-Brian Mendonça
On the sidelines of the tiatr Lok Kitem Muntolo? staged recently by an all-woman crew at Kala
Academy, Panjim, a lady was full of praise for their act. ‘It was witty, not
vulgar,’ she said. The nuanced observation made me think that entertainers
and performers often don’t see their audience as gendered. A man will react in
one way and a woman in another to the same performance.
Popular entertainment often panders to the male ego and
so songs like ‘Bebdo’ are accepted as
de riguer. It is the chorus which is
valorized more than the verses: Ieo bailey
Ieo / Maka soro di poilo / Soro maka dinar zalear / Fotolo tuka. But if one
pauses to examine the lyrics here is a man demanding drink from a woman. He
goes so far as to threaten her saying that in case it is not provided he will
break her head. At this point everyone is gyrating to the music and the
implications on a culture are lost to the winds. Here is a song that
legitimizes violence to women if drink is not offered.
Interestingly, the song is usually sung by a woman,
making them complicit in the act. When the lead female crooner for Laury and
the Lace sang it at the Goa Food and Cultural Festival 2019 on Saturday, she
was tapping into a Goan mindset which however negative, has been internalized
as normal (at least by some males). When the crowd is a mix of people across
the country, the song in Konkani serves as a poor ambassador of Goan values.
In another song Bombay
se aya Mera dost, which Laury and the Lace took the lyrics went ‘Dost ke liye maine ladki mangwayi . . .’ But the ladki turns out to be a chakka.
Here too women are portrayed as merchandise to be bought and sold in the
market. The dost is presumed to be a
male with sexual proclivities. Being a good host for the friend from Bombay
includes making available women for him. Thus it is in Goa and thus it will be,
it seems.
This why director Inoshka Moraes and her troupe of young
women have a huge responsibility as they step onto the commercial stage. This
is a world of sexual innuendo masquerading as entertainment. To hold the tiatr stage for 3 hours or more with a
convincing plot line, a ‘clean’ narrative and a host of characters is no mean
achievement.
Lok
Kitem Muntolo? had all the elements of a professional tiatr. It had meaningful songs, a
convoluted plot, witty dialogue, excellent lighting, great live accompaniment
of drums and wind instruments and a surprise ending. Even the male roles were
played by women except for the drag queen.
The Goa Food and Cultural Festival on Saturday also
showcased a Goan male belly dancer. Supported by female dancers they swayed
suggestively to a Middle-Eastern beat.
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Advertisement published in Herald, Panjim, Goa on Sunday, 3 February 2019. Tiatr viewed at Kala Academy AC auditorium, Panjim,Goa on Saturday, 9 February 2019. Article published with the title 'Witty not vulgar' in Gomantak Times Weekender, Panaji, Goa, on Sunday, 17 February, 2019.
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