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On the 14th and 15th of December The Mustard Seed Art Company will be
presenting a play "Kator re Bhaji" (Through Corridors of Power). The play
will be screened at the mini outdoor auditorium at the Kala Academy in
Panjim at 7 p.m. on both days. This is part of a bigger project "Visual
Arts & Theatre Festival" co-ordinated by Fundacao Oriente and Kala Academy.
It brings together artistes from Theatre, Painting, Photography etc and has
interpretations and interplay between these fields. What emerges is bound
to be impressive.
"Kator re Bhaji" is a play on Abbe Faria and is scripted and directed by
Isabel Santa Rita Vas. The play is not biographical but rather a
fictionalised narration as seen by different characters. It is a very
complex script (I have read it!) and hopes to analyse what the Abbe, a
brown skinned man in 18th century Europe, must have gone through in the
pursuit of his theories. It examines his human side and the mores of the
times. Very experimental.
I interacted closely with Isabel when we made our documentary on Abbe
Faria. Her energy and enthusiasm is inexhaustible. And her determination to
see that this great Goan be given his rightful place in history.
But let me come to the main point of this posting. When we set out to make
our documentary on Abbe Faria we were not only amateur first-time
filmmakers, we also had no funding. While fine tuning the script with
Isabel I too got fascinated by the Abbe and decided that we had to see this
project through - whether funded or not.
With a borrowed DV camera, a tripod and loads of amateurish enthusiasm, we
went around on my motorcycle interviewing people and filming on location at
Panjim, Old Goa, Colvale, Candolim and Margao. At that time, last December,
my good friend Maximillan Schecker was down on holiday from Germany. Maxi
is a young professional, experienced cinematographer and was crucial in
showing us the organised way of going about things. He sacrificed many days
of his holiday to be our guide. Once we had all our footage we approached
Allain Saldanha of Digital Magic who not only did a fantastic job in
putting our story together slickly but also charged us just a fraction of
his normal professional charges for his studio time and equipment use.
But I am digressing... maybe I should save it for my Award Acceptance
Speech. Any Award Committees out there listening? Just kidding.
The point I am trying to make is that we went through a lot of expenses in
terms of time, effort and money to make the documentary celebrating Abbe
Faria. Both Isabel and me work for a living and we had to squeeze out
whatever spare time we could for this project. And of course there were
expenses - most of which were borne by Isabel. We did make some attempts at
obtaining funding but were disillusioned by the process. Government
institutions require a lot of red tape to be cut and the backing of
politicians who demand their pound of flesh and servitude. So, being proud
Aldonkars, we did it ourselves! Fortunately we could.
The movie has been since screened publicly at many places. We have
distributed the VCD/DVD absolutely free of cost to people who want to
arrange for a public screening. I plan to put it up on a website for anyone
to download free of cost. We don't want compensation for our expenses. We
want that Abbe Faria's name and work be remembered and celebrated. That is
reward enough.
Now for this play "Kator re Bhaji" obviously there are expenses involved.
Rehearsals have been going on since early October. To defray expenses The
Mustard Seed Company is printing Donation Coupons of Rs. 100/- that will
serve as Tickets for the play. I know for a fact that these donations will
not cover all the expenses that have gone into making this play possible.
I'm doing my part by designing the Tickets and paying for their printing. I
have no involvement in the play and am just a close friend of Isabel's. I'm
not a great fan of theatre but have seen many Mustard Seed productions and
am amazed at what a talented cast can produce - with little or no
resources. All the Mustard Seed Theatre Group members give of their time
free of cost but obviously there are expenses involved in travelling and
eating and costumes and...
Experimental theatre such as this, I feel, should be promoted and
supported. If any of you wish to contribute, with no strings attached,
towards subsidizing the staging of 'Kator re Bhaji' and supporting The
Mustard Seed Company please contact me. Cheques can be made out directly in
the name of "Mustard Seed Theatre Group", Syndicate Bank, Panjim Branch.
Let's support the Arts.
Cheers!
Cecil
P.S.
I know Isabel will be embarrassed by this unasked for 'appeal' of mine but
what the heck! I can't just sit back and see her constantly spending from
her own pocket. Her financial resources are quite limited. How much can
just one person spend? I know there are generous Goans out there who will
give abundantly towards a genuine cause. They want to. Now they can.
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