Vasco Saptah
The Vasco Saptah or the Damodar Bhajani Saptah is an annual cultural and religious festival celebrated in Vasco da Gama, Goa. It is a week-long celebration that starts on the sixth day of the Shravana month of the Hindu calendar, usually in the month of July or August, that commemorates the belief that an epidemic in 1899 was overcome with the blessings of Lord Damodar, a local incarnation of Lord Shiva.
History
In 1899, an epidemic spread across the city of Vasco da Gama, Portuguese Goa, causing several deaths. Members of some prominent families from the city then travelled to Zambaulim to seek blessings from Lord Damodar at Shri Damodar Sansthaan. The temple priest then gave them a shreephal as prasada. The shreephal was then placed at the house of the Joshi family, and was worshipped faithfully by the citizens of Vasco, after which it is believed that the epidemic subsided. The Vasco Saptah, or the Damodar Bhajani Saptah, is thus celebrated every year to commemorate this.Observance and traditions
''Shreephal'' ceremony
Every year on the sixth day of Shravana month of the Hindu calendar, usually in the month of July or August, a shreephal is brought from the Shri Damodar Sansthaan at Zambaulim and placed in the Damodar Temple at Vasco. The temple is located in the original large hall of the house that belongs to the Joshi family in Vasco. This ceremony, performed at noon, is accompanied with the singing of bhajans for 24 hours.Since the Joshi family had originally housed the shreephal in 1899, a member of the family usually installs this sacred coconut every year. Until the 2000s, businessman and politician Vasant Joshi from the Joshi family was responsible for this.