Tiatr-ical theory

Tiatr-ical theory

Sayeesh Naik, Marcel


How often have we seen the ‘Ayurvedic’ peddler of patent medicine, who sits at the roadside with bowls full of herbs, narrating to bystanders how his magic concoction can cure every illness, from arrhythmia to arthritis and from indigestion to impotence? Now, similarly, we have a ‘single solution’ to each and every one of Goa’s ills. According to Wilson ‘Wilmix’ Mazarello, the root cause of all of Goa’s chronic problems (which he says are mere symptoms) is Konkani; because it has been chained by the present Official Language Act (‘Official Language Act: The cause of all our problems’, OPinionatED, Herald, 1 Jan). If only that perfidious Act is totally removed and we ‘set Konkani free’, Wilmix implies, Goans will stop mistrusting each other, the mega-project standoff in villages will come to an end, the SEZ controversy will be over, members of Utt Goykara and the Goa Bachao Abhiyan (GBA) will stop infighting and playing the blame game, and people’s suspicion and hatred for the regional plans will disappear. Wonderful, is it not, that one single deed could make everyone happy? A perfect ending – for a tiatr. Life, unfortunately, is far more complicated. If the Official Language Act is removed, Konkani will no longer be Goa’s official language! Wilmix is a great tiatrist. But he should stick to his strengths. Goans have fought long and hard for Konkani and statehood. They cannot even think of gambling it away on the basis of a whimsical, tiatr-ical theory.

(As published in the Herald / 3 Jan 2009)