THURSDAY, APRIL 25, 2024
Mario Menezes will be on the universal stage leaving a land that was part of his vessel and every pore. Goa has lost yet another diamond, from a treasure chest that includes Goa’s finest stage artists, singers, performers, writers, environmentalists, village activists, and most importantly the simple common Goan, who keeps Goa first even above his own family and personal interests
Goa’s performance artists are a unique breed. In the world of fiction, based on fact, they not just entertain but educate. They too are activists for the cause of Goa.
Goa’s lament is that when she loses such jewels, its hard-to-find replacements at the same speed. At the rate at which challenges to Goa’s land, identity and heritage are mounting, the rate at which our fields, rivers, and bunds are getting attacked by man-made environmental impact, at a time when our socio-cultural fabric is being strained by the shadow of divisiveness, we need Goans who rise above their community, caste creed, and standing, to firmly put a stamp on the brotherhood of uniqueness which is Goan-ness.
Unlike politicians who come and come and serve their time for their vested interests the community of Goans, who make noise for Goa, because their hearts are speaking’, have no vested interests. But the irony is that while there will always be a kind of politician at every level in Goa, to get every personal benefit from their positions of power, it is getting harder to find true fighters for Goa to replace the ones to retire or leave us.
And when people like Mario Menezes pass away, Goa loses one more brick in the foundation of hope in an untainted, Goa, not spoilt by the vagaries of land grabbing, loot, the destruction of communities, the ravaging of forests, the killing of trees, the loss of livelihoods, and the scourge of unchecked, uncontrollable corruption.
Tiatrists, like all activists, are messengers who are crusaders. Behind every song or script, there is research marinated with emotion. Behind many comic acts which lead to an explosion of laughter is a serious message, a lament, a hurt. But there is also a determination that the combined voice of true Goans will defeat the forces that seek to undermine Goa,
The only hope Goa has is to keep adding bricks to the foundations of good Goans who have chosen to step out and do their bit for their village, their forest their town, and beyond, fighting against injustices and at the same time lending hand to support what is good.
Quite honestly, Goa has always saluted people who speak up and use the stage, the street, the villages, and even their pens to dream for what is right, fight against what is wrong, be a shoulder to the distressed.
Many say that in Goa there is too much activism, and too many say no. Goa is proud of its dissenters and those who say no. because they dissent against Goa’s cultural, social, political, and economic slide. They do not say no to Goa. But they say No to what Goa is becoming. They want a future for Goa’s without forgetting its glorious past that needs to be carried forward and not a future which alien to the intrinsic Goan ethos and spirit. These dissenters a not against any party or individuals, nor are they against the system. All they ask from those who rule Goa is to keep the common Goan first, so he does not always have to look back to find comfort and joy, but have something to look forward to for his or her sunset years and for the next generation.
