Works of Cha Fra A Study UGC Project Report by Anil Pinto 2008
Works of Cha Fra A Study UGC Project Report by Anil Pinto 2008
Works of Cha Fra A Study UGC Project Report by Anil Pinto 2008
: A Study
Christ College,
Bangalore, Karnataka - 560029
2008
Works of Cha. Fra.: A Study by Anil Joseph Pinto is licensed under aCreative
Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at anilpinto.blogspot.com.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This research report would not have been possible without the support of many people. I
am grateful to St Aloysius College, where this project was initially sanctioned, and to
Christ College, where this project has been completed. I am indebted to Dr Eugene Lobo
SJ, the then Principal, St Aloysius College, and Dr Varghese CMI, Finance Officer, and
Dr Thomas Mathew CMI, Principal, Christ College, who whole heartedly co-operated in
I am also thankful to Dr Manju Singh and the staff at the South-Western Regional Office,
UGC, Bangalore for all their co-operation through the ups and downs of the work.
Many thanks to Dr William Robert Da Silva, who not only helped open my eyes to the
exciting world of Konkani literature, but also to the world of ideas. This work owes a lot
to the exciting discussions I had with him. I am grateful to Gopala Gowda of Konkani
Institute, St Aloysius College, and George Rodrigues, a committed librarian of the same
college for their generous help in collecting material. Thanks also to Pratap Naik SJ,
TSKK, Goa for his timely and valuable responses to all my queries. I also fondly
Also, thanks to my loving family members – especially Marie and Annie - but for whose
unrelenting support and care I would not have completed this work.
ii
CONTENT
iii
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
Research on Mangalore Christians and their cultural productions has been very little. As
far as the researcher’s knowledge goes, there have been no M.Phil.s or Ph.D.s produced
on the voluminous and rich literary output in Konkani. The reasons are as much historical
as socio-political. It is not only in this context that the present study gains unique
importance.
The Konkani speaking people are spread across on the west coast of India, from Ratnagiri
to Cochin. However, they use five different scripts across this region and produce
literature in all these scripts, namely Roman, Devanagari, Kannada, Arabic and
Malayalam. This is one of the rarest linguistic occurrences not only in India but also in
the world. Of all these scripts, the highest volume of literature gets produced in Kannada
Although I use the term Christians throughout this work, it refers to Catholics who owe
their religious allegiance to papal authority in Rome and who are also known as Roman
Catholics.
2
Early studies on the history of Konkani language and people led the history of Konkani
as far as the Vedic period and to River Saraswathi (Pai, (1959) 1995: 1-24) and Konkani
Christians in South Canara saw themselves as the descendents of them who were
works, this belief still thrives. For example Paul Moras’ work (Moras, 2002: 1-24) on
Konkani movements begins with the Vedic-origin theory. However, later studies by
scholars like Olivine Gomes (Gomes, (1989) 1995, 36-56) try to reject such a
proposition, perhaps because it is very much in line with the nationalist reactionary
history and in consonance with the process of what M N Srinivas called Sanskritisation.
The newer findings of Gomes locate the origin of Goan Christians, hence of most Canara
Regarding the Konkani Christians in Canara, Pius Pinto argues, (Pinto, 2000: 269) “It
was only after 1500 A.D. to 1763 A.D. Christians emerged as a significant force in the
history of South Kanara. Catholic Christians migrated from Goa because of political,
economic, cultural and other reasons …. In the context of South Kanara these original
Christian settlers are called the Konkani Christians who had migrated from various places
of Goa.” However, the name Konkani Christians refers not only to the early settlers from
Goa, but also to the local converts who were converted by the Jesuits through the Spanish
mission. The Jesuits who arrived in 1878 apart from the educational work also took up
The community, however, historically had to negotiate its political and religious
identities with different colonial power centres. While after the fall of Tippu the political
3
identity of the community was negotiated with the Madras Presidency under British, the
region had to look up to Goa which was a Portuguese colony for its religious identity
which controlled all religious affairs in the region. It will be too naïve to consider this
negotiation as a homogenous one. As Cha. Fra.’s play Shirigundi Shimaon points out
there were divergent allegiances within the community, although Portuguese colonisers
owed their allegiance to Rome. Sometimes there were rifts between two minor sects, in
the play referred to as the Propagandists and Padrowados. This problem however ends
with the arrival of Jesuits in the region almost four hundred years after the first
settlements in the region. The starting of the Mangalore seminary by the Jesuits to train
local people as priests ends this dual allegiance and consequently the dialectic and
religious hegemony of Goa. This in a way gives rise to the emergence of print texts in
local dialect, initially more of religious literature and gradually secular along with the
religious.
Although not much has been documented, there has been a constant rift between the
church and the Konkani Christian littérateur of the region, constantly struggling and
failing for secular space. It must be noted that there have not been any long surviving
periodicals in this region run by lay people and there are instances of the church starting
its own periodicals to counter the lay people’s attempts in print in the name of faith. The
4
Konkani Dirvem was the first secular periodical in Kannada script started in 1912. After
an illustrious existence of nearly three decades it closes in 1940. Paul Moras (Moras,
2005: 109-125) claims that Konkani Dirvem closed because of the displeasure of the
Church which started Raknno 1938 to counter secular ventures in print medium, after
The relationship between the church and the laity has been one of mistrust with the
without implicit or the explicit patronage of the church. The helpless mistrust of the
church runs quite deep in the community. Devache Kurpen, a novel by ‘Khadap’ perhaps
indicates the early cause in the dissertation of the people by the priests during the attack
of Tippu on Canara and consequent captivity. This relationship between the church and
the lay people is an important location for critical and creative engagement in Cha. Fra.’s
works.
Konkani Christians coexist with the numerous other religious and linguistic and social
groups. In the religious front they share the social space with Muslims, Hindus, and
Protestants.
Muslims speak Byari (also called Nakk-Nikk) and Hindi/Urdu language. The Byari
speaking Muslims are called Moplas, Naithe, Byari, and addressed in the suburban areas
as Kaka. The Hindi/Urdu speaking Muslims are called ‘Thurk’. However, in the popular
imagination the Byari speaking Muslims are generally present and it is these who mostly
5
come in the literary works. In Cha. Fra.’s works too it is the Byari community that comes.
