IS ZILLAH PARISHAD ELECTION A JOKE?

During my conversation a few days back with one of the contestants for the forthcoming election for Zilla Parishad when he begged with me to vote for him and also pleading with me to impress upon the people to vote for him only,  I asked him,  why should I vote for you when you are not my candidate because you are selected without my consent and also without the consent of the larger number of the voters from our Constituency, ironically and regretfully you are selected by a coterie of those few who got some ulterior motive behind selecting you, in fact this coterie selected you because they want to loot the innocent locals by keeping their guns on your shoulder. 

This coterie has dumped the contestant on our shoulders in the name of their High Command which is as per my information is a fictitious body and existing only on paper. I will not vote for the candidate who is imposed on us by  a few having ulterior motive.  When I further asked him what have you done for the people in the past for their cause so that out of gratitude at least, they will vote for you, he had no answer. Hence, I will not vote for a candidate whose contribution for the public cause is Zero. Such candidates when elected they turn into Maharajas and Hitlers without any obligations towards the woes of the common people.

Then I asked, why you think people should vote for you, what qualities you possess to attract the people towards you?  He replied saying,  once elected I will do my best to settle all your issues. For this I retorted, when this toothless body ZP  is devoid of any concrete and practicable powers to do anything, how can you say you will do everything after you got elected?

 ZP election is a big tamasha and for the contestants as status symbol and once they get elected the degree of this status increases.  Some will spend  money  after this election while the others make their presence felt but the MLA’s will veto all the resolutions brought for devolving the powers of ZP back to the ZP.

On the paper the ZP are given lot of powers but they are not implementable till the MLA’s and government remained adamant to devolve these powers practically to the ZP, till then ZP will remain as a big joke.

In my Constituency there are many contestants vying for the victory, they have one object to defeat the powerful one belonging to the powerful party. But how they can achieve their goal individually?  Impossible, in this way they will all lose and for that matter they will all lose miserably giving victory on Silver platter to the already powerful party candidate.  They all should have come under one banner and fought the election one against the other. But no, instead they like blind volunteered to go on their own individually. Those who act as managers for their parties should have thought over it in the beginning itself.  Those who tried to destroy the structure of my village should be kept out and their candidate should be defeated otherwise they will further degoanise Candolim especially my locality. Candoicars must not forgive such persons.

A.Veronica Fernandes.

NEW TIATRO "KOXTANTLEAN FULAM" BY LAWRY TRAVASSO.

On 10^th of this month, at Kala Academy Hall in Panjim, starting at 7.45 PM instead of at 7.30 PM as officially indicated, I saw the new Tiatro “Koxttantlean Fulam” written and directed by one of the topmost current Tiatrists Lawry Travasso.  This is yet another Tiatro of Lawry Travasso where the title is named after Fulam.  By doing so, Lawry Travasso has further enhanced the greatness and beauty of “Fulam’ though it was used in figurative sense describing the girls who are inhabitants of the Orphanage.

Seen above is the writer/director lawry travasso singing his solo

Seen in a scene are Franky & his beautiful stage partner Seema Gracias

The Tiatro was attended by a good number of attendees but not to a hall packed and it was well enacted by all the artistes in the play as well as in the Side Show which however needed more punch to reach to its crescendo even though all the singers sang well their songs. Special mention must be made to the solos rendered by Lawry Travasso, Peter de Arambol, Tony de Ribandar and his duet with lovely looking Antonette de Maina, the quarter of all the ladies led by Antonette de Maina and the solo by Marcus Vaz.

In another sceen seen left top is one of the comedians wearing ladies Bra?

Seen above in a scene are Mario Menezes, Rosy Alvares, Rima & Dorothy 

The theme of this story is based on the girls brought up in the Orphanage, their hardships and difficulties they faced there and also the humiliation they face in their life for being the orphans as they are without proper parentage. The role played by Antonette de Maina was fantastic especially when she indicates her desperateness after her boyfriend denies her.  The sorrowful Canto that she renders at this moment was the superb and super too. It reminded me while listening to this Canto of the great singer of yester years, Antonete Mendes who beautified those days Tiatros especially of the late M. Boyer by singing such Cantos so melodiously, so sorrowfully and so beautifully. How beautiful this Canto would have been if Antonette de Maina  had her singing capacity and the voice modulation a bit polished?  It is surprising why the director did not bring to her notice to improve her skill of singing this most beautiful canto by making it melodious? It is an historical fact that when sorrowful Cantos were rendered there appeared springs of tears flowing thru the eyes of the audience. Do we have such singers among us on the Konkani Stage now among the males and females?  Most of them especially the females are screaming and yet they think they are expert in their fields.  Most of them are experts only in opposing those who correct them.  The role played by young artiste Franky Gonsalves as the boyfriend of Seema Gracias at the later stage and at the first stage of Antonette de Maina was excellent.  

