26 ONE-ACT SERMONS
By
DALE LUIS MENEZES
Theater in Konknni is a form of art that is very popular in Goa. Of late, it is
heartening to note that many manuscripts are being published and a decent
corpus of tiatrs and plays are now available for the general reader. Of the
many tiatrs and collections of short one-act plays, Arso: 26 Nattkuleancho
Jhelo by Fr. Michael Fernandes is one such book. This collection under review,
consist of twenty-six one-act plays and the novelty about this book is that the
titles follow the sequence of the roman alphabets from A-Z.
Fr. Michael Fernandes is a young priest hailing from Benaulim. He has published
his writings in various Konknni newsmagazines like Jivit, Gulab, Goan Review,
V. Ixtt and some periodicals published by the Church in Goa. An alumnus of the
Saligão seminary, Fr. Michael had also contributed to the nagri Konknni daily
Sunaparant in its Campus Reporter section. A versatile writer experimenting
with such diverse forms of writing such as essays, stories, poems, lyrics and
besides being a playwright Arso is Fr. Michael’s first book.
If we take an overview of Fr. Michael’s collection, we would find that these
plays are written to impart good moral values. The plots are simple and move in
a direction that allows the author to end with a homily. Issues such as teenage
love, respect for elders and parents, honesty, Christian values, concern for
the environment etc are discussed in Arso. Fr. Michael also discusses issues
like the Goan identity and heritage in the face of rampant changes due to
external influences and the in-migration of people from other states. After
reading the book, one gets this impression that the main purpose of the author
is to impart a virtuous and moralistic message to the readers and the audience.
A recurring feature of the book, that one notices, is the rapid change-of-heart
to lead a good, moral life of the bad characters found in the book. The way
these characters pledge to reform themselves sometimes appears to be too easily
done and that the author has taken shelter in conven
ience. Given the time and space constraints of a one-act play, such brevity is
however understandable.
In Bãym or Well, Fr. Michael stresses the importance of our traditional wells
and also the need to conserve water. The use of a particular Saxtti dialect in
this play makes interesting reading. In fact there are a few other instances
where Fr. Michael has also experimented with other dialects, which is quite a
commendable task. In some of the plays, the dialogues for lay characters are
written in a way a priest would preach a sermon (for instance in Advogad),
which makes the scene being enacted seem unreal. Is there a need to use lofty
examples from the Bible at every turn of the phrase?
That we should care for our old parents is one message that runs throughout the
book. The position that Fr. Michael takes on such an issue is not a new one and
we have all heard such arguments at various platforms. Fr. Michael’s position
will be clear from the following quote from Inam’ where Marcus, a character in
the play says thus: “Dor eka putak ani dhuvek mhozo ulo – tumchim avoy-bapuy
kitlim-i zanttim pasun zalear, tankam pois korum nakat, nhoi mhonn azilant-ui
ghalum nakat. Kiteak, je tyag ani koxtt tumchim avoy-bapuy tumche khatir
kaddtat te sonvsarantle her khuinchech monis kaddchenant.” [This is my call to
every son and daughter. No matter how old and infirm your parents may be, do
not turn away from them, nor admit them in an old-age home. For they have
toiled for you like nobody else in this world]. Though in agreement that we
should care for the people who love us, is it always practical and feasible to
walk the path that Fr. Michael is suggesting?
I would also like to single out another play that could have benefitted from
some fresh thinking by a very young priest like Fr. Michael. In Maim (Mother),
in return for a lakh of rupees which would secure Alroy a job, the idols of
Mother Mary need to be destroyed and he has to proclaim that there is no use in
believing in Mother Mary. Alroy does as he is required by “the group” and
immediately he meets with an accident. Or in Tallnni or Temptation, which is a
story about two brothers. Since their mother has to go out shopping, she tells
her two boys to sincerely sit down and study for their exams which are fast
approaching. One brother succumbs to temptation and goes out with his friends
to play – only to drown in a river in an act of Devan khast layli (God has
punished).
This idea of divine retribution should be abandoned by young priests like Fr.
Michael. Rather than continuing with old and stale ideas, Fr. Michael could
have infused his writings with a new spirit, one that celebrates life with all
its faults and shortcomings. I shall stop here lest I begin to sound too
preachy!
Though many of the themes repeat and overlap in many of the plays, the
collection does not seem to be a boring repetition. In other words, the plays
are written in a way that sustains the interest of the reader. Arso is neatly
printed and bound with almost zero typos. The cover illustration by Alvito
D’Costa, though a bit clichéd, is artfully done. The only problem is that the
name of the author deserved better visibility, for it seems to be lost in one
corner of the cover. In summation, this book not only makes a good read but
could come handy to schools looking for scripts of one-act plays to be staged
during the annual gatherings. For it is only by encouraging young writers like
Fr. Michael that more Konknni writings would blossom forth.
Comments/feedback @ www.daleluismenezes.blogspot.com
END OF ARTICLE
Arso: 26 Nattkuleancho Jhelo by Fr. Michael Fernandes (Benaulim/Bann’nnavle:
Micferns Prokaxon), 2010; pp. IX+237, Rs. 100/-; Phone: 91-0832-2221688
(Available at Dalgado Konknni Akademi, Panjim)
Find my writings @ www.daleluismenezes.blogspot.com
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Push thought to extremes
-Louis Althusser
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