The Konkani community generally looks down upon them without giving much
individuality. In the city at least it shares the general resentment of the dominant Hindu
community, more so after the fall of the Babri Masjid and biased media coverage. This
can also be led back to the negative representation of Muslims by the most-read daily
among the Christians Udayavani which is owned by the Konkani Gowd Saraswath
Community which has a long history of hatred towards the Muslim community.
The historical Tippu’s captivity could also be one of the reasons for such not-so-pleasant
The Hindus mostly speak Tulu, while there are also Kannada and Konkani speaking ones.
From among the Hindus most prominent communities that appear in literary works are
those of Konkani speaking Gowd Saraswat Brahmins called ‘Konknem’, women from
‘Bhot’
Linguistically, being the lingua franca of the region, Tulu dominates Konkani. C. N.
Ramachandran in one of his articles in The New Indian Express writes that Kannada is
hegemonic to Tulu and both Tulu and Kannada are hegemonic to Konkani. As a result of
such a linguistic and by extension cultural subjugation, Konkani speakers constantly finds
code mixing and code switching even in the literary works. Cha. Fra., however, is careful
in his work to as much as avoid possible code switches and code mixes.
6
Although there is no much social mingling of the Konkani speaking Christians with the
Protestants at least during early phase of Cha. Fra., there was quite a cordial relationship
with them. Many a time even intermarriages were common. However, with the Catholic
Church taking an active role in reducing such interactions for fear of conversions to
Cha. Fra. was born in Mangalore on October 10, 1931 near Marnamikatta as the eldest of
four children of Madthabai and Marcel D’Costa. He did his primary education in Cassia
School and High School in Milagres School where the medium of instruction was
He moved to Bombay in 1948 and worked in the Election Commission for the first
According to D’Sliva (D’Silva, 2000: 3) during this period he became a member of Petit
Library and read the works of Moliere, Henrick Ibsen and other canonical writers of
Europe.
In 1951 he starts writing for Painari, a Konkani periodical then published by VJP
Saldhana, a doyen of Konkani literature. In 1953 for the first time he read his Konkani
7
poem in All India Radio, Bombay in the Konkani section titled ‘Swapnantullem Raaz.’
This poem made him popular among many Konkani writers in Bombay and Goa. In 1955
he wrote his first play (SarDesai, 2000: 293) Sobit Sounsar. This play received much
His next play Avnkwar Mesthrim not only got reviews in Free Press Bulletin but also
toured abroad. The play was also translated and performed in Tulu under the titles
His Bhangar Monnis is considered by many critics as the finest play of Cha. Fra.
In 1969 he returned to Mangalore and staged the plays Jorji Buthel, and Tornem Tornem
Mornem. He married in 1974 and in the same year he became the founder president of
Konkani Bhasha Mandal. In 1976 he began a journal called Jivith. In 1986 he was
honoured as the president of the All India Konkani Writers’ Conference in Goa. Around
the same time he authored more than 150 songs for Mandd Sobhann, a cultural
organisation which today has become one of most well-known Konkani cultural
associations.
In 1986 he received the prestigious Central Sahitya Akademi Award for his anthology of
poems Sonshyache Kan. This triggered series of write ups on him in English, Konkani
8
In 1990 he was felicitated by the Bishop of Mangalore on behalf of Mangalorean
Konkani Christians. He was also awarded the title Konkani Sahitya Kularatna. He passed
away in 1992.
Follwing are the list of 15 plays of Cha. Fra. that SarDesai mentions in his A History of
Konkani Literature:
Sobit Sounsar
Tomato (One-Act)
Poinnarancho Mitr
Bhangar Monis
Jorji Buthel
Mankddacho Pai
Magirchem Magir
Kuvalyachi Val
Handdo Otla
Bonch[o] Bandh
9
Stella’ D’Costa’s two volumes of edited works of Cha. Fra. which include 20 of his plays
also include the following plays which SarDesai’s book does not find a mention in.
Doro
Shirigundi Shimaon
Dakther Dusman
Jillacho Novro
Rojik Kazar
Avnkwar Mesthrim
Victor D’Silva mentions two other of his plays which do not have a mention in both
Macho.
This takes the list to 25 plays. This is perhaps the highest number plays by any writer in
controversial play The Timon of Athens. Cha. Fra.’s plays which normally have a
10
classical Greek three –act structure, in Shirigundi Shimaon have unusual five-act
structures keeping in tune with Shakespeare’s play. The play is a brilliant adaptation.
Besides plays he also wrote numerous poems, some of them published as anthologies,
Chapter I which is an introduction of the research report introduces the milieu of the
works of Cha. Fra. and tries to locate it in the geographical, linguistic, cultural and
historical contexts. In order to better understand the location of the concerns of this study,
the chapter introduces the origin and history of Konkani Christians, their relationship
with the church, their relationship with other religious - linguistic and occupational
Chapter II deals with literature review. It begins by trying to locate Konkani language
and literature in the larger democratic and literary politics of India. It also tries to identify
the reasons for the greater emphasis on oral literature and a neglect of the written
literature in Konkani. Following this, it looks at various studies on Cha. Fra. and
critically comments on them. It then locates the present study and its importance and
distinctness.
11
Chapter III introduces the history of Konkani drama and the specific historical juncture at
which Cha. Fra. makes a claim for the Konkani stage. It then presents a brief summary
and anayalysis of each of the 19 extant plays of Cha. Fra. The chapter also makes an
attempt to catergories his plays depending on their structure, style, concerns and themes
Chapter IV is an engagement with Cha. Fra.’s poems. The chapter has attempted an
analysis of his available poems and tried to place Cha. Fra. within the Mangalorean
Chapter V studies the available prose writings of Cha. Fra., namely, editorials, short
stories, and research articles. The chapter maps the socio-political and cultural concerns
of Cha. Fra. and makes an evaluation of his prose viz a viz his works in other creative
genres.
Chapter VI which is a concluding chapter of the project report tries to give an overview
of the anayalyes in the previous chapters and tries to make a holistic assessment of Cha.
Fra.’s works. The chapter also identifies about seven areas for potential research which
12
CHAPTER II
13
LITERATURE REVIEW
Konkani Christian dialect, compared to the other dialects, there has been nearly no
Since during the struggle to include Konkani in the eighth schedule of the constitution for
over three-decades the focus went largely to two areas: one, to construct a long history
for Konkani aligning it with nationalist history with an emphasis on its ancientness and
‘glorious’ past; and two to linguistically prove the distinctness of Konkani as a language
and not as a dialect of Marathi. Given the position of Konkani vis-a-vis other languages
in its environment namely Kannada, Marathi and Hindi, the focus was also to project the
oral tradition and social practices as the uniqueness of language and not its literature.
