Tiatr is one of the rich forms of art and culture in our tiny state of Goa, and it continues to captivate local audiences till date, with performances in villages and major cities.
The credit for this goes largely to the pioneers of the Konkani stage, Lucasinho Ribeiro and Agostinho Fernandes, who introduced tiatr following the production of the English opera, Italian Boy.
Quite a few of the tiatrs, written, directed and staged by seasoned tiatrists, today, carry good, in-depth scripts and sleek direction. And, thanks to the tireless efforts of some writers, directors and artistes, many tiatrs have crossed 25 or 50 shows, thus celebrating silver and golden jubilees.
NEED OF THE HOUR
For tiatr to flourish and survive in the future, there is an urgent need to publish a few classic ones in a book format since this novel initiative would help preserve them for posterity.
A book would also motivate readers to go through its pages and understand its content in terms of literature, comedy and songs.
Today, few writers and directors are inspired to publish their noteworthy productions in a book. In fact, when it comes to Roman Konkani literature, you will hardly find a tiatr book amongst the books on poems, articles or novels.
Recently, Neturlim-Sanguem-based tiatrist, Teotonio Inacio Santana Costa, published and released his tiatr book, Tache Huskean Jiye, at the Tiatr Academy of Goa (TAG).
For tiatr to flourish and survive in the future, there is an urgent need to publish a few classic ones in a book format since this novel initiative would help preserve them for posterity.
It was released at the hands of the president of TAG, Anthony Barbosa, in the presence of E Agnelo da Silva, ex-member of the Goa Konkani Academy; Braz Rodrigues, Kuwait-based tiatrist; and Mark Silva, president of the Goan Youth Association, London.
Throwing light on the thoughts behind printing one of his tiatrs in book form, Teotonio Costa said, “We have rich literature in Roman Konkani in the form of poems, articles and novels, but nobody gives a thought when it comes to tiatrs.”
“We have good, presentable tiatrs on the Konkani stage, today, which carry good literary script, direction and songs with morals. But, very few people from the tiatr business think of publishing and preserving their valuable works on stage for future generations,” he added.
“Today, some students at Goa University are working on a tiatr thesis,” Costa shared. “But, do they have enough literary material for their research work? Where will they hunt for fruitful works carried out on the tiatr stage?”
Toetonio Costa's tiatr book, Tachea Huskean Jiye, includes not just the script of his tiatr (of the same name), but also all the songs performed there, complete with notations, offering a comprehensive record of the production in focus.
“It is only when tiatrs are available in book form that others will be motivated to stage the same in the near future,” he added.
Toetonio Costa's tiatr book, Tachea Huskean Jiye, includes not just the script of his tiatr (of the same name), but also all the songs performed there, complete with notations, offering a comprehensive record of the production in focus.
Cantos and comedy are also included in the book. For the convenience of those wishing to re-stage the tiatr, the summary of the tiatr has been included in the book as well.
The rich Roman Konkani language and literature can be found not only in literary publications, but in tiatrs as well in the form of dialogues, anecdotes and idioms. And, its preservation in book form is the need of the hour. Or else, mere presentation and entertainment on stage would be a sheer waste.