Pio Esteves
The tiatr fraternity recently mourned the loss of one of its own, in the
form of Anthony D’Souza, popularly known as Tony de Pomburpa, who was noted for
his compositions and rendition. He was popular on the Konkani stage in
Kuwait, and was introduced to it by Dost Kumar. The duo rendered songs of high
quality, and each of the songs were noted not only for their great lyrics, but
also for the style of presentation and vocal synchronisation.
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A little later, Tony de Pomburpa joined hands with another friend, also
called Tony, and the two dubbed themselves ‘Tony Bros’. Since his childhood, he
had a passion when it came to singing Konkani songs, and he received a
much-needed boost when he studied at St Elizabeth High School, Pomburpa.
According to A Veronica Fernandes, who has closely watched him on stage
in Kuwait earlier, “While in school, being the mischievous boy that he was, he
was spotted singing in class by his teacher Sr Felicity, who inducted him into
the school concert. Tony performed extremely well and was immediately sought
after in his locality. Local elders who were at the fore of staging their
shows, started inducting Tony in their dramas.”
In 1973, while in search of a job in Mumbai, Tony de Pomburpa came in
contact with noted comedian, Paul Romy, who introduced him in his tiatr ‘Tuji
Dhuv Mhoji Bail’. In 1976, when Tony de Pomburpa came to Kuwait, he was
seen in several tiatrs of Dost Kumar, Alexinho de Maxem, Fidelis Fernandes,
Golden Boys, Pedro Jose Fernandes and Mario Fernandes. He was also the author
of four tiatrs.
Tony de Pomburpa was seen at several eco-friendly festivals organised by
Marius Fernandes and supported the activities which helped in promoting Goa
and Goykarponn. According to Fernandes, “He joined us and supported
our early festivals voluntarily. He undertook many events for the love of
Konkani and Goa. He became quite popular when he took the initiative of decking
up in many characters, which is rare these days,” reveals Fernandes. “He was a
classic old timer- well trained and a thorough performer, who loved to make his
audience laugh. Another thing that stood out was his love to work with the
youth, with whom he always shared his knowledge,” he adds.
Noted singer and actor of the Konkani stage, Joe Rose, accounts for Tony
de Pomburpa as being a very talented artiste. “A good composer of lyrics and a
singer of decent and comedy songs, Tony was a man of few words; a regular
artiste for the village feast at Pomburpa,” he shares. Joe Rose acknowledges
that his demise is a great loss to the Konkani stage, especially for the youth,
whom he encouraged. He rendered songs in his tiatr, which was staged for the
Pomburpa feast in collaboration with TAG.
Tony de Pomburpa was also a member of Edmund Vaz’s dramatic troupe that
takes part in the annual Kala Academy’s tiatr competitions, such as ‘Vavzodd’,
‘Dhirvem’ and others. Meanwhile, the Tiatr Academy of Goa (TAG) has condoled
the death of Tony de Pomburpa and expressed its deepest sympathies to his
bereaved family. He will always be remembered fondly.