As per the Seventy-First Amendment, Konkani was included in the Eighth Schedule of
Having achieved the status of language in the eighth schedule of the constitution, the
focus should have shifted to developing theory and criticism for Konkani literature.
14
However, that does not seem to be happening even after sixteen years of the historic
event.
However, there have been minor attempts to write biographies of some of the writers
with significant literary output, and publication of their works. In Mangalorean Konkani
literature the privileged ones have been J. S. Alvares, V.J.P. Saldhanha (pen name-
Khadap) , Gabriel Vaz (pen name – Gabbu Urva), A. T. Lobo, and C. F. D’ Costa (Cha.
Fra.). These five have been known as the Pancha Pandavas of Konkani literature.
Of all these Cha. Fra. has been more popular with his poems and plays. He is also
posthumously the most published and written about writer with most of his works
Victor D’Silva (D’Silva, 2000: 24-25) says that while Goans saw Cha. Fra. as a poet, the
C.F. D’Souza can be considered as the best playwright Karnataka has ever
produced. Through he is equally known as our foremost poet, in the final analysis
he emerges a shade better as a playwright than a poet. His plays electrified the
Konkani stage in Mangalore and Bombay with new ideas and themes. He saw the
tremendous advance made in the Marathi and Gujarati theatre. He was influenced
15
by it. His dialogues are full of biting satire. Figures of speech and rhymes flow
through them in an unending stream. He has written upon themes which other
stage craft are given equal importance in his plays. The phrases and idioms he
invents in his dialogue are unique to his plays. His plays may be called dramatic
poems. They reflect the problems of the Mangalorean Christian community, their
life style, tradition and above all a penetrating insight into their psyche ….
Fearlessly, he unmasks the hypocrite and the self-complacent and attacks unjust
and inhuman religious and social customs and manners. He does not spare the
In these brief remarks SarDesai perhaps captures all that has been said about Cha. Fra.
and his plays. He not only remarks about what Cha. Fra. does to the Konkani theatre of
his time, but also the influences on him, his craft, themes of his work and the locations of
his critique.
Mauris D’Sa (D’Sa, 2000: 521) claims that Cha. Fra. is foremost among those who
brought newness and modernism to Konkani theatre. According to him Cha. Fra.
successfully experimented with the changes happening in western and Marathi theatre on
Konkani stage. While D’ Sa calls Avnkar Mesthri, Jorji Buthel, Tornem Tornem Mornem,
and Sunnem Mazor Hansta as his most significant plays, he declares Bhangar Monis as
16
Anil Pinto (Pinto, 2003: 59-63) in agreeing with other scholars that Bhangar Monis is one
of Cha. Fra.’s best plays draws attention to the subversive nature of the work. He also
draws attention to the important features of Cha. Fra.’s plays which also are seen in this
In his preface to Stella D’Costa. Tuje Mhojemodem, William Robert Da Silva (Da Silva,
2007, 1-15) claims that Mangalorean Konkani has seen only two significant poets – Louis
Mascarenhas and Cha. Fra. This credit no doubt adds to the poetic nature of his works.
This claim goes well with Bennett Pinto’s (Pinto, 2003: 225) declaration that he was a
Victor D’Silva (D’Silva, 2000: 24-25) talking about the theatre scene that Cha. Fra. took
by storm says, the condition of theatre in Konkani then was deplorable with a “strange”
structure. There used to be at least 15-20 scenes, repeated drawing and closing of curtains
and as and when curtains were closed there used to be songs imitating Hindi filmy song
tunes, 18-20 actors, and to make audience laugh inserting irrelevant characters.
According to D’Silva, as against such a sad condition, Cha. Fra. brought to Konkani
theatre strong dialogues, figurative language, thematic depth, handling the weight of
characters, and intelligence of fitting the entire play in one act or scene which guaranteed
17
He (D’Silva, 2000: 28) also agrees that Bhangar Monis is Cha. Fra.’s greatest play.
However, quoting Cha. Fra. he says, from the literary perspective Cha. Fra.’s Tornem
Tornem Mornem is the greatest of his works. This claim is acceptable as the belfry and
Morne’s clothes become highly symbolic and with the eponymous character never
D’Silva (D’Silva, 2000: 29) states that the play Zuze Dayal brings out the philosophical
angst that Cha. Fra. had towards society. For him Tornem Tornem Mornem brings out the
differences in opinion between the vicar and his assistant and their attitude towards
ordinary people. He says the following lines of Thambdo Piya from that play stand for
Do not take the name of God; it’s the curse of capitalism. It’s a mindset created to
create fear about the rich and thereby deny the poor people’s access to day-to-day
living. I will erase everything to the ground and will build a young red world over
it.
While it is true that Cha. Fra. had strong leaning towards communism at least in the play
him. D’Silva says the exposition of church on public space through the play made the
According to D’Silva (D’Silva, 2000: 30) Cha. Fra.’s play Vishenticho Bhav is a critique
of the Christian lay organisation, Society of St Vincent de Paul. The society was started
18
by Frederick Ozanam in France in 1833. Today, it is an international organization of
Roman Catholic lay men and women of all ages, with its primary mission - to help the
poor and less fortunate (Wikipedia: 2008). The play according D’Silva farcically
Through his Sunnem Mazor Hansta, D’Silva (D’Silva, 2000: 31) argues that Cha. Fra.
makes a farcical representation of Arch Angel Gabriel wherein Gabriel has stolen a
everywhere.
For D’Silva (D’Silva, 2000: 31), in the play Cha. Fra. throws critical light on century old
Konkani culture, attire, behaviour, rules and regulations, religious as well as historical
event. He calls this a great work. It depicts the ways society treats a defeated man, the
impact of such a treatment on that man and the consequent response of this man towards
the society.
He also claims that there perhaps is no better humorous play than Jorji Buthel (D’Silva,
He (D’Silva, 2000: 35), says that Cha. Fra. not only wrote original plays but also adapted
some of the European ones. For his translations/adaptations were unique in that he
19
Melwyn Rodrigues (D’Silva, 2000: 35-36), says:
That people rejected Cha. Fra.’s plays thirty years ago and showered gifts on him
recently shows that his plays were ahead of thirty years. He wrote for the future.
