Jab or no jab, the reckless mask-less crowded parties in Goa, even as the rest of India is partially shutting down, cannot be controlled with traditional medicines. Naming and shaming along with awareness has to come in. And Goans especially those who are nightlife stakeholders perhaps need some s dose of satire via tiatr to tell them that they too need to communicate, to those who give them business, that precautions and safety are non-negotiable
This is because the state does not enforce testing as vigorously as the other states. The number of cases continues to increase by the day and as yet there has been no change in the government policy. This would be an ideal opportunity for tiatrists to write witty or sarcastic songs or an entire tiatr that slams the government.
The reasons for this are not as simple as because they are not performing. Prince Jacob, an undisputed star of Konkani stage said “I can first start off by saying no one is performing due to the pandemic. If this virus was not around destroying lives then for sure each and every problem being faced by Goans would have been tackled. Issues like the Mollem project, the double-tracking would have been addressed from the stage. They are lucky because of the pandemic; they are making fun while the sun shines”. He went on to say that there was no one present to talk about it. It was very complicated now. There was fear now and if anyone produced a video, they would file a case. This he said had never been witnessed before. There was no doubt a curtailment in the freedom of expression. That he said was the harsh truth.
Sami Tavares another veteran tiatrist now with 144 imposed even if they wanted to organise a tiatr it was not going to happen. He said “In these Covid times, no one is willing to step out and watch a show. I know for a fact that Rose Ferns is having a show but the tickets are just not moving. Please understand for most of the tiatrists this is the only thing they do. They depend on this. In that sense, it is hand to mouth. If such an individual is planning to organize a show, he will think twice before going ahead. It is all about the money. People used to prepare cd’s and video CDs and then the pen drive came along. Even if I do something like a video, will I recover the cost? There is no audience for it which means I will go at a loss. That’s why no one has done anything. Yes, many songs have been composed. Go check Youtube, it’s all there. But a tiatr has so many factors that cannot be tackled in these conditions”.
CezarD Mello now retired from the tiatr academy said the community had not been silent and in fact had composed songs about the virus and there was a lot of material online. When asked specifically about tiatrs he said once the lockdown was lifted there would be tiatrs that would tackle various issues that arose due to the virus. He said one had to also remember the kind of monies involved in organising a show made people think twice before going ahead.
Attempts to contact other tiatrists proved futile as many did not answer calls. Justiano an actor in tiatrs felt it would be nice if a tiatr was put up that talked about the problems people faced due to the virus. He said Sami Tavares had been advising people to avoid the virus and a tiatr would be something similar. He admitted however the kind of money necessary meant not many would be able to afford such an investment.
Perhaps it is a mix of fear of the virus, self-censorship and finance which may be keeping away from coming up with something that can rouse the people and inform them of the steps they ought to be taking.
