Dear Fellow Goenkars,
Last Sunday, Mum was still in Dubai, on her month long visit, to be with her grandkids, daughter and son in law. (Poor son in law!) Now Dad without Mum, becomes a sad Dad. He no longer reads the newspaper. No longer will he even change channels on TV as he usually does when he comes home from work. He just sits in his favourite chair and listens to old love songs. However, in the morning, Dad announced, “We will be going for a play in evening”. Who, What, Where, I thought to myself. Dad has always been a man of few words. “Which play”, I asked. “Loretta”, Dad answered. Loretta! I had read about the play in the newspapers. It sounded so delighful. *Loretta*,* directed by Sunil Shanbag, is set on a Goan river island in the 1970s, where Antonio Piedade Moraes, a staunchly proud widower and landlord, lives in style surrounded by a retinue of staff. When his son Rafael returns to Goa from Mumbai after completing his education, he brings along his Anglo-Indian girlfriend Loretta. Moraes doesn’t immediately take to the girl, and as a precondition for her staying on the island abode, he demands that she learn Konkani.* Dad and I enjoyed the play. We missed Mum. But we missed our dear Goa even more. I’ve written about my love for Goa over here before. Goa is who I am. It flows through every part of my veins. And like all of us, I too am proud to be Goan. The toddy tapper and his song, the poi man and his horn, the fisher lady and her charms are so well captured in the play. The essence of a language like Konkani lies not in the grammar books but all around us….especially in the food we eat! I will not tell you more of the play. But all I will say is….Go watch it. It’s brilliant. Brilliant. Brilliant. Brilliant! It’s based just like a Tiatr. So it has many side comedy shows and songs. If you are a Bombay Goan, like how I am, it will play at Andrews today and tomorrow ie. 8th & 9th. Saturday has two shows, 4pm and 7.30pm. The play will also head to Delhi later this month. Ive already told all my friends about the play, just like I'm telling you. Congrats to the crew and actors of Loretta. When you create something spectacular, word does go around! Many more such success to all of you By the way, do you know who is the main actress in the play? Our very own Aunty Maggie. I’m sure you must have seen her videos on YouTube where aptly captures the essence of being Goan. Oh and did I tell you, I watched the play at NCPA (National Center for Performing Arts). The moment we arrived (and you must know, NCPA is really very very chic), they had a three piece band that played at the start, interval and end. There was this curly hair shy guy playing the keyboards and a sparkling eyed guy playing rhythm. Well he was actually sitting on a box and playing on it as well as on a bongo, now that’s Goan talent. As for the singer, she was a pretty young girl who reminded me of Lorna possibly when she was young. She had a flower in her hair and a flowing flowery dress and what a voice! People really enjoyed it. And since NCPA is in south Bombay, and south Bombay has many Parsis, I saw many old dikras and dikris shaking a leg. They even sang along when the singer sang Ya Ya Ma Ya Yo! But do you know what people enjoyed even more? The free and unlimited choris pao and coconut water. Yes that’s right. Free and Unlimited. Free in Bombay! Wow! There was a counter with waiters in Hawaiian shirts (the type of shirt I’m sure all Goan men own!) And there were long lines for the Choris Pao. I even heard someone ask, is this veg! Imagine her shock when she touched it and then was told that it’s Pork! All I saw was her run away! Maybe to take a dip in the Ganges! I was talking to the three piece band. And while we spoke a lot, I realised I didn’t ask them their names. They were around my age and were Goans, born and brought up in Bomaby, like me. “Do you speak Konkani”, I asked. “No”, they replied in unison. It’s almost a week since I watched the play and do you know what I realised? That I can speak Konkani! I never knew I could! I can! I can! And I’m very good! I wish my grandparents were alive. They would correct me each time I made a mistake. But as the play explains, Konkani is all around us…. Through the songs, our conversations with vendors (or in my case, my house help) and most definitely the food we eat! In fact, I’m going to converse only in Konkani with any and every Goan. And yes my friends, go watch the play Loretta. Let it make you feel even more proud of being a Goan! Dev boro dis dium, Goan Girl