The Minister for Art and Culture announced that the government would be spending Rs 1 crore for the development of tiatr. This is the same government that just over a year ago had been considering to censor the tiatr because of the criticism it was facing from the Konkani stage. How powerful the voice of the tiatr is in Goa was indicative here as it was the government that had to backtrack, giving the tiatr fraternity a major victory. The tiatrist has not looked back from there, and the political criticism has definitely not stopped. That is how powerful tiatr is in Goa.
Tiatr is entertainment no doubt, but it is not merely a theatre form, it is a mirror to the establishment, that prickles the political and social conscience, and it just cannot be wished away.
Over the years, the tiatr in Goa has reflected the happenings in society. It has been critical of the government, often even lampooning the establishment for its failings. The tiatrist has been harsh in his or her criticism of the government, at times being even more scathing than the media. The anger of the people against a government decision easily finds voice in a song in the tiatr, and more forceful the criticism the more the audience appreciates the song, calling back the singer on stage with loud and long wolf whistles. Yes, while the tiatr has a storyline of its own that is sometimes not political at all, it is the songs that are highly political and critical, and there is no dearth of issues for the singers to write their lyrics. There is enough real life drama in politics and society to inspire the tiatrist’s creativity.
That this theatre form has survived for 125 long years, and is still thriving, is in itself a cause for celebration. But, where tiatr is concerned there are many more reasons to celebrate, one of them being that is has kept alive the Konkani language. Through the decades, when Konkani was almost all but forgotten and suppressed by the colonial regime, the tiatr fraternity did not let go of the language. It literally took the language to the stage and into people’s hearts, from where it has not left.
But now, 125 years later, tiatr has to evolve. Today’s tiatrists have already given the call for the youth to take the art form forward. And taking it forward does not necessarily mean keeping it going with youth entering in but improving in quality too. Every time the curtain rises on a tiatr, it should also raise the bar another notch so that the viewer goes back satisfied, not just because he or she has laughed in three hours more than they have laughed an entire week, but because the script of the play and the lyrics of the song gave them something to think about.
Tiatr has 125 years of experience to fall back upon. It hasn’t lost its sting and that is a strength that it should preserve and utilise to the maximum. It has been an effective medium to entertain, to spread awareness, to criticise, to force change. Further strength will come from unity and, here, it is the tiatrists themselves who have to ensure that they do not cause friction in the fraternity. The aim should be to keep the tiatr alive for another 125 years, so that the art form Lucasinho Ribeiro and Joao Agostinho Fernandes created all those years ago.
