“The Side-Show Songs”
is an integral part of Tiatro and to give a good image of Tiatro, the Side-Show
songs must be good though, the script
and display of the main Play may be very good.
People got the tendency to judge the quality of the Tiatro based on the
quality of the Side-Show songs. Though
it was rather difficult for the Tiatrists to sing political songs during the
Portuguese regime because of the rigid laws applicable against the singers and
also because of the censorship existence then, yet somehow or the other some Tiatrists
rendered political songs and escaped from the jaws of the punishment because of
the lenient Regidores as we had one in our village and who was responsible to check this. Portuguese government allowed all the freedom
for Tiatrists to sing on anyone except against its presence in Goa. For this
reason during those days many of the Tiatrists rendered “Zupattis” to the
Bhattkars harassing Munddkars, Clergy for promoting casteism in the Chuch and
even government servants doing injustice.
About a century back when in Agacaim, the “Renders”
stopped extracting Toddy in protest against the newly introduced tax on their
business and when they were in protest period, one of their colleagues was shot
dead while extracting the Toddy against the decision of the protesters. This
news was first flashed in a loud voice from the Konkani Stage. However, the
existing government of that time took a lenient view of this exposure though it
did not like this exposure.
Again somewhere in 1959
at Ribandar Hospital when one patient
was undergoing an operation, suddenly the light went off disrupting the
operation because of which the poor patient died. Immediately then one Tiatrist rendered a very
critical song against government apathy in supplying proper flow of
electricity, the singer even named the Hospital director for being inefficient
and responsible for the death of the patient. It was a big thing at that time
to sing such a song on such a critical topic but Portuguese government did not
do anything.
Kid Boxer and Trio
Kings of Conception-Nelson-Anthony were the first Tiatrists immediately in the
post 19.12.61 period to sing political songs in the same Tiatro at Mapsa, directly
against the Bharat Serkar for givng Goans a bad taste of Bharati
administration. Kid Boxer in his song warned Bharati Serkar
saying thus: “Tum, (Goyant) bhitor
sorlai chukon – Mortoloi sukon, dusreacho desh pochona; Tum panpotti khatai ani poch’chu korun
thuktai, lozui kaim dissona; Tum nestai fokot valo ani khatai fokot palo". While
the Trio Kings tore the Bharati Serkar into pieces for creating scarcity in Goa
and mess of Goa for which they held the irresponsible Nationalists responsible
for the ills Goa. All the four Tiatrists
were immediately castigated by the government machinery existing then and
Censorship for a brief period was first time
introduced In Goa under Indian rule.
The second time
censorship introduced in Goa was somewhere at
the end of Bandodcar’s rule by his government to punish the Trio Kings
who were doing greater job as Opposition from the Stage than all the 12 UGP
MLA’s. Bandodcar was only afraid of their Trio songs otherwise he did not care
for anyone in Goa even for the mighty Opposition UGP MLA’s.
After this, many
tiatrists started singing political songs but up to now none matched the
capacity of Kid Boxer because Kid Boxer was fighting his ideological battle
against the government of the sovereign country Bharat by standing on its soil.
He
was not only fighting but he was ready too to face the punishment for his
actions and in fact actually he faced the
punishment and suffered. Though he was
called by his detractors as an enemy of Bharati Raj and pro-Portuguese but
according to my observation he was Pro-Goan.
A.Veronica Fernandes,
Candolim, Goa.
Tel:7507394349.