I had the opportunity to meet and talk with Rosario Rodrigues many times during his visits to Mumbai and in Goa, specially at the Longinhos restaurant. Though he never seriously got engaged in discussing the state of Konkani tiatr, he was at least an good listener. He would occasionaly make something witty in his own unimitable stye. True, he was a simple man. I found it funny though that he would wear a whistle around his neck. I believe he owe a wig or a toupee. I loved his typical Salcette accent, both on stage and off. In the late 60s and early 70s, Rosario was among the few from Benaulim who broke into this medium. There was another playwright, bro-in-law of Christopher, whose name I forget. Benaulim became the hotbed of intense competition. Their rivalries were legendary. I find that in the reports on his death, he is mentioned called Dr. Whether he really was a "dr" was a subject of discussion among tiatrists. I once checked with his agent (forget his name) and he told me that Rosario got his Ph.D from a little-known university in Maharashtra. He said he did his thesis in commerce. I made a check with the Mumbai University but found no thesis under his name. Normally, Mumbai University keeps a copy of all thesis done in India. I remember a journalist from Bardez who wrote for Goa's Konkani player and was also involved in tiatr groups, including Rosario's, raised this issue in one of his writings. Rosario wanted to sue him but common friends quashed the issue. Nobody seems to to know when he did his Ph.D, as many tiatrists said how could he have the time when he was either working as a teacher or doing tiatrs. I believe, He was a teacher in a school in Colva, my village, along with another tiatrist, Rose Ferns. It would be nice for Goan journos to look into this aspect of his life. I don't want to dig out secrets of his life after his death, but at least doubts will be cleared if he really secured a doctorate. I am skeptical of such claims. My little search yielded no result. I was not serious about it or else I would have asked Rosario directly for evidence. My interest was in tiatr and its development. I though some rivals may want to malign Rosario, as such bitter rivalries among those involved in tiatrs existed them and probably exists even today.
Eugene Correia __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free, easy-to-use web site design software http://sitebuilder.yahoo.com ########################################################################## # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # ##########################################################################