C Alvares, was a great personality on the Konkani stage. On the occasion of his 24th death anniversary, a road right next to his ancestral home in Saligao, was named after him as C Alvares Marg in Golotem, Saligao. Keeping his memory alive, C Alvares and Brothers Memorial Trust was formed by his brothers, late Assuncao’s sons, Alex and Fr Dominic Alvares and late Tommy Alvares’ son, Mark Jude and their cousins, all belonging to the Alvares family.
Born Celestino Alvares, he took on the stage name of C Alvares and earned several titles like ace director, King of Duets and evergreen hero of the Konkani stag and cinema. In a career spanning over five decades, C Alvares wrote and produced 105 tiatrs, apart from acting and singing in each of them. C Alvares was also noted as a composer of songs, namely solos, duets, trios and quartets.
If you enjoyed reading this article, you can help support our journalism by adding OHeraldo as a preferred source.
Alex Alvares is C Alvares’ nephew and the president of the C Alvares and Brothers Memorial Trust. It was due to his persistent efforts that the road has been named after C Alvares. “This road was supposed to be named before the pandemic. We formed the trust to do something to immortalise his name and many tiatrists who worked with him and acted in his tiatrs also kept following up to get something done in his name. The installation of his statue was also proposed at the road naming ceremony, but it has to be in a prominent place which can be a source of inspiration. On the occasion, we also had beautiful songs by C Alvares which were performed by Theodore Alvares, son of late Champion Alvares, C Alvares’ cousin. Fr Dominic also composed a unique song using the titles of the tiatrs directed by C Alvares. When he was alive, he would always say, ‘Vhodllo Man Sounsarant, boreponn dovrit zalear vompon’ which is now inscribed on the plaque,” says Alex Alvares.
“It was a great feeling to finally get the road named after him. Alex worked tirelessly to get the paperwork done. It was not just a gran event but also a well-planned cultural event,” says Fr Dominic Alvares, a Pilar priest who is currently based in Honda.
Mark Jude Alvares, secretary of the C Alvares and Brothers Memorial Trust says, “It took us three years to get the necessary permissions from the Panchayat. It was a special occasion for tiatr lovers as well as for the family who knew him personally.”
“February 27 was the happiest day of my life as I was waiting for this day for a long time. I also proposed to Michael Lobo, to name a hall at the upcoming Ravindra Bhavan in Mapusa after him. C Alvares was a modern tiatrist and he modernised the mechanism of the tiatr. He really deserved this honour. He would see the artist and write a role for that role. He was a gifted man and I haven’t seen anyone like him. I was with him since 1958 and he would dictate the tiatr to me and I would write it. We would start at 9 am and finish writing by 9 pm. I have been with him for nearly 30-40 dramas. In those days, there would be nearly 12-15 tiatrs released in a month by different directors. The 40 pager tiatr would be shown in venues across Bombay, Pune and Goa. We would travel to Goa in November and it would be with a huge cast of nearly 25-30 people,” says Cyriaco Dias, a noted senior tiatrist, film actor and freedom fighter.
Sharing an interesting anecdote about the very popular Konkani song, ‘Sao Joao’ by C Alvares and Star of Arossim, Cyriaco says, “C Alvares had composed the tune while travelling in a taxi in Bombay and for over a year, he had the tune with him but didn’t know what the lyrics would be. On one trip to Goa, we were living in a house in Margao overlooking the fields. C Alvares said ‘let’s go to the fields’ and sitting there, he was inspired to write the lyrics of the song to that tune. In that same evening, he composed four verses of the song in the fields, which is sung till date.”
Editor of Gulab magazine, Fausto Da Costa was also present for the occasion. “C Alvares was a big figure and his contribution to tiatr is immense. He gave back four times what he took from the tiatr stage. He should be given credit for Konkani literature as he took the language to the people through his contribution to tiatr. He was a man with a vision and if you took him to a king, he would know how to talk to him and if you took him to a farmer, he knew how to talk to him too. He had great friends too who would come for his tiatrs like Cardinal Valerian Gracias, Julio Ribeiro, Sunil Dutt and V M Salgaocar. Once when Cardinal Gracias was the chief guest for one of his tiatrs, he said that, ‘C Alvares’ tiatrs are so good that it attracts the audience. When the priest begins the sermon, some people take a break and head out to smoke a cigarette but when C Alvares’ tiatr begins, they will put out their cigarette so they don’t miss a part of the tiatr.’ He had a huge fan following. He was a superstar who commanded respect,” says Fausto.
He further adds, “I used to be a prompter for many tiatrs. C Alvares had a unique way of delivering his dialogues and the minute he used to forget his line, he used to say the word, ‘Somoloi’ which was in a Saligao way to say understood. That was the cue for the prompter to tell him the next line. The audience would not even know that the line was prompted to him because he was very natural. Prompting was an art too.”
With great memories, the family and well-wishers of C Alvares hopes to take his legacy forward.
