With his latest tiatr 'Undir Mogan Poddla ' just out, noted tiatrist and director Roseferns sits down for a quick chat
Pic by Samrat Bandodkar
You don't need to be a tiatr aficianado to know him. Even a local who has never followed tiatr his whole life is sure to recognise his name. While for tiatr lovers, Roseferns is the ultimate king. People come from far and wide just to watch him in action while aspiring tiatrists just wait for the dream opportunity to work with him.
Born Antonio Rosario Fernandes, Roseferns had no tiatr family background. However, as a young boy, he enjoyed being a part of the khell tiatrs that his neighbour Menino Afonso used to stage and diligently wrote songs for them. In school, he was also given the opportunity to pen down songs for former Chief Minister Dayanand Bandodkar as well as then Bishop Raul Gonsalves. He then went on to pen his first three act tiatr in 1972 for a school function, one that was well apreciated by all, thus setting the stage for one of the greatest tiatrists that Goa has seen.
'Thapott' which was staged a record 230 times set him apart from the rest, earning him the title King of Centuries. And with the able support of his wife Succurine, who took the stage name Succoferns, he established his own troupe Roseferns Dramatic Troupe in 1980. Since there there has been no looking back.
“ Tiatr has given me everything that I could ask for- a car, house, land,” admits Roseferns. And more than four decades down the line, he is still a big name to reckon with and usually hold three tiatrs a year – during Easter, monsoons and during the month of October.
But a lot has changed since he took his first steps in to this field. “ Before tiatrists used to have a certain identity attached to them. For instance Young Menezes was known for his jet speed singing and Alfred Rose for his rhyming. Now, things have changed,” he recalls. “Previously to be a tiatrist, you had to know how to sing, compose and act. Now of the new entries in the field there are very few who can compose. In fact in my own productions, if for instance I have 11 songs, out of these, I compose five of them myself.”
His 83rd production 'Undir Mogan Poddla' which is currently being staged in different parts of Goa is dedicated to trying to save our Goa.
“The story is based on our Golden Goa and how we can save it from the migrants. Today everywhere we look migrants are dominating things. The Tiracol episode is one such incident where land has been sold to build golf courses. I have tried to highlight these things in the tiatr,” states Roseferns and adds “There is no doubt that development is important but should it be at the cost of demolishing houses and felling of trees? Our state is like our mother and we must preserve her and our identitiy.”
Roseferns further adds that this tiatr is a warning to locals as well as a request to the youth to come forward and save Goa.
