According to the information gathered from the elders, the formation of the well-known Mandd at Candolim Pintos Vaddo came into being almost a century back. In this Vaddo about 200 metres away from this Mandd situated the house of world renowned hypnotist Abade de Faria. The establishment of this Mandd came thru gradual evolution. And history says that next to the house of one of the renowned village Bhattkars, Chico Bhattkar some persons from this Vaddo after doing the tiring work in the fields and elsewhere as manual workers used to gather there and discuss various issues of their work and other topics mainly related to their problems. Most of them were bare chested wearing just a Kastti and lighting a small fire in the form of a “doktto” to give them warmth especially during the severe winter days. As days and months and even years passed, this gathering became a daily routine where the gathered men started to bring in liquor also there to drink while they gathered in the form of a Mandd to discuss the topics of their interest either good or bad. While dispersing from there they made a habit of saying a small prayer for their wellbeing and that of their Vaddo, Village and Goa. Later on they brought in a small wooden Cross and fixed it on a small piece of Coconut tree called “Korvo” about 2 metres in height and around that Cross they gathered there for their routine. What is Mandd? Mandd means a gathering, it is a place where people get together to discuss their issues of different nature. The word Manddo our traditional song was derived from the word Mandd. Gradually some forward thinking persons at the later stage whom we call “kalsaumkar” because they were wearing short Pant and not a Kaxtti infiltrated into this gathering. They had educational background according to the need of the time and one of them was my father who being very well versed in Konkani reading and writing spent his early youthful days at Arpora School in the boarding. My father wanted to create a fund for the good of the members and this view in his mind he proposed to organize a Tiatro for which purpose he requested his colleagues at Mandd and the then well-known Tiatrist Santano popularly known in the village as “Genno Santan” who staged his Tiatro in 1946 at the Mandd on the second February in aid of Mandd to collect fund for this Mandd. Two of the artistes Mr. Edmund Fernandes and Antonio D’Silva from Pintos Vaddo who participated in this first ever Tiatro staged at Mandd are the living testimony to this maiden event. It would have been a nice gesture to felicitate both of them during the Tiatro on 2.2.14. Earlier, it was customary to hold Zagor at Mandd on this day. Thru this fund raising Tiatro, a fund of Rupees Three was collected to help the dead members to prepare Coffins for them. During those days many of the poor persons could not afford to spend money to prepare Coffins for their dead and as such they had to use Fabrica’s Coffin. Fabrica’s Coffin was the property of the Church permanently lying at one corner in the Cemetry to use to carry the dead body of the poor person from the residence of the dead to the Cemetry. Using Fabrikachi Kas as it used to be called then was a sign of the abject poverty of the dead person and it was also a sign of social humiliation. In order to avoid this social stigma on the poor members, the Mandd allocated a certain amount from the Mandd fund for the purpose of preparing Coffins for the dead members. It was a big relief then for the poor dead person to get a dignified burial and not an undignified burial in a Fabrikachi Kas. To increase the strength of the Mandd Fund, the members of the Mandd from Pintos Vaddo including Araddy annually had to pay a certain amount of membership fee or subscription, initially it was one Anna and currently it is raised to Fifty Rupees; the current amount allocated for a dead member as “Prem” is Rupees 20,000/-. Additionally, with the strength of the current accumulated fund, the Mandd is also helping financially the charitable causes. Because of its good work, Mandd acquired jealousy from some quarters including from some internal elements who somewhere in 1965 in order to liquidate the Mandd complained to the Police that this Mandd is involved in activities against the government rules and regulations. The devilish elements hatched a plan thru their destructive ideas to get arrested some elders in the Mandd and liquidate the Mandd forever. But by the grace of God and with the help of my both the elder brothers and intelligent father the disaster was averted and thus saved the Mandd from extinction. The other facility this Mandd provided was giving loan to the needy members without interest but by mortgaging their gold which was kept in a safe custody in a small wooden box along with the accumulated fund at the residence of one of the senior members. The small Cross at the Mandd fixed on top of the Korvo is known to create living miracles and because of these miracles devotees from different religions throng there in big numbers on every Sunday to pray there and ask favours from God. Because of its miraculous power the fame of this Mandd Cross is spread far and wide. The devotees coming to pray there pour the Cross with Flowers and money in the donation box. As it is customary, this year as usual on the day of the feast of our lady of Candelaria colloquially known as Condoi Saibinn on second of February, the Mandd is going to organize a Tiatro “Hello Uncle” by Tomazinho Cardoso with the participation of his troupe. This Tiatro is written and directed by Tomazinho Cardoso and will start at 10.00 PM. Tomazinho Cardoso is a very good Stage artiste well known all over Goa as a very good script writer based on current topics. He is known to stage his Tiatros for good and charitable causes. In the past he staged his Tiatros to raise funds for the local Church School and other good causes in the village. He is a Tiatrist not to make money but to serve the causes of the society. And for Mandd as a Tiatrist he is very close since he acted many times in Mandd Tiatros during the last 5 decades. A. Veronica Fernandes, Goa. Tel. 7507394349.
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