         

                                            Comedian Joana seen singing her solo

              

I saw once during the rehearsal how the great director  Alexinho de Candolim of those days was struggling while instructing to polish the then great singer Filomena Lopes to reach to her perfection in singing a beautiful canto in his Tiatro “Santa Cecilia’. Antonette de Maina no doubt sings well but still she needs guidance and direction to rise up to the occasion. The others who deserve mention here for playing their roles well are Rosy Alvares, Mario Menezes, Lawry Travasso, Reema, comedians Dorothy & Joana  and of course Tari in the priestly role.  He acted like a genuine priest in his talk and walk.  It was because of their excellent display this Tiatro attained the success.

                                  

                                        Domick de Arambol singing his solo

The Musical score provided under the leadership of great and renowned Maestro Norman Cardoso was superb without any  unnecessary disturbances.

Comedy part was good but the one scene where one comedian who shows his chest with ladies Bra, was not palatable, director should note this ugliness. All those who come to watch the Tiatro do not belong to the “Pochpochit” background of “pochpochit gharannem”. Because of such dirt displayed from the Stage good parents are preventing their young children from watching the present days Tiatros. Precisely because of this nonsense displayed in our Tiatros the youngsters  are coming very less and less and in the light of this in another 10 – 15 years time once we embrace the Cemetery, our Tiiatros will come to an end.  And who will be responsible for the end of our Tiatros?  Surely all those Vulgar Rostad Tiatrists. Our elder comedians never lowered themselves to such an ebb and because of this they remained till now as great and immortal.

                                   

  Seen above are Tony de Ribandar & lovely lookingAntonette de Maina       

A.Veronica Fernandes.

KNOW YOUR AAP ZP CANDIDATE FROM CALANGUTE CONSTITUENCY.

Very shortly we in Goa will be having our election for the Zilla Parishad and because of this the people involved in this election namely the contestants, their parties, their supporters and all those who are connected directly or indirectly to this election.  Even though Zilla Parishad’s power are absoutely minimal and yet inspite of this body being a toothless body there is heavy campaigning especially the door to door campaigning in all the constituencies.

Since I am taking lot of interest in this election as a writer and campaigner, I am also keeping myself  busy in this tamasha where for the impotent body, the powerless body are vying for the supremacy over the other candidates.   

In my constituency, the Calangute Constituency,  the  candidates of the three prominent parties namely BJP, Congress and AAP are contesting. The contestant of AAP Mr. Manuel Simao Cardoso from Calangute, Madda Vaddo, whom I spoke on 10^th of this month at my place, I found him a very knowleldgeable young man who is eagerly waiting to implement his plans once he gets elected in the coming ZP election.  He is associated with AAP since last so many years and he feels his chances are very bright in this election since people in his constituency knows him as smart man to fight for the peoples causes, namely to protect the Shack owners interests and to upright the bended rules of CRZ 18.

Fighting for public causes is not new for him since some years back when in Bombay he under the leadership of Super Cop Julius Ribeiro fought for  public cause.

He said his strength lies with the people of his constituency namely in the villages of Calangute, Candolim, Arpora, Nagoa.

His major task once he got elected, as he said is to demand from the Goa government the powers of ZP back to ZP, the said powers are kept into its hands by the government under the supervision of MLA’s and Ministers. Once he is elected, he said he will meet every ZP member to impress upon them to work collectively for this goal. Otherwise, the MLA’s and government will never surrender these ZP powers rightly back to ZP.

He said while voting people from Calangute constituency in whom he got full faith tha they will elect him, to think carefully and vote for him since he is very capable to get many of the issues solved for the benefit of the people of his constuency.  Hence, I request all my voters he said, to vote for me, AAP.

A.Veronica Fernandes.