The difference in the thinking of Cha. Fra. and us is thirty years. One of the
important reasons for the reduction in the production of plays in Konkani is Cha.
Fra. When people accepted Cha. Fra.’s works other writers got suffocated. When
he began to get respect and awards at Kala Sampath other writers became cold.
New writers did not have the courage. They should have at least thought they
should go up to Cha. Fra.’s level if not surpass it. But they found even that climb
difficult.
Edwin Sequeira (D’Silva, 2000: 36) says: Cha. Fra.’s plays are a challenge to the
Charles Sequeira (D’Silva, 2000: 36) declares that he learnt to become a good actor
thanks to Cha. Fra.’ plays. His double edged dialogues are challenging. Unless you
practice his plays for at least two months it is difficult perform them.
In the context of Konkani theatre, Gabriel Vaz (D’Silva, 2000: 37) mentions:
perform plays. But in Cha. Fra.’s plays with minimum characters bound in one
knot, delivered poetic lines, the audience brought up on the staple diet of tales of
cooks and servants was dumbstruck. He could not savour the humour that struck
20
like lightning, the words that flowed one after the other like the waves of floods,
or the taste of Cha. Fra.’s words. But gradually Cha. Fra. was able to educate
The audience who was so far used to masala productions had a shock. Because
these plays are revolutionary, they do not fit into today’s moulds, because they
criticise, question, mock at conformists, people condemn his plays, praise them,
protect them, and sometimes dismiss them. But there is no dispute over the
quality of his works, his linguistic scholarship, poetic beauty, intelligently chosen
themes, the way he explores those themes, and fun. In my opinion, the
one. The depth and attitude that he gave to Konkani theatre was never there
The kind of consciousness that Cha. Fra. created through his plays like Jorji
lovers and litterateurs went to enrich the Konkani language as well as Konkani
literature.
21
A study of all these various references to Cha. Fra. and his works shows that all these
largely refer to Cha. Fra.’s language, the kind of stage he inherited and made a difference
to. But none of these are theoretical inquiries into the works of Cha. Fra. or the reception
of them. They are more of observations. Neither do they necessarily provide a textual
Interestingly, although the studies make sweeping comments as to Cha. Fra. being there
is no attempt to compare the previous drama texts in Konkani or the succeeding ones
with those of Cha. Fra. The remarks of Victor D’Silva, Melwyn Rodrigues. Gabriel Vaz,
Eric Ozario write off the previous Konkani theatre as if there were no significant plays at
all. But SarDesai clearly drops names of quite a few playwrights like V.J.P. Saldanha.
and A.T. Lobo, who are considered to be amongst some of the best writers. Such a gap
calls for a careful reading of write ups either on Cha. Fra. or on his works.
This study, however, is not an attempt to address this gap or critique these studies. This
study becomes significant in that it will be the first theoretical engagement with Cha.
Fra.’s works.
22
CHAPTER III
23
CHA. FRA.’S PLAYS
Konkani Drama
There has not been any documentation of the Konkani plays in Canara. The only
available but brief account is that of ManoharRai SarDesai in his A History of Konkani
Literature (SarDesai, 2000: 291-294). The following details on early Konkani Christian
theatre are from SarDesai’s work. He says that “the early plays might have been
the backyards of rich people.” He names Pedru John D’Souza, Pascal Sequeira, and
Bonaventure Tauro as prominent playwrights who wrote plays such as Dhog Sargeant,
Chood Kotru, Navaddik Voiz, Toklentlem Suknnem, Bal Ales, Desh Daivik, and
Geneveiw. Louis Mascarenhas’ verse play Abravamchem Yanadan is not only considered
as the magnum opus of the early period but also of the Konkani drama.
Martin P. D’Sa is supposed have written more than 25 plays, mostly religious. His early
plays being Communism, Leopoldachim Patkam, and Sopnnant Moronn, later plays being
Somiacho Passianv, and most popular ones being Fatimachi Saibinn, Kristachem Janan,
S.S. Prabhu, a playwright of the fifties, was known for his plays such as Doth, Naukar,
Raitak Jait, Jodi Tekit Mod. Fred Fernandes known for his social plays wrote Bhikari,
24
Balatkar, Vichitr Khuni, and Maim Khilm Assai. J.B. Rasquinha also a playwright of the
fifties wrote Ishtagat, Apurbaychem Kazar. D. P. Albuquerque wrote Astik Lagon Khyast,
Gadipar Kello Rakuvar and Hanv Rai Zallom Zalyar, and Amchem Daiz.
V.J.P. Saldanha, more as a novelist has to his credit plays like Sardarnchi Sinol,
Kahltiman, Uloitat Ulovndit, Bavanatlo Gulob, and Nirmonn. “His Tobias and Khotavinn
Other prominent playwrights include J. S. Alvares with his Cheddvacho Hanker Polle,
Esthel Teganchi Vhokol, Chedo Ek Cheddvam Sadde Saat, and Jezu Nazaren. J.M.B.
Rodrigues and A. T. Lobo also wrote plays during the fifties and later Sunny A. D’Souza
Some of the others who wrote plays in Mangalore are Henry D’Sliva Udyavar, J.B.
Rasquinha, C.G. Sequeira, Claude D’Souza, J.B. Moraes, Lancy Pinto-Naik, Dolphy
Cascia, Henry D’ Silva Suratkal, Shri Gabbu,, Beena Ruzai, Mic Max, Wilfi Rebimbus,
Although SarDesai does not talk about the themes or concerns of these plays or their
reception among the Konkani Christians, based on the titles and social conditions
prevalent then we can arrive at some conclusions. Most plays seem to be around
stereotyped women, life of Christ or saints, upper class values like self-respect. Some
25
plays also seem to be responding to nationalism and reformation. My hunch is that the
SarDesai’s claim that St Aloysius College theatre influenced Konkani theatre needs to be
reconsidered because there were attempts by the early Jesuits to establish Konkani theatre
in the seminary involving the local neo-converts. Even if it did then, it most probably
remained as the elite theatre considering SarDesai’s own statement that they were
With St Aloysius College for more than seven decades catering to the educational needs
of only the elites of Mangalore, and many churches in the outskirts of Mangalore having
separate benches for neo-converts from the lower sections of the society, and education
hardly accessible it is doubtful that until the seventies Konkani plays were accessible to
all. This, however, changes with the Middle East opening up with well-paying jobs for
the semi-skilled and unskilled lower sections of the community. This change makes a
huge difference to the social division between the elites and the poor among the Konkani
Christians.
