It is matter of deep concern that our own elected government drafts rules for a censor board for tiatrs thus bowing down to the demands of right wing Hindu Jagruti Samiti, an ally of Pramod Muthalik’s Sri Ram Sene. By doing so the present government is giving a back door entry to such fanatical groups which don’t have a place in our Goa of open-minded Goemkars.
The tiatr has been existing since last over 120 years. It is a great form of Goan art and no festival in Goa is complete without staging a tiatr. Konkani political kantar is known for exposing the misdeeds of politicians and till today nobody dared to stop it but our tomorrow has turned out to be concerned. Few months back there was a move by some fanatics to ban political songs in tiatr but fortunately they did not succeed. Goemkars love and respect tiatr, personal attacks in tiatr is not acceptable but political attacks through songs and plays has been a part of this great art since the Portuguese era. Tiatrists of those days were very well known for singing against the Portuguese rule but our own elected representatives in Independent India don’t wish to get exposed when most of them are involved in the ugliest deeds.
At the time of elections almost all politicians do their dirty speeches in Konkani but when it comes to the oath-taking ceremonies during the formation of Cabinets, we all have seen how many of them do not take the oaths in our own mother tongue thus exposing their own dirty anti-Goan conscious? Goa is a beautiful place with beautiful open-minded people and has no place for dirty minded fanatics. Our Defence Minister’s statement saying ‘Ghar wapsi’ will not touch Goa is very much hurting. Goa never expected such a statement from a well qualified and well respected Parrikar. What does his statement mean? Will it touch the entire country leaving Goa? Is this the way to defend his countrymen?
We all have worked hard for a Parivartan and we have got it and now this Parivartan intends to bring a dirty parivartan in our beloved Goa. They want Zilla Panchayat elections to be contested on party lines, soon they will come with another ordinance to have Municipal and Panchayat elections on Party lines and it will go on. Now they intend to have control over tiatrs and a day might be not so far when they will say that decent dancing and decent drinking in Goa is not a part of our culture.
Long live our tiatr and God save our souls.
