Carnival in Goa was a great leveler. Early accounts-all of them hearsay-are indeed educative. The white masters masqueraded as black slaves and the latter-generally slaves brought in from Mozambique-plastered their faces with flour and wore high battens, or walked on stilts. For those three ephemeral days, they were happy to be larger than life. And while the whites and the blacks mimicked each other, the brown locals watched this reversal of roles in awe from the sidelines.

In course of time, when the imperial regime mellowed and inhibitions dwindled, Carnival, no more an excuse to be what one was not-and often hoped to be-became a time for bonhomie. The old crude mimicry blossomed into social satire. In the villages, the play writers pieced together in Khel (Konkani for play) anecdotes, events and criticism. The Portuguese Governor General, his family and retinue used the occasion for a show of diplomacy. They showered the crowds with poudre de riz and confetti, and were happy to be showered back. At the carnival balls, the governor-general danced with whom he pleased-provided, of course the lady agreed to the request. And anyone was free to ask the governor-general's wife for a dance. And if the tango demanded, they danced cheek-to-cheek, hip-to-hip.

In 1922, when Dr. Jaime de Morais was Governor General of Goa , the entire area around the 'Palacio do Hidalcao' was transformed into a 'fairy land'. The Governor General entertained the children of Panjim in a somewhat curious manner. He waged a war with them from the verandah of his palace with 'cocotes' (powder bombs), bags of perfumed powder, flowers and sugar plums. The air was dotted with multicoloured trails attached to bobbing balloons. The streets were a riot of colours as the procession of horse-drawn carriages, decorated bullock carts and gorgeously bedecked floats wound their way up them For the next three days the carnival traffic jammed the streets alongside Hidalcao Palace , the Municipal Gardens and the fountainheads.
Once, Goa carnival was a mood. It had no spectators and was strictly for participants. From dawn to dusk and back to dawn again, they sang and danced, changed costumes and partners and serenaded their namorados, girlfriends. Those who fell in love during carnival married after Easter.

During the ancient carnival authentic battles were fought between opposing army-like groups wherein the participants were not only young people but also prominent citizens. The Portuguese sailors from the fun ship Sado made the carnival scene even more picturesque. Adding to the charm were groups of singers and musicians with their guitars, mandolins and other musical instruments, singing fados along with other carnival tunes.

The carnival of those times was sometimes reduced to a 'mini-revolution', wherein masked bands entered the homes of friends and acquaintances-raiding their kitchens and taking the best food they could find there.