My suggestion is that it is this new class of people who make theatre possible in the
1970s and 80s which gradually dies down. This new money that allows sponsorship for
plays and watching of plays by buying tickets makes space for theatre, till the early
1990’s wherein the televisions now replace theatre as a source of entertainment with
much more. The ‘Gulf money,’ as the money sent by people working in Gulf was
26
popularly called, also boosted renovation and reconstruction of church buildings, and
church administered school buildings. Theatre was used as one of the means of raising
However, Cha. Fra. does not seem to be capturing the post-Gulf phenomenon much. His
plays involve more with the earlier Bombay phenomenon and the consequent changes in
Although SarDesai (SarDesai, 2000: 291-294) gives a picture of the formal theatre from
the early twentieth century, Victor D’Silva (D’Silva, 2000: 24-25) paints a negative
picture of Konkani theatre when Cha. Fra. entres the fray. He says when Cha. Fra. entred
Konkani theatre, it had a “strange” structure. There used to be at least 15-20 scenes,
repeated drawing and closing of curtains and as and when curtains were closed there used
to be songs imitating Hindi filmy song tunes, 18-20 actors, and to make audience laugh
My own reading is that Cha. Fra. although writes plays in the classical western theatre
example, the old stereotyped characters of church cook, maid servant do not completely
break the stereotypes in Cha. Fra.'s Plays. Such characters in Tharne Tharne Morne,
27
He is supposed to have read Shakespeare’s plays in stories of Charles Lamb (D’Silva,
2000: 3).
He moved to Bombay in 1948 and worked in the Election Commission for the first
According to D’Sliva (D’Silva, 2000: 3) during this period he became a member of Petit
Library and read the works of Moliere, Henrick Ibsen and other canonical writers of
Europe.
In 1951 he starts writing for Painari, a Konkani periodical, then published by VJP
Saldhana, a doyen of Konkani literature. In 1953 for the first time he read his Konkani
poem in All India Radio, Bombay in the Konkani section titled ‘Swapnantullem Raaz.’
This poem made him popular among many a Konkani writer in Bombay and Goa. In
1955 he wrote his first play (SarDesai, 2000: 293) Sobit Sounsar. This play received
His next play Avnkwar Mesthrim not only got reviews in Free Press Bulletin but also
toured abroad. The play was also translated and performed in Tulu under the titles
His Bhangar Monnis is considered by many critics as the finest play of Cha. Fra.
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In 1969 he returned to Mangalore and staged the plays Jorji Buthel, and Tornem Tornem
Mornem. He married in 1974 and in the same year he became the founder president of
Konkani Bhasha Mandal. In 1976 he began a journal called Jivith. In 1986 he was
honoured as the president of the All India Konkani Writers’ Conference in Goa. Around
the same time he authored more than 150 songs for Mandd Sobhann, a cultural
organisation which today has become one of most well-known Konkani cultural
association.
In 1986 he was awarded the prestigious Central Sahitya Akademi Award for his
anthology of poems Sonshyache Kan. This triggered series of write ups on him in
Konkani Christians. He was also awarded the title Konkani Sahitya Kularatna. He passes
away in 1992.
Following are the list of 15 plays that SarDesai mentions in his A History of Konkani
Literature:
Sobit Sounsar
Tomato (One-Act)
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Poinnarancho Mitr
Bhangar Monis
Jorji Buthel
Mankddacho Pai
Magirchem Magir
Kuvalyachi Val
Handdo Otla
Bonch[o] Bandh
Stella’ D’Costa’s two volumes of edited works of Cha. Fra. which include 19 of his plays
also include the following plays which SarDesai’s book does not find a mention.
Doro
Shirigundi Shimaon
Dakther Dusman
Jillacho Novro
Rojik Kazar
Avnkar Mesri
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Victor D’Silva mentions two other of his plays which do not have a mention in both
Macho.
This takes the list to 25 plays. This is perhaps the highest number plays by any writer in
controversial play The Timon of Athens. Cha. Fra.’s plays which normally have a
classical Greek three – act structure, in Shirigundi Shimaon have unusual five-act
Of the 24 plays of Cha. Fra., the researcher has been able to locate only 19.
Full-length plays
Avnkar Mesri
Avnkar Mesri is a play about the way society propagates morality through its agents and
problematic nature of the propositions of such morality. In the play the bachelor-teacher
has been patronising a boy called Avil. The play opens with the boy struggling to reveal
his secret love to his mentor - teacher. He manages to tell his mentor that he is in love
with a girl whom he met and fell in love with when he had visited Mangalore. In the
31
mean time, the teacher has invited Asess, the teacher’s sister, along with husband Abut
and daughter, Alice to come to Bombay. When they arrive at the teacher’s place Avil and
Alice realise that their families are know to each other. With their arrival, the plot of the
play grows. While much of the plot of the play unfolds around Alice’s and Avil’s attempt
to reveal their love to their elders and their conflicting views on how to propose it, the
climax leads to multiple revelations. One, the affair of Avil and Alice to all in the house;
two, that the teacher is Avil’s father, three, the teacher is the same person who had who
deserted his pregnant lover i.e. Avil’s mother; and four, that the lady whom the teacher
has been mentioning is Avil’s mother. But to the reader one possible reading is also that
preacher’s of morality as much have a hollow morality, which when tested against their
The narrative technique of the play is quite impressive. The past narrative time, which is
about Avil falling in love in Mangalore and his affair with Alice unfolds through the
dialogue between the teacher and Avil and the letters of Alice that are accidentally read
by the teacher. The other narrative time of teacher’s past, especially his affair with Avil’s
mother, is created in readers’ mind by dropping object clues in different parts of the plays
like the picture of a lady that he is fussy about, the photograph that drops from an album
at the end of the play, and the questions that other characters raise in the play. But, the
construction of the teacher’s past is largely left to the imagination of the reader by
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Doro
Doro is a play with social critique woven around the sale and consumption of illicit
liquor. The play becomes important on the grounds that drunkenness was stereotypically
attached to the Christian community in Mangalore. Cha. Fra.’s play brings out through
various situations the economy of illicit liquor and what the level to which it makes men
stoop.
The protagonist of the play Ulla Crasta is a drunkard. Lilla Crasta is his second wife.
