to traditions. “Thankfully, the younger generation is just as committed to keeping these customs alive.”

The rituals begin on the eve of the festival with the Tai (third day of first fortnight of Bhadrapad in Konkani), the worship of Mahadev and Parvati. “The ladies fast and place coconuts before Parvati,” explains Gauncecar. 

This Is How Ganesh Chaturthi Is Celebrated In Goa

The extensive festive menu covering Tai, Chavath and Pancham include: Varan, sheet (rice), saar, paach paalyachi bhaaji,  bhendi bhaaji, mooga gaathi, nirpanas kaapa, kadi, paatolyo on Tai.

The main Ganpati celebration oferings include rice, varan, saar, ghosali bhaaji, mooga gathi,  khatkahem, puri, nevryo, modak.

The following day includes daali toy, kadi, aale gaathi,  chana tonak, payasam with rice and varan. 

While other families immerse idols in water bodies, the Kamats follow a distinctive visarjan. “After the pooja, the new images are hung outside the garbhagraha for year-long worship,” says Gauncecar. “Only the flowers and the first ears of rice are immersed in our family’s well, Devachi Bain. In my childhood, even a coconut would be immersed.”

For the Kamats, Ganesh Chaturthi is not just a festival but a reunion — a reaffirmation of faith, heritage, and memory. Within their restored home, history continues to live on, not as relics but faith thriving in the present.