"FUNKOT" PASS FOR TIATRO.
It was somewhere in 1959 during the second time show of Tiatro “Doea” written and directed by the late great playwright Airistedes Dias. My father was involved in organising this Tiatro in our village. Suddenly before the start of the Tiatro, as late comer Jacinto Vaz came on his BMW Motorbike and immediately entered the dressing area and demanded from the director 10 Complimentary Passes. Airestedes Dias felt very bad because 10 Complimentaries were too big a number and it was hard for the organizers to give so many Passes to one single actor. During those days first class ticket charges were 2.5 rupees in Portuguese Escudos, Rs. 1.5 for second class and for standing third class Re.1.0. Inspite of the pleading by Airestedes to reduce this number, Jacinto Vaz did not relent and maintained his position firmly. Then Airestedes Dias humbly came to my father pleading for 10 “Funkot Passes” saying if “you do not give then Jacinto Vaz will make his face black and may even make disaster of this Tiatro” and being a professional he was capable of doing the disaster. Professionals are only after financial gains. Having no option, the illicit and arrogant demand of Jacinto Vaz was accepted with 10 Funkot Passes in addition to his that time heavy share. Incidentally all the Funkot Passes Jacinto Vaz gave not to the poor people but to all the financially affluent persons from our locality who shamelessly seen seated on the privileged chairs. Besides, these recipients of Funkot Passes were the daily Church goers and regular Holy Communion recipients and also flirts in the Church premises because Church many times provide you with a very good opportunity for doing illicit deeds in the name of religious activities. This we can easily notice with our own naked eyes below our own noses.
Asking Funkot Passes for Tiatro is become a very bad habit for some Tiatro enthusiasts. To ask and to demand these Funkot Passes some of the people are not even ashamed, incidentally they call themselves affluent and elite in society. Asking Funkot Passes by those who cannot afford due to their poverty is understandable but asking Funkot Passes by those who can afford to buy the tickets is a crime. Many times I was in the past a victim of this habit of those who are in habit of demanding Funkot Passes. Some of those who demanded Funkot Passes from me were high salaried people, they not only demanded Funkot Passes for them but also extra Funkot Passes for their Sri Lankan and non Goan/non-Konkani maids. When I asked them why you are asking Funkot Passes for their maids who do not understand Konkani, they said that they need their maids with them to accompany their children who unfortunately do not follow anything in Konkani. Then I realized that these people want their maids with them only as status symbol to show to others that they are having maids at their homes. This was due to the fact that these people are suffering from ancestral inferiority complex since they themselves are the children or grand children of the maids back at home. Because they have this background and history back at home they know the pleasure and humiliation of falling into that category.
Kuwait Konknni Kendr has got unique distinction of organising Konkani function in the 5 Star Hotel in Kuwait about 24 years back, free of charge. One of the items that day was a Mando with Dulpod. For every guest KKK paid to the Hotel KD 7/- One of the Mando singers at the last minute demanded extra Funkot Pass for her Sri Lankan maid to take care of her 4 year old child. When I showed my reluctance for issuing complimentary for the Sri Lankan maid, the Goan Mando singer lady told me “I need my child with me and for this I need the help of my maid. I cannot leave her at home and come for singing Mando for your function”. When casually I asked her “even when you go to work, do you take your child along with your maid?” She had no answer but she wanted only to make show of herself by displaying her maid in the midst of elite audience. Then I was told by someone that the Mando singer Goan lady was the daughter of a maid, she was suffering from inferiority complex and to eradicate this complexity she was displaying her maid as if she was doing something extra ordinary.
Funkot Passes topic is the talk of the town these days. Asking Funkot Passes can be considered all right but surely not in addition to heavy demand for fat acting charges. Fat or thin, those who receive their acting fees have got no right either to demand or to ask for Funkot Passes and utilize these Funkot Passes for their equally affluent friends. This is like a saying in Konkani “Mezailem Kellem kaddlem ani saguad zoddli”. This type of attitude is very much prevalent in some of our Tiatrists. They want everything Funkot but when they organize their own Tiatros at that time they become stingy. By demanding Funkot Passes in addition to their Shares is like committing a “Chori” and this type of “Chori” does not suit the so called elite Tiatrists. But, by the way, how many in Tiatro fraternity you find persons of upright character? Some of them are so hard that in addition to your body they will even take away your soul. And yet many of them call themselves educated, highly literate, pious, regular Church goers and advanced. They must pray to the souls of Lucazinho Ribeiro and Joao Agostinho Fernandes for initiating the art of Tiatro otherwise these Tiatrists would remain nonentities on this planet. Tiatro is the only forum for them to get some identity in life.
To organize a Tiatro in Kuwait is not an easy task. If you get good audience then it is o.k, otherwise you have to bear heavy losses. I have experienced the “Sunami” of losses. I cannot understand how some of the people are so hungry for Funkot Passes. They don’t even feel shy to occupy the chairs meant for Funkot Passes when they could easily buy the tickets and in a “honrad” manner see the Tiatro. Asking for Funkot Passes especially by those who can easily afford is like doing the job of a beggar and such beggars are plenty in our midst. They can easily spend fat amount after Whiskey Bottles, illicit Sex and other luxuries but when the time of supporting Konkani cause comes thru Tiatro patronizing, their purses becomes empty. These people are the enemies of Konkani. They spend money for everything and anything but not for purchasing Tickets for Tiatros though they love to see Tiatros but only with FUNKOT PASSES.
Also, one must know that receiving Funkot Passes without any contribution is a robbery and those who commit such robberies are really disgraceful people.
A. Veronica Fernandes,
Kuwait.
