The state could promote tiatr as a unique Goan drama form at art festivals
Tiatr, a unique form of Konkani dramatic art, was born in Bombay 133 years ago. Outside its fans, others don’t recognise its potential. For too long, Goa’s cultural czars have looked down on tiatr. It has been viewed as formulaic, melodramatic, and focused too heavily on entertainment over depth—or predictable plots, slapstick comedy, and moral sermons, rather than engaging with complex social or political themes in nuanced ways.
However, Pramod Kale, a PhD from Wisconsin on the Natyashastra of Bharata, presents a more credible counterview: “Among the numerous cultural performances of Goa partaking of both indigenous and European transplanted traditions, the most popular and vibrantly alive is the Konkani language tiatr. It is a form which is rooted in the working-class and lower middle-class Goan Catholic population living in Goa or outside, expressing their trials and tribulations, hopes and aspirations…”
Despite its detractors, this thriving sector of Goa’s cultural life remains as active as ever, drawing in its fans and allowing a few hundred hard-working artistes to earn a living from a humour-laced field they take quite seriously. The challenges it faces have not stopped it from growing and going places.
Tiatrs were once largely Bombay (Mumbai)-based and Tiatr Day will be celebrated on April 17 in commemoration of the day the first tiatr performance – Italian Bhurgo – which took place on Easter Sunday in 1892 in Mumbai.
After the 1980s, Goa has done well in bringing this form of popular theatre back home. A few adventurous promoters have been taking their troupes even to the Gulf, parts of England, or occasionally Paris. Goans in Karachi have been longing to see a tiatr there. Recently, it was taken to Mangaluru, where it otherwise doesn’t exist. Expats have staged their own tiatrs, with local talent, in places as disparate as Melbourne or Texas. This indeed says something about the tiatr, Goa’s expat communities, and their links with home. But it has been no easy ride for the tiatr. In Bombay, it was kept alive and vibrant without any state support. Back in Goa, tiatrists have been complaining about a shortage of performing spaces, plus pressures due to cultural, economic, and generational shifts.
The Tiatr Academy of Goa was set up by the Digambar Kamat-headed Congress government in 2009. There are few grants or fellowships for tiatrists and also for documentation of the tiatr. TAG also supports the promotion of tiatr through workshops and also at the school level. Several schemes have been formulated to support tiatr. However, auditoriums or rehearsal spaces are lacking or unaffordable. Tiatrists complain of financial insecurity; many work gig-to-gig. Their hard work has probably resulted in some of them dying too early. Limited training opportunities are still felt, despite Goa having a School of Drama. Youngsters, not surprisingly, favour digital entertainment these days. Tiatr competitions have helped, and one now sees more tiatrs being reviewed in the media. But a sufficient base is needed to preserve and study the tiatr as a serious cultural and literary form.
Work is on to take tiatr to younger audiences. College and school-level competitions have brought in some impressive talent. But, as always, a lot more can be done. Mentoring between seasoned tiatrists and young artists could help the field. An authentic digital and media outreach could also surely help. Can tiatrists take their shows to wider audiences? Goa could promote tiatr as a unique Goan drama form at art festivals in Goa, maybe even beyond.