Lilla has been making some money by selling snacks to the customers of Allu Fudthad,
who has built a wall on Ulla Crasta’s land in order to facilitate the sale of liquor. Sila
Santhes, a friend of Ulla who is also a drunkard has been eying Lilla. In the beginning of
the play Vila Lopez comes to Ulla’s house and starts making advances towards Lilla who
happens to be his old love in Bombay whom he had deserted. We also come to know that
Lilla is Ulla’s second wife and that Ulla had murdered his first wife. In the play among
all significant characters the only person who does not drink is Ulla’s wife Lilla. Ulla’s
Villa buys Lilla from Ulla for Rs 10,000 in the guise of a social reformer. But his plan to
take her to Bombay and presumably sell her for prostitution, gets involved in local rivalry
between Allu Fudthad and Lulla Crasta. In his attempt to contain Allu through the police
he attracts Allu’s revenge which foils his Bombay plans. On the other hand, Kollu’s
concern for Lilla ends up in she replacing Lilla to go in the auto rickshaw and hence,
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The play brings out complete moral bankruptcy on the part of all men. Interestingly, Cha.
Fra.’s women in this play have a strong sense of concern and belief in the human which is
completely absent in the case of men. The state is also as corrupt as the people as it
functions more by the money power than by the law of the land.
Tornem Tornem Mornem is one of Cha. Fra.’s craftily written plays. Incidentally, it is
also Cha.Fra’s most controversial play which was banned by the Catholic Church in
Mangalore. Cha. Fra. has talked about the suffering he had to bear due to their play in
The action of the play takes place in Murnal Church in Mangalore. The play opens with
the assistant parish priest of the Murnal Church, Fr Peter, trying to hide Mornem’s
clothes. At the sight of the Vicar he hides them in the box in the portico of the church.
Later, the church administrator, Mona Karval comes to inquire about Mornem with the
information that she is hiding in Fr Peter’s room. Unable to find her he accuses them of
hiding her in the church. In the ensuing action Thurup Johny, an idle person and a
drunkard, Mona Karval, Dona Karval who is cheeting on his father, Lisamv Lia, Mona’s
secretary who also cheats Mona, and Vinna Karval, Mona’s daughter, all keep searching
for Mornem at the church premises. Mona wants Mornem to marry her. Johny wants to
take her to Bombay. Since she is presumably hidden in the belfry where Johny has been
34
Although, Cha. Fra.’s Bhangar Monis has been claimed as the best play in terms of craft,
the research would suggest that in terms of craft Tornem Tornem Mornem is his best.
The eponymous character of the play Mornem who is the central character around which
all the action of the play revolves never comes on the stage! Yet, her presence/absence
can be felt throughout the play, until she metaphorically completely becomes absent at
the end of the play, under the rubble of the church belfry. With the search for key,
Mornem takes on the sign of key – a key to everyone’s hidden personality – of Fr Peter,
the Vicar, Mona, Liya and Donna. Hence, to keep the structure intact with the hidden
personality and truth, the key should never be found and so should Mornem, who is the
key.
The play of absence and presence is perhaps never so craftily employed not only in Cha.
Shirigundi Shimao
Athens is Shakespeare’s not only lesser known play but also often referred to as his
incomplete play. Its authorship also remains disputed. However, for reasons not known as
those who come to him, the priests, fellow merchants, his servants and to any guest who
comes to his house. Every day is a feast in his house. In the plays there is an alliance for
35
his daughter from Salu Thavr, the administrator of Murnal Parish. However, his good
times come to an end and all friends turn foes including his own family members, with an
exception of his faithful clerk Fullu Furthad, when the news of his ships caught in a sea
storm reaches the place. While the news that his ships have recovered from the storm
changes the attitudes of others towards him to positive, a further rumour that they have
sunk, once again distances people from him who now demand their pound of flesh from
him. Disgusted and dejected Shimao, escapes to forest, and becomes a misanthrope.
The play falls in Aristotelian description of a tragic hero in that Shimao’s fall is a fall of a
great hero due to a tragic flaw in him, the hamartia. The hamartia could very well be
hubris – pride in his wealth and ability to reach out. We do not find any such larger than
What is interesting is that Cha. Fra. locates this play just before one of the most historical
and tragic incidents in the history of Mangalorean Catholic Community which took place,
as he says in the beginning of the play, in the mid-nineteenth century. Towards the end of
the play Fullu Furthad mentions to Shimao that there is a conflict between Padrovado and
Propaganda groups, the former owing their allegiance to the king of Portugal, and the
latter to the Pope. This also marks the period when there was an increased interaction
between Goa and Mangalore and the control of Mangalore religious affairs largely done
from Goa, a trend that stops with the setting up of the seminary in Mangalore by the
36
Shirigundi Shimao and Tornem Tornem Mornem constitute a critique of the Church as an
establishment. In Shirigundi Shimao one can see the representation of the priests as those
that side with economic capital. They come to dine with Shimao during his good time,
will do favours if one is useful, but turn their back when they find him not so useful. The
play also represents a time when the church had absolute control over the laity.
The play is also a critique of the interpersonal relations between people which are porous,
in that they depend on one’s status marked by one’s wealth. Hence, a negative portrayal
Bhangar Monis
Bhangar Monis has been claimed as one of Cha. Fra.’s best plays in terms of his craft.
The play is set in Bombay. Janna, who is called Bhangar Monis or an ideal man, lives
with his wife, Inna, and has a maid called Mary. The family has been relocated from
Mangalore to Bangalore. Janna is a well-known person and a social worker in his place.
Into this family entres Monna, an old lover of Inna, both of whom had lost contact after
Inna got married to Janna. Monna, is a drunkard whom in a distant past, Janna had
helped. Inna had also financially helped him. Now he is back once again, with hardly any
changes. He is drunk, he is hungry and still claims to have respect for Janna and love
towards Inna. The plot of the play develops and creates extremely farcical situations with
both Inna and Mary trying to hide Monna from Janna, and Janna searching for him with
the help of his neighbours. In the process we come to know about the gap between Janna
and Inna in their married life and their attitudes towards each other and others.
37
The play is a satire on marriage as a coming together of two individuals. The play goes
on to challenge social and biblical understanding of marriage and role of husband and
wife in marriage.
