RAISING THE CURTAINS ON SCHOLASTIC WORK ON TIATR
- By Dale Luis Menezes
The brass band (accompanied by a few electronic instruments today)
strikes up for the third time. The auditorium fills with the vibrations
of wind and percussion instruments. The curtains rise to reveal a suited
man, wielding a mike, he paces the stage. The backdrop painted to
resemble a garden or a park. Thus begins a tiatr, familiar and cherished
by many Goans. Most of us are acquainted with this scenario, but what
about the history of tiatr? Many of us don’t know much. As for me, I
vaguely remember a Konknni textbook chapter in the VII standard
highlighting a (brief) history of the tiatr.
ABOUT THE BOOK
But I encountered a welcome light on this vibrant and most loved Konknni
drama in the form of Dr. André Rafael Fernandes’ researched book When
the curtains rise…Understanding Goa’s Vibrant Konkani theatre. Dr.
Fernandes reveals the history of tiatr: its birth and maturity, the
challenges it faces and the numerous personalities (past and present)
who have contributed to enriching this uniquely Goan art form. An
interesting feature of this book is the exhaustive list of present day
tiatrists given at the end of the book. Although the tiatr is 118 years
strong and though roughly ten shows of tiatr are held every day in Goa,
Dr. Fernandes cautions us about the onslaught of more glittering
multimedia like cable and television making serious dents.
This book is important because it has given tiatr some (much needed?)
legitimacy in the scholarly word. Dr. Fernandes traces the development
of theatre in Goa. Theatre in the medieval times in Goa was mainly in
the Portuguese language and themed on enacting the biblical scenes. The
College of St. Paul’s took the lead in organizing plays in vernacular
language in Goa.
Dr. Fernandes traces the origin of tiatr to the traditional
khells/phells/fells and zagors performed in Goa from time immemorial.
This khells traveled to Bombay with the immigrants and it is here that
the tiatr was born. Exactly how the tiatr was born, I leave it up to you
to find out (in the book)! Tiatr took birth due to the efforts of
Lucasinho Rebeiro and João Agostinho Fernandes, who were disgusted by
the vulgarity and ‘washing-the-dirty-linen-in-public’ attitude of the
zagors. A history of theatre of Bombay is also traced to buttress the
point as to why Konknni tiatr had to begin in that cosmopolitan city.
THE MUSIC AND TIATR
How can any Goan activity or festivity be complete without music? This
reality comes forcefully to the fore, as the Goans’ love and mastery for
music had a major role to play. A large part of tiatr (past and present)
contains music and song. Tiatr (and Goan musicians) did benefit from the
parochial music schools set up by the Portuguese as well as the more
traditional forms of ovis.
Dr. Fernandes tells us about the various famous musicians of Goan
extraction, who were sought out by the many bollywood producers and
starred hotels in Bombay. Although the Goan musicians had a large part
to play in Bollywood and the jazz scene of Bombay, they were sidetracked
as mere ‘arrangers’, lements Dr. Ferrnandes. More terse and blunt words
in the context of this injustice would have been welcome.
WOMEN AND TIATR
The single greatest contribution of tiatr, in my opinion, is the
admittance of women on the stage. Regina Fernandes (wife of João
Agostinho Fernandes) became the first woman in modern history to appear
on stage, preceding Marathi, Bengali and Gujarati theatre by
twenty-seven years. This means that Konknni tiatr was far ahead of its
time. It had brought in social reforms, which were easily accepted by
the conservative masses. Batcara I was the play in which Mrs. Regina
Fernandes made her historic appearance.
Dr. Fernandes does not dwell on this subject for much long, mentioning
it only cursorily. What I was hoping for was a rigorous assessment of
this situation, perhaps even a full chapter, was called for. If Mrs.
Regina is the first woman to appear on stage at a time when women
appearing on stage were frowned upon then isn’t she a role-model
deserving recognition not only from Goans but also from the whole
country? We should also not forget that in the same play, two other
women had accompanied Mrs. Regina on stage: Mrs. N. Gomes and Mrs.
Carmelina Fernandes.
CRITIQUE ON JOÃO AGOSTINHO’S PLAYS
Dr. Fernandes analyses the plays of João Agostinho with keen
understanding and finesse. João Agostinho is important in tracing the
history of tiatr as he has been rightfully called Pai Tiatrist (Father
of the Konknni tiatr). In plays like The Belle of Cavel, Batcara I & II
and Kunbi Jaki, Dr. Fernandes paints a mental picture of João Agostinho.
Pai Tiatrist had vociferously opposed casteism and alcoholism. His plays
always ended with a moral or homily (a hallmark of tiatrs in those times).
Dr. Fernandes informs us about the deeply sensitive and honest
personality of João Agostinho. He showed empathy to the sufferings of
the poor. He can rightfully be also called as a social reformer. João
Agostinho published some of his plays, something that most of the
tiatrists have not done. In fact Dr. Fernandes complains about the lack
of documentation of tiatr. So tiatrists heed the advice of Dr. Fernandes
and start publishing your work!
AN OVERVIEW OF THE BOOK
Dr. Fernandes divides the tiatr into three phases of development: 1. The
Early Phase (1892-1930s); 2. The Golden Phase: a. 1930s-1961, b.
1961-1970; 3. The Contemporary and Non-Stop Tiatr Phase. This is a novel
idea as a simple taxonomy puts the development of tiatr into proper
perspective.
The chapter about the challenges of today that the tiatr faces, it
seems, is hastily written. Dr. Fernandes has also kept out the
perceptions of Hindus regarding tiatr as well as the Catholic view or
perception about the nattok. It is an open secret that one community
does not view the art form of the other community favourably. The thesis
is confined to a few present tiatrists’ views and opinions, an extensive
survey (through questionnaires or interviews) would have enriched the same.
Nonetheless, this book will be an enlightening read to all tiatrists and
tiatr enthusiasts. One only hopes that this book will raise the curtains
on further scholarly works on this dynamic and vibrant art form of
Konknni theatre.
Name: When the curtain rise… Understanding Goa’s vibrant Konkani theatre
Author: Dr. André Rafael Fernandes
Published by: Goa 1556, Saligão with support from the Tiatr Academy of Goa
Price: Rs. 195/- (in India)
ISBN: 978-93-80739-01-4
Note: First published in Gomantak Times, dt. 13 August, 2010.
In the article published in GT, there was an error in the title of the
book.
Instead of When the curtains rise… it read As the curtains rise… The
error is regretted - Dale Luis Menezes.