Tiatr - our cultural identity

In a Shambles

The tiatr badly needs patronage from the State government to be able to look up

By Wilson Mazarello (Wilmix)

Every State in this God-blessed country of ours has its own cultural identity. In fact, some of these art and culture forms are so unique to our States that one can immediately, at first sight or sound, identify each one of them.

One such unique art and culture form of Goa is the "Konkani Tiatro", the most popular form of drama in Goa. There is no drama-form that resembles the Kon-kani Tiatro in any other State of India.

The Konkani Tiatro took birth in India (Mumbai) more than 100 years ago on the 17th of April, 1892, through a young Goan lad named Lucasinho Ribeiro. At the start it was based on the Italian opera of those times. In fact, the very first Konkani Tiatro was a literal translation of an Italian Opera entitled Italian Boy.

Beginning from the small seed sowed by Ribeiro, the Konkani Tiatro, facing all odds, flourished over the years into a fully mature tree branching all over Mumbai, Goa, Karachi, Pune, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Cochin, Mangalore and many more places along the Konkan coast. It blossomed into a full formed "theatre" with its roots firmly entrenched into the solid foundation laid by its founder Lucasinho Ribeiro and his contemporary Joao Agostinho Fernandes, who later came to be known as "Pai Tiatrist".

Thanks to the love of and dedication to this drama-form from the generation of Tiatrists that followed, the Konkani Tiatro was able to get past the century of its existence. The present day Tiatro does not have any vestiges of the old Italian Opera as the Goan Tiatrists have modified it so well that it has now taken a complete Goan form with Goan social themes, Goan music, Goan settings and songs that are based on the happenings in the Goan society. In short, the present day Tiatro is the essence of Goan culture.

The Konkani Tiatrists deserve praise for their Herculean efforts in popularising the Tiatro without any noteworthy patronage of the State government. But however, strong and dedicated an effort it may be, there is a limit up to which a cultural form of art can survive and progress without government support. If the Konkani Tiatro is to survive and progress it must have the blessings and patronage of the State government. The government of Goa should first of all willingly accept the Konkani Tiatro as our cultural heritage and be proud of its achievements. It should back it fully in terms of finance, performance facilities and training. The government must exert to take the Tiatro to every nook and corner of Goa and beyond. There is a feeling among all Tiatrists and Tiatro-lovers that the state government is doing nothing to promote the Tiatro. And I fully agree with this view. It is true that the Goa governments (and that included all the governments that have come into power since the liberation of Goa) have given a step-motherly treatment to Tiatro.

Some term this government’s attitude as communal because the Tiatro is mainly dominated by Christians. But I say this is not at all true. The truth is that none of the Christian-led governments that came into power did anything for the upliftment of the Konkani Tiatro. All Christian chief ministers since Liberation spoke and promised a lot to the Tiatrists but they were all hollow promises, to say the least. Actually, most of these politicians used the charisma of Tiatrists only for their election propaganda and no sooner their purpose was served, than they dumped the Tiatrists and Tiatro.

The major part of the blame for the plight of the Tiatro goes to the Tiatrists themselves. Is there any unity among the Tiatrists? Is there any Association of Tiatrists that speaks for the Tiatrists in one voice? I am aware of the existence of at least two Tiatrist associations on paper, but is even one of them functioning, as it should be? No.

Inspite of these two associations, the ‘crab’ mentality still exists among Tiatrists. I am fully convinced that if all the Tiatrists had got together under one roof of an association and made a firm approach to the State government with a well-intended proposal or scheme, the government would not have dared to reject it. Some of the Konkani Tiatro stalwarts, have mass following. Their charisma attracts Goan audiences in thousands. One cannot even imagine what could happen if they were to join hands and put forth their proposals. But, alas! That was not to happen. At least it has not happened for the last 109 years. But let’s nurture hopes for the future.

I am tempted here to narrate one example of disunity among Tiatrists. I myself, along with some other senior Tiatrists, was instrumental in putting up a proposal to name the Open Air Auditorium of the Kala Academy after a renowned Tiatrist. This was about 10 years ago. The proposal did not receive much attention from the State government then. Governments fell and new governments came, but none of them gave the proposal the attention it deserved. This was because it was not backed by any association of Tiatrists, but only by individuals. Even now I feel that if this proposal were forcefully followed up by the Tiatrists’ association, undoubtedly, it would be taken up and implemented. But our Tiatrists have neither the patience nor the time to revive this proposal. In fact, some of the Tiatrists showed disunity even on this issue by each one suggesting a different name for the Open Air Auditorium, thereby creating a controversy. And our governments are quick to take advantage of such controversies and shelving proposals. And that is exactly what the government did.