Dev Polleit Asa is another of Cha. Fra.’s historical plays. The historical location of the
play is the eighteenth century, as he puts it in the beginning of his play, ‘a hundred years
Lores Naik is a tenant of Anna Mary Sardin, a rich landlord. Monna Bhot is Lores Naik’s
his friend who saves from many of the traps that Niku Bhot lays. Niku Bhot is Anna
Niku Bhot has an eye on Lores Naik’s growing wealth and he not only wants to pull him
down but also wants to steal his wealth through Izbel, his employer’s niece. The early
part of the play deals with the various ways in which Niku Bhot tries to get Izbel married
to Lores Naik and how Monna Bhot foils his attempts. However, these attempts take a
new turn with the entry of Vithor Shet. With Vithor’s entry the play takes newer
dimensions. Vithor is a growing merchant, mainly involved in timber sale business. Soon
after his entry into the scene, Izbel and Lores get married, much against the wishes of
Monna Bhot. After the marriage Niku Bhot blackmails Izbel to hand over the pot which
has Lores’ hidden wealth. In order to escape from him Izbel seeks the help of Vithor
38
Shet. Vithor Shet promises to help her but on the grounds that she hand over Lores’ pot to
Although Vithor does not save her but Monna Bhot, he hands over the pot to Vithor who
from that money buys the house and land which was rented out to Lores by Anna Mary
Sardin. When Lores comes to know about it from Monna, it breaks his heart and in an
attempt of revenge, he tries to burn his house that has now been taken over by Vithor.
Angry Vithor gets him beaten up and throws him out. Izbel becomes insane. The chorus
repeats the lines it inaugurated the play with which also reflects the title “God is watching
The play can be read and understood at various levels. At one level it is a strong critique
of religion as an ideology which makes allowance for the violence perpetrated on the
have-nots by the haves with the promise of a better life after death. At other level it is the
story of unfailing friendship. It can also be read as the story of the success of evil over
But the most tragic reading is if one tries to read the play in the context of Portuguese
occupation of Goa. One might remember that the Portuguese entered Goa after the Goud
Sarawat Brahmins sought the help of Portuguese to contain the Adilshahis. But after
containing the Adilshahis, the Portuguese not only took hold of Goa, but completely
changed its landscape – the people lost their claim over the land just as Lores did. Dev
Polleit Asa thereby becomes the metaphor for the Portuguese occupation of Goa and the
39
consequent loss of claim over their land and fruits of their labour on the part of Konkani
people.
Boncho Band
Boncho Band is a one-act play about interpersonal communication. This is one of Cha.
Fra.’s rare plays where the stage setting shifts between two locations. Most of his plays
Two sisters Elsi Minin and Felsi Minin, both spinisters who have been dejected, as there
have been no marriage proposals coming forth, take their bitterness on each other, which
results in their not talking. This upsets their uncle - father’s brother - who has been
looking after them ever since their parents passed away. He assigns the task of making
them speak to Dr Willy Cosma who is his god-daughter’s husband. Dr Cosma has been
quite jobless with hardly any patients coming to him. Dr Comsa accepts the assignment.
Dr Cosma does succeed in making Zuze’s nieces speak and so does Zuze succeed in
making Pavlet and Dr Cosma, who also have not been in talking terms, speak. But the
play ends with both the pairs not talking again at the end of the play.
siblings, and husband and wife. The social for him perhaps does not function. The sheer
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Dakther Dusman
play about a socially conscious person who fights for the welfare of the general public at
the cost of his own wellbeing and that of his family. Unline most of Cha. Fra.’s plays this
is one play where there are working relationships. The family although is a little shaken is
able to stick together at the end of the play. Father-daughter relationship is one of the rare
depictions in Cha. Fra. in this play. Another deviation from Cha. Fra.’s normal setting is
Murnal town is on its way to becoming a major health resort thanks to its new municipal
At the modest home of Dr Roshoman Shiker an idealistic physician, the spa and its
benefits make for lively conversation between Mayor Pedru Shiker, the brother of Dr
Roshoman and Gustin Gosal, editor of the local newspaper, both of whom arrived for a
visit just after the Dr Roshoman finished supper. With Gustin is an assistant named Billis.
Dr Roshoman is out for a walk with his sons, Ejlif and Morten.
During the interaction Gustin mentions that he plans to run an article about the health
resort–written by Dr Roshoman, the medical director of the baths–in the spring, the right
time to generate interest in the new community asset. The doctor, who came up with the
idea for the baths, has been an untiring promoter of their potential benefits.
41
Pedru reminds Gustin that he, as mayor, played a “modest” part (really meaning the most
important part) in making the baths a reality. It was the mayor’s practicality and business
sense, he hints, that were the driving forces behind the project.
When Dr Roshoman returns from his walk with Captain Sother, a seafarer, he is in a
cheerful mood. Everything is going right for him and his family, he says, and he now has
enough money to afford a few little luxuries, like the roast beef they had for dinner.
When the mayor inquires about the article his brother wrote, Dr Roshoman says he has
decided to withhold it for the time being, but does not say why. Suspecting that his
brother is keeping something from him–possibly something about the spa–the mayor
After Mayor Pedru leaves, Dr Roshoman’s daughter, Petra, a schoolteacher, arrives and
joins in the conversation. An idealist like her father, Petra says, “There is so much
falsehood both at home and at school. At home one must not speak, and at school we
have to stand and tell lies to the children.” Captain Suther offers to provide a room for the
Dr Roshoman then opens a letter he received, then waves it before Gustin and his wife,
announcing a remarkable discovery: The baths are contaminated. The doctor speaks in a
triumphant, jubilant tone, for he believes he has done a great service for the public
welfare. He says several cases of typhoid fever and gastric fever the previous year
aroused his suspicion about the spa water, so he took samples of it and sent them to a
42
Bombay for analysis. The letter he holds contains the results of the analysis: The spa is a
cesspool of disease. It seems that tanneries in the town leached impurities into the water.
discovery.
In the days immediately following the discovery, Mayor Pedru discovers it will cost an
enormous sum in tax dollars to make improvements, including laying new pipes to handle
the leachate, which his brother says are necessary to eliminate the pollution. So, he
decides to challenge his brother’s findings as faulty and asks him to renounce them. The
Meanwhile, Gustin fearing the wrath of the taxpayers, decides not to publish Dr
Captain Sother, almost everyone lines up against Dr Roshoman –Mayor Pedru, Gustin,
Alsu, ordinary citizens–and shout him down when he attempts to explain the problem and
alert the town to the danger. One citizen wonders whether he has an alcohol problem.
