TIATR ACADEMY OF GOA (TAG) is the prestigious organization that serves the cause of Tiatros. When Digambar Kamat was the Chief Minister of Goa about a decade back he helped its formation allocating it budgetary funds, in fact Kamat is the great lover of Tiatros and during his CMinistership Tiartros business flourished well. To run TAG affairs, an special committee is constituted headed by its President who along with other members are nominated by the Government, they are all selected from the Tiatrists fraternity.
Now, according to my information since last over two years, its functioning is become a matter of concern for every Tiatrist and also the lover and supporter of this great art of Tiatro which incidentally took its birth not in Goa but in Bombay almost 150 years back when Lucazinho Ribeiro from Assagao Bardez, an anchestral village known for giving birth to some of the greatest Goans in their respective fields namely Monsg. Dalgado in Literature and Neville D’Souza the greatest soccer wizard India has ever produced and who was the first Indian to score a hat-trick for India in the Olympics. It is over 2 years now that there is no new committee formed thru the nomination by the Government since then instead of functioning with normal speed it is moving lame footed thus putting a halt to its vibrant activities. Since it is a Government funded body, for reasons best known to itself, the Government is not seen to do anything better for its promotion and moreover Government is seen to be neglecting its interest in it. There is no move seen from the Government to appoint the new committee since such a long period, the is talk going on that Government is interested in seeing its slow and silent death Government does not like to absorb the criticism of the Tiatrists from the Stage. If it is so, then what is the role of so many Tiatro lover MLA’s from both the sides? Interested persons should raise this issue with the concerned people.
Tiatro is not only an entertainment but it is an industry manned by 90% of the professional Tiatrists who are totally dependent on it for sustaining them and their familes. In the absence of its officially constituted committee, its voice is become dead having no person to place its grievances In front of the authorities concerned.
The need of the hour is to constitute the new committee immediately under the new President and not the one who is doing the reliever’s job from some other department where he is officially placed. It is a bad administration for functioning without a committee with its head for such a long period. In view of this, a delegation of a few prominent Tiatrists must go as a delegation and meet the concerned Minister and put their grievances in front of him. Separately they can also meet the Director of Art and Culture.
A.Veronica Fernandes.