Recently, one soccer internationally reputed commentator remarked saying “henceforth when Corona Virus effect is subsided and came to an end, the game of soccer or what we call it as Foot-ball will never be the same again”. It will have lot of quality cutting effects because there will be negative effects on the players who must have suffered lot of trauma due to the loss in death or in sickness or any other set-back resulted from the effects of Corona Virus. These same sentiments are also echoed by some of the stalwarts of this beautiful game. Due to crunch in the money power in the hands of big Clubs, the purchasing power of these big clubs for the services of the big players will be less and hence the ambitions of the players to make fast money will be a big set-back. The spectators number in the Stadia will be less and many of them will refrain from attending the matches because they by giving priority for the urgent needs, soccer will be placed on secondary level.
Because of the heavy set-back human beings suffered all around the globe due to the deadly sickness Corona Virus the wish of the foot-ball fans to patronize this beautiful game will be lost forever or at least for a long time. The people all around the globe will be occupied to recover their financial losses, physical trauma and mental stress they suffered in the aftermath of the Corona Virus.
Because of the ill effects of the second world war, the world foot-ball around the globe came to a disarray and because of it the soccer pundits had to devise ways and means to revive it on the field and also in the terraces. Some of the budding soccer players just before the beginning of the World War II wanted to conquer the world in this attractive sport were put on the service of defense of their country. In this way, Germany inducted in its Naval Fleet one full soccer team and sent to destroy the British Fleet in the Indian Ocean where this German Ship was bombed by the superior British Naval Fleet. With this heavily damaged War Ship, the sailors or the Navymen jumped into the Sea off the Coast at Aguada and those who swam well they survived and at Anjuna they got on the shore where by the kind hearted locals welcomed them.
Gradually they joined the local boys playing football there at Anjuna Tembi Ground and dazzled the locals very much. People started pouring there to see their magical soccer. Then Fr. Mendonca the principal of Arpora School involved and arranged a friendly soccer match with these German footballers against his the then powerful Arpora Scool student players, to see this match a sea of humanity congregated at Arpora School ground from all over Goa. As a mark of respect to this game, Arpora School displayed a nice photo in its Notice Board for many years but it is no more now.
Now in a similar manner I write something on Tiatro which Came to an abrupt halt because of the spread of Corona Virus and it looks to me that it will be very difficult for the revival of our Tiatros to the level it was just before the halt during the Corona Virus. When one goes into seclusion for any reason, to come back to his former self and level it takes a long time. This is what will happen to our Tiatros. The move of the Tiatros on which they were riding is either going to be slow down or disappear, the effect of financial losses especially on those who were totally relying on Tiatros only as business will be very severe even though some of them externally display a fair smile but there Is a saying in our language Konkani “Moddvachem Moddem Bhair Kaddleaxivai Kaim Gomona”. We also suffered the same type of humiliation when we came from Saddam Hussein invasion of Kuwait, no money, no job, no bhatt-bens-no Bank savings in Fixed Deposits to rely on interest and no nothing. My smile was the fake smile to pretend to be happy but internally I was suffering. When I was eating and drinking my wife and children were also doing the same and when I was starving they were also starving. Looked like a “Bondol”. Not at all. Good that Kuwait was liberated in 7 months only however if it took only one more month for its liberation time would come for us to commit suicide instead of facing the all round humiliation.
However, ultimately, we have somebody to take care of us if we believe in him and he is none other than GOD who made our way opened for us to go back to Kuwait and to enjoy the qualitative Value of the liberated Kuwaiti Dinar that doubled the rate what it was before the invasion of Kuwait. See the benevolence of God and that gift of God’s benevolence is always is in stock with God who is waiting for us to approach Him and in this way God helped us. In the same manner our Tiatrists will come out victorious. Your victory is need of the hour, you are the supporters of rights and justice in our land. Many of you will have demoralizing effect, your mind will not work as before but you will have to overcome all these deficiences with the help of God and He will surely help.
If you observe carefully in the past with regular intervals Tiatros faced bad periods, the first was 25-30 years after the inception of 1st Tiatro, our Tiatros suffered a setback because people stopped patronizing it because in the words of Pai Tiatrist Joao Agostinho Fernandes, Tiatros gone into the hands of Rostad Tiatrists where Zupattis & vulgarity gained more prominence among the such limited audience and for this reason good and decent audience stopped patronizing our Tiatros. Then like a God sent prophet according to the need of the time, God sent Minnguel Rod the genius Tiatrist to raise the standard of Tiatro and to revive the interest in Tiatro and then things settled down for the better.
Then again for some years Tiatro standard came down for people lose their interest in it but suddenly Alfred Rose appeared on the scene and he captured the Konkani anglicised audience thereby again reviving the interest of Tiatros in Goans. In between came many prominent Tiatrists but when Lorna came there was no going back. But now the Corona Virus has created a fever into people who may not patronise tiatro for sometime but not forever.
A.Veronica Fernandes.