It’s election time in the State. A time for politicians to present themselves in front of their
constituents and beg for their votes. Some cajole, others bribe and the
politician tries to pander to every wish of the constituents. It is quite a
circus. Then there are the tiatrists who compose songs and upload them on the
various digital platforms.
Over the years tiatrists have sung songs
either in favour of a candidate or political party or to highlight the
shortcomings of the government in power. The forthcoming elections have
witnessed something similar. The number of songs highlighting the shortcomings
of the party in power or those extolling the values of a certain candidate have
increased dramatically.
A tiatrist who has sung a couple of
political songs but does put his name against the song but that of the studio,
said the people of Goa wanted to know more about the state of affairs. He said
“This time I have written a song about a man who does social work and its
importance and another one is on the importance of voting. Each and every one
of us has a responsibility to vote, otherwise don’t complain. I don’t want to
be regarded as being part of a party or anything. I just like to state the
facts. And yes sometimes you don’t really know who you might need for some
work.” Conception Martin who released a song yesterday evening said the song
was about a minister and the allegations of corruption levelled against him.
The song also pointed out the corruption with regards to land, social issues
and the formalin issue. He said he had composed and sung songs but they were
not uploaded on Youtube. This time his decision to upload them on the platform
had helped increase viewership of the song. He said “People should not repeat
the same mistake while voting. The response to my songs has been very good.
There has been no adverse reaction from the politicians because I never make it
personal. I focus on bringing out issues that are in the public domain”.
Alison Gomes who goes by the moniker Alison de Curtorim sang a
song about politicians who belong to one party but support the government from
inside. He said “We should choose a candidate who will save our villages and
the constituencies. We now need new faces. This is what I have been working on
through my music. Some of the candidates paid singers to write songs highlighting
their achievements. But we all know what they have done and not done. The MLA
of our constituency did nothing and I raised my voice. My aim is to support a
good person.”
Julius Mesquita, a comedian, said it was interesting to see so
many videos, short scenes and songs about the issues that troubled the State.
“People are more informed this time. They are consuming lot of information and
are demanding so much more, that too quickly. People are aware of what the
politicians have done. Voters are smarter and aware”, he said
Aston Soares, who sang five songs about the elections, said he
was hired by a couple of politicians to write songs for them. He however
intended to write songs that were critical about the state of affairs in Goa.
The tendency of politicians to take money and shift their
allegiance was the focus of a song by London based Goan singer Valencio De
Caranzalem. He said the song was about the kind of politics practiced in Goa.
Valencio said “The message of my song is that if you vote for money, the
candidate will change their parties after being elected”. He said he had no
plans to release any other song on politics but he hoped this song would have
its effect.
The very young and talented singer Aleka Cardoso has sung
several songs, but maintained that she was neutral and had no allegiance
towards any side. She said she was hopeful the entire process moved ahead
smoothly.
Elections
in the state are always a noisy and colourful affair and the music adds an
interesting angle to the entire process.
