By Pratima Achrekar| NT BUZZ
The crib displayed at the church of St Lawrence, Agacaim has been selected by the ‘Limca Book of Records’ for having a unique concept, it covers an area of about 370 sq mtrs with 47 mechanically revolving statues.

Unlike other cribs, the Agacaim crib had a strong message of saving the environment which added bonus points and helped in attracting the attention of the panel of ‘Limca Book of Records’. They chose this crib for authenticity as everything was made by hand; there was nothing artificial on display. “The top of the crib was covered with brown paper which gave special light effects at night, apart from the message to save the environment, it also had the heaven and hell concept, which says that one can enter heaven by performing good deeds just like great philosophers - Fr Agnel, Fr Juze Vaz - whose statues were placed in the crib, while evil deeds are a ticket to hell,” informs Mr Hillary Pereira, concept visualiser.
Spread over 370 sq mtrs, the crib had a beautiful presentation of Jesus’ childhood where he assisted St Joseph in carpentry, on the extreme right there was a globe, showing the movement of planets, in the corner there was snow near the palace of King Herod and there were statues of shepherds and angels everywhere, in the middle was the depiction of heaven with God in the centre, and adjacent to it – hell, and on the same side was deforestation, illegal mining and ill-effects of tourism that is misdirecting today’s youth. There were messages put up everywhere emphasising the need to save the environment.
For the last three years with active support from the Confraria and the Parish Priest - this mechanical crib with innovative techniques has been displayed here. In the year 2009/10, the crib was adjudged second place (North Goa), by the Directorate of Art and Culture, second edition 2010/11, the crib was improved upon and secured the first place.
This year the group determined about having a better concept - saw to it that each and every item was finished to perfection and the message was not only restricted to love and peace during the Christmas season, but carried the message of the ill-effects of global warming caused by mining, deforestation, cutting/clearing of mangroves, ill-effects of tourism, casinos whereby the youth are misdirected.
Says Hillary Pereira, “The main purpose was to save and salvage whatever we have for the future generation, the theme was conceptualised by me. Art work was done by George Gonsalves while the management by Xavier Gracius. Altogether sixteen boys were part of the group among others were Rocky, Floyd, Jesus, Jhonson, Fedrick, Brian, Crozinho, Estevan, Soccorro, Caitany, Veron, Andrew, Francis, Frank, Lucas, Benedito, Bento, William and Victor Gracius.”
This year’s crib has left an indelible mark as once again it secured the first prize (North Goa) from the Art and Cultural Department, which further attracted the attention of the ‘Limca Book of Records’, considering the size, the layout, mechanism and the message. At present the crib has been awarded a provisional certificate till its actual entry into the ‘Limca Book of Records’ which will be completed by June 2012.
The prize money that winners received from the Art and Culture Department, the winners said was insufficient to cover the expenses incurred for making the crib. Members involved in making crib said that they raised the three lakhs that they spent in making the crib through sponsorship. “For us it is a hobby and this year people like Agnelo Gonsalves from USA, Rui Dias do Rosario, Baixe de Igreja/Dubai and a well wisher sponsored us, we don’t want to go to any politicians as they seek publicity. It will be better if the government considers this and bring about a solution by increasing the prize money,” said the troupe. The crib will remain open public till January 26 from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m.