Tiatr

The plays are primarily performed in the Romi Konkani dialects and incorporate elements such as music, dance, and singing.

Since there were many different scenes in this tiatr and it required different stage sets, they thought of dropping the curtain and performing songs and dances in front of it.

The first original tiatr script was written and directed by João Agostinho Fernandes in 1895 in Bombay and was titled Belle de Cavel or Sundori Cavelchi.

Helped by his friend and colleague Antonio Marian, the khell was performed on a stage for the first time with a backdrop and other paraphernalia associated with theatre.

The first khell tiatr, Sandlolo Put, written and directed by Antonio Moraes, was staged on the third day of Carnival of March 1956.

However, this form became very popular only in the 1970s when Rosario Rodrigues coined the term khell tiatr and came up with extremely successful shows.

Despite centuries of Portuguese suppression and post-liberation neglect from the state governments, tiatr as an art form has not just survived but thrived and reinvented itself in many ways.

[1] Other songs, called kantaram, are generally either comedic or based on topical, political and controversial issues that are interspersed through the performance.

The music is provided by a live band including keyboard, trumpet, saxophone, bass guitar and drums.

Tiatr songs and performances are recorded and sold on CD and DVD in Goan and Middle Eastern markets.

[citation needed] Although efforts have been made to preserve the art form as a tradition of Goa, there have been calls for greater recognition of Mumbai-based tiatrists.