A well-meaning Goa government that accepts the Goan Tiatro as a part of our cultural heritage, must have an annual budgetary provision for its promotion and development. The present set-up of the Kala Academy is in no position to do justice to the Konkani Tiatro. But considering the rate at which the Tiatro is growing, it may be justifiable to even create a separate "Cell" or Directorate with its own budget exclusively for Konkani Tiatros, with facilities to branch into Konkani films. Among the other activities that the Goa government could take up for promotion and development of the Konkani Tiatro are organising competitions and festivals of Tiatros at taluka levels, besides the lone annual Kala Academy-organised Tiatr competition. Groups from all over Goa, even the remotest corners of the State, participate in this Tiatr competition. These groups endeavour to bring in innovative changes for the betterment of the Tiatro. Their investment is high and so is their standard of performance. But what do they get in return? A few small cash prizes for the winners and certificates of participation. That’s all. Beyond, this, there is hardly any exposure to their efforts and talents. And these groups cannot stage further performances because of the high cost involved. So, isn’t it a pity that Goans beyond Panjim do not get an opportunity to see these award winning Tiatros?

Good theatre and innovative theatre need a push and should be taken to the people, for in this race the commercial Tiatro beats them hollow. Hence, would it not be a good idea if the Goa government every year finances 33 performances of the winner of the Tiatro competition (3 performances in every Taluka), 22 performances of the first runner-up (2 performances in each Taluka) and 11 performances of the second runner-up (1 in each Takuka)? This gesture will prove that the government is proud of our Art & Culture and that there is no communal bias.

The need of the hour is also to have at least one fully furnished and equipped auditorium in every Taluka. As of now, there are only two government-owned auditoriums in Goa - the Kala Academy’s auditorium in Panjim and Ravindra Bhavan at Sanvordem. The rest are owned by private trusts. Margao’s Gomant Vidhya Niketan’s hall is the only silver lining on the dark horizon of halls available for Tiatros at city centre, as Mapusa’s Hanuman Natyagraha is ill - maintained and Vasco is at the mercy of mattous. Can the Tiatrist Associations pressurise the government enough to expedite the building up of government-owned hall in each Taluka on priority? But it is not only sufficient to only build auditoriums, but the rents of these halls should be subsidised so that they don’t become out reach for the Konkani Tiatrists. For higher rents would mean higher ticket rates, and if we want the audiences to come rushing for Tiatros then the tickets should be within the reach of the common man.

There is no doubt that the Tiatro is predominantly run by Christians and kept alive by the same community. On the other hand, to a lesser extent, the Konkani Natak of Goa is mostly patronised by the Hindus. So, I strongly feel that the government should endeavour to further popularise the Konkani Tiatro in areas having a vast Hindu population, and likewise popularise the Konkani Nattak where Christian population abounds. None of the two drama-forms should be allowed to suffer at the cost of the other. This will automatically encourage more and more Hindus to join the Konkani Tiatro and so also the Christians to join the Konkani Nattak. To a certain extent this process of integration has already started at least in one direction. Many Hindu artistes are being seen taking to the Tiatro and making a successful career on stage.

Surely, I think it’s now time for the Konkani Tiatro to do a conscious introspection. This should start with every producer or director, who has the natural tendency to feel that his work is the best. Have we ever bothered to find out what the intellectual audiences have to say about us? What exactly they feel about the quality of the present day Tiatros and Khell-Tiatros? Where do we stand in quality vis-à-vis the other regional theatres of India? Friends, whether we like it or not, the common feeling among the real well-wishers of the Tiatro is that the Konkani Tiatr and Khell-Tiatr sadly lack in direction. It is only with proper direction that our actors and actresses to give performances of national and international standards. Our Tiatro also needs to improve on other fronts, such as stage-setting, light effects, sound, apt music, etc, but since it will be difficult for us to improve in all these areas, all at once, at least direction and acting should be given utmost importance.

Yet, at every step, it becomes more and more evident that the government’s will to embrace the Konkani Tiatro is very necessary. There is urgent need for Tiatrists to join hands with the State government and with the government’s assistance, take the Tiatro to a new peak.

The Tiatrists must impress upon the government the contribution of the Konkani Tiatro in enriching the Goan culture and the need to proudly take this unique and entertaining drama-form to all parts of the globe. Only then, can we all hope for a better future for the Konkani Tiatro.


Wilson Mazarello (Wilimix) is a veteran tiatr artiste