Lip service to Tiatrists won’t work. The govt needs to ‘Act’ real now

They are cultural ambassadors of the state, proficient in an art form that is unique to the state. Yes, tiatr is Goa like nothing else. It evokes the colour and rhythm of this state like no other. The virus has had a dramatic effect on the tiatr industry. It can be safely said more than a few hundreds have been left unemployed. There may be stars who may be comfortable but a large number of the personnel have jobs on the side or are solely dependent on the business. Now with the industry at a standstill many have been left without any money in the pocket. This begs the question if the industry could be helped by the state government in the form of a minimum compensation. It evoked interesting reactions from the people in the industry. Maria Menezes tiatrist who has been around for a while said it was a pity that nothing was done since the state government had not supported anyone. He said “It is a pity because of the virus we have not been able to meet. The general body meeting at the tiatr academy could not be held. We need to think and see if the tiatr academy can do something”. Ceasar D mello said the situation was heartbreaking because a large number of the tiatrists were not earning any money. Many he said were reduced to selling vegetables and fish on the streets of Goa. This he said was a sad state of affairs. He strongly felt the government should do something to help them. He felt that was the need of the hour. Saby de Divar was blunt when he said there was an academy which had a committee and it was important for them to propose something to the government. He said “Look at other parts of the world like Europe for example they get paid 80% of their salary as help from the government when they are unemployed. I have been talking to a lot of people in the industry who strongly feel the government should help them in their time of need. Here they only take money from us as taxes and don’t help us in our time of need.” Rose Ferns, an important tiatrist was straight to the point when he said a year had passed and as yet no one had stepped up to help the industry. There were no shows, absolutely nothing to earn a livelihood. There were different troupes that were in the industry looking for work and none was forthcoming. He said the government had to help them because it was a cultural activity that represented the state. A musician who was involved in the business and who did not want to be named said he was living off his mother’s pension because there was no work now for him. He said “It is getting very difficult to survive. I have not earned a decent sum of money for a while. I am sometimes invited for a party at a residence to play. I am paid a pittance but it is something. How long can this go on, I don’t really know.” Menino de Bandar, President of the Tiatr Academy felt it would be good if the members sent him a proposal for something like some compensation for the tiatrists which could be forwarded to the government. Suresh Deokar recently appointed member secretary, felt it was a sad state of affairs but if the tiatrists asked for help then other academies like the Konkani and Marathi Academy would ask for help and given the state of affairs it would be difficult for the government to help them. He may have a point but like Pradeep Naik who acts in tiatrs said it would be really nice if the government could help them as well as pilots, taxi drivers and other poor members of society. Well one can quibble as to who amongst this lot is a poor member of society but he does raise an important point of the government having to help people in their hour of need. One can only hope this dark phase in everyone’s lives comes to an end at the earliest.