There is a saying in our mother tongue Konkani which says �Baint Poddlem Khuim Koblem ani Voir Sorlem Soblem�. This exactly what has happened now in Goa for the Goa State Awards for Tiatrists. Soon after the death of Alfred Rose, chief Minister of Goa Mr. Parrikar announced thru his Master�s Voice Tomazinho Cardoso that Goa Government will confer on late Alfred Rose phostumously the Goa Stage Award for his meritorious services in the field of Tiatro. Shame on you Parrikar for announcing this gift to Alfi after his death. Doubly shame on you Parrikar to confess that for so long you were not aware of the criteria followed in granting this award to the tiatrists. Only the Goa based tiatrists are given this award while Goan tiatrists based outside Goa are made ineligible for this award because according to the criteria to be eligible for this award one has to be a domicile of Goa (minimum 10 years continuously?). If the Chief Minister of Goa does not know this fact which is very discriminatory then what sort of Chief Minister Parrikar is? And how Parrikar can accommodate the late Alfred Rose into this prize on the liberation day of Goa in coming December? Can Parrikar use his power to bring about amendment in the criteria that was so vigorously followed for the last so many years against which none raised his voice forecefully? Or is it just a ploy of Parrikar to fool the Romivadis to get their support and win their confidence when Parrikar has already proved how communal he is?
I am the first person to be happy over the decision of granting Alfred Rose phostumously this award, but I would be still more happy if it was granted to him while he was alive. The worth of Goa State Award is nothing compared to what great work Alfi has done during his lifetime on Konkani Stage. Even hundreds of Parrikar come and announce hundreds of such awards to Alfi it will not compensate what Alfi has done for the promotion of Konkani Stage. Alfred Rose is not only a Goan by core but he is also an international celebrity who has made the name of Goa and Goans more popular than any other tiatrist amongst the tiatro fraternity. Parrikar is known to show his bias against Konkani and Romivadi while Alfi was not. Parrikar is communal while Alfred Rose was not.
While supporting granting of Goa State Award to Alfi even though it is too late � better late than never � I also show my total dissapointment on Tiatrist circle residing in Goa for not raising their voice on the bias committed against Goan tiatrists residing outside Goa. Some of the seniormost tiatrists of Goa are cunning, some dead and others are still alive waiting for their turn to exit from this planet, they could have raised their voice in support of their deserving colleagues settled in Bombay. But they did nothing because they are jealous of their own colleagues. These are the tiatrists who hampered the growth of Konkani tiatro, their motto is �apun apleak ani Dev somestank. Mojem sadlea puro, dusreanchem poddonk padd�. If these Goa based senior and prominent tiatrists had good intention they could shake Goa Government and make strong awakening in support of their companions settled beyond the boundaries of Goa.
Now Tomazinho Cardoso as mouthpiece of Parrikar says that Goa Government will give Goa State Award to Alfi phostumously. Tomazinho Cardoso is a shameless politician though very good tiatrist. For a full one tenure of Goa Legislative Assembly Tomazinho Cardoso held the post of Speaker which wielded lot of clout but inspite of being so what did he do for this particular cause? Now shedding crockodile tears to fool the people. When he was elected for the post of Speaker the entire Tiatrist fraternity heaved a sigh of relief with happiness that something good will come to them thru Tomazinho but Tomazinho is Tomazinho, a gutless person. He is fit only to discuss matters in his private Chamber like priest discussing effect of sin in the �Kumsodor�. The enemy of tiatrists is none other than tiatrists only. One thing must be born in mind that Goan tiatrists have spread not only in Bombay but they are also residing for many years now in the Gulf many of them in Kuwait and from here they are spreading the gospel of Konkani thru the forum of Konkani Tiatro. They should also be considered for the Goa State Award. In fact currently some of the best Konkani Stage artistes are settled in Kuwait who are performing much � much better than many of the Goa based tiatrists. For example other than Jose Rod many of the Kuwait based tiatrists deserve official recognition from the Goa Government or any official authority on forefront to promote the cause of Konkani. Jose Rod is the worst culprit of trying to kill the Tiatro art of one of the strong promoters of Konkani Tiatro in Kuwait. Along with him are some of his shameless followers like Jennifer Rodrigues and Francis de Verna besides others whose names and details I will give later on at an appropriate time.
While selecting Alfred Rose for the Goa State Award � if at all it succeeds because I have no faith in Parrikar who is anti-Konkani and anti-Romivadi Goan � Goa Government must also think of those other Bombay settled great tiatrists such as the late C. Alvares and others who are also deserving candidates for this Award. They should not be ignored. A few years back Konkani Heritage Kuwait honoured Prince Jacob in one of the city hotels in the presence of elite Goans for his enormous contribution in the development of Konkani Stage. During the honouring function one topic forcefully raised was the plight of Goan tiatrists based in Bombay and are not considered for this Award. We requested then Prince Jacob to raise his voice over this injustice. But nothing we heard after this. Occasionally in our meetings and writings this topic was raised but none bothered, worst tiatrists themselves who are overwhelmingly selfish and jealous of each other. For this reason major part of them are considered as �Hoi polloi� inspite of their sterling qualities on the Stage.
A. Veronica Fernandes, Kuwait.
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