Another suggests insanity runs in his family. Still another thinks he is getting even for not
receiving a salary increase as the spa’s medical director. All agree that he should be
labelled “an enemy of the people,” one bent on destroying the town. When Dr Roshoman
and his family leave the meeting, the crowd hisses and boos, then begins chanting
43
The next morning, Dr Roshoman and his family discovers broken windows, and rocks
littering the floor. The doctor piles the rocks on a table, saying he will save them as
heirlooms for his children. A letter arrives in which the landlord gives Dr Roshoman
notice of eviction. It does not matter, Dr Roshoman tells his wife, for he and his family
will cross the sea and resettle in the New World. Then, Captain Sother arrives and
announces his employer has fired him. The mayor enters and announces that the citizens
are circulating a petition pledging that they will no longer seek the medical services of Dr
Roshoman. The mayor advises his brother to leave town for a while, then return and
confess his error in writing. Such a move might earn him reinstatement as medical
director of the spa. Dr Roshoman says he will never admit that he was wrong under any
circumstances.
After the mayor leaves, another visitor arrives. He is Modthin Keerl, the father of Dr
Roshoman’s wife, Kathrine, is the owner of polluting tanneries. In his will, he had
children. However, he tells the doctor that he invested the bequest in stock in the
tanneries. Furthermore, he is going around town buying up all the remaining stock in the
stock will become worthless and his wife and children will inherit nothing. Modthin tells
When Modthin leaves, Gustin and Alsu arrive. They think Dr Roshoman is involved in a
scheme to inflate the value of the stocks and want in on the scheme. But, Dr Roshoman
44
dismisses them, raising an umbrella as if to strike them. They hurry out. Captain Sother
invites Dr Roshoman and his family to board at his house during the winter. The doctor
expresses his gratitude, then says he will focus his medical practice on the poor and
educate his children himself. In fact, he says, he will start a school of his own to teach the
Then he announces he has made another important discovery. Gathering everyone close
to him, he says “The strongest man in the world is he who stands alone.”
This is the only play where Cha. Fra. discusses modern-day governance that is largely
absent in most of his plays. A slight reference does occur in Shirigundi Shimao, though.
This is also one of his plays which ends in a hope where the suffering protagonist has not
Magirchem Magir
Magirchem Magir is a distinct play in Cha. Fra. where the action of the play takes place
between heaven and earth. The play brings together the Indian theatrical traditions too,
the concept of conductor or ‘suthradar’, for, the archangel calls himself ‘sutrhadar’ of the
play. However, the concept of the suthradar is not well developed in that in most classical
45
plays the suthradar at least enters at the end again. Here, he completely disappears after
In the beginning of the play there is an argument between arch angel Michael and Peter
who in Christian mythology is the one who has the keys of heaven, regarding a particular
person called Bannu Thesao, whom Peter has created with a heart full of love and with
skilled hands, because, Peter hopes that love is the most powerful weapon which can
transform the world. Gabriel disagrees saying thanks to Peter’s experiment to Bannu
constantly finds himself in trouble. Bannu is known in his village near Mangalore for
theft. Anything that goes missing in the village is normally ascribed Bannu. Bannu is
supposed to have stolen a book, later he ‘steals’ Helen teacher’s purse from her tightly
worn blouse, he is accused of stealing ash pumpkin from his neighbours fields. However,
Bannu constantly denies the charges of theft and gives the reasons as taken instead of
stolen, or picked things to due to a bet but returned thereafter and so on. The play also
conveys that it is not a theft at all, in that Bannu does not have any intention of causing
misery to anybody or he does not steal things in order to possess but owing to contexts to
disprove people’s claim over things. Inas accuses Bannu of stealing Inna’s ornaments,
and complaints of the same to his mother, Ernic Thesao. This accusation becomes the last
staw on Ernics’s patience who urges Bannu to leave the village and go to Bombay and
work. Bajil, Bannu’s friend comes to her aid and leaves for Bombay along with Bannu.
In the absence of Bannu, Inas, Izbel’s brother, along with his would be brother-in-law
Roland, takes Ernic’s signature and buys her land for a pittance and promising to take
care of her. But, they neither pay her the promised money nor look after her as promised.
46
When Bajil comes to know about the way Ernic has been treated, he hatches a plot to
teach a lesson to Inas and Roland. He sends a telegram to Ernic saying that Bannu died in
a road accident. Ernic going by the telegram performs the last rites of her son. Soon after
these developments, Bannu and Bajil quietly come down to the village and start scaring
people. When the workers sight Bannu in his house which they have come to demolish
they think its his ghost. In the mean time hearing that Roland is coming to that place Bajil
prepares a plan to kill Roland in his car by rolling a huge bolder, much against Bannu’s
wish. While the car gets severly damaged, Roland comes out unscathed. The play ends
with Bannu doing away with Roland’s gold which he had brought down.
Bannu does not follow any logic of the normal. He does not accept any of the worldview
of his mother – that one should fall in love with people of their own or lower social status
- hence he falls in love with Bula and tries to woo her; he has had sexual encounter with
Bula which is again going against the norms, he does not allow his mother to pledge her
gold by snapping it from her without her knowledge; he does not agree with Bajil and his
mother to kill Roland. He only snipes Roland’s things which anyway truly belonged to
Although it looks like a farcical play, it raises profound questions about the norms that
ordinary - to show the absurdity of norms. Theft is not theft, things people own are not
47
In Roland, the play has a critique of the neo rich, especially, of those that have become
It is surprising that this is the only play where Cha. Fra. has a character who is from gulf.
Jorji Buthel
Jorji Buthel is one of the most humorous plays of Cha. Fra. mostly due to its dialogues
and actions. In terms of its plot it comes very close to Bhangar Monis. In both the plays
there is a family of three - husband, wife and servant girl and with an entry of the third
person or party the play takes newer turns. Although Jorji Buthel and Rekel have
Jorji Buthel, owns an oil mill. Although he is a very hardworking man his wife isn’t who
comes from an elite estate owner’s family is not. She seems to be having a affair with
Eddi Michel whom she was supposed to get married to but the proposal was called off as
The presence of his in-laws in his house who have been looking down upon their son-in-
law, and Eddi Michel’s over presence in Jorji’s house during his absence, causes much
strife for Jorji. He suspects Rekel, his wife, of infidelity. But he does not have hard
evidence. At the same time he has a deep love for her and cannot think of living alone
48
without her. Hence, every time Rekel succeeds in threatening him of leaving the house
The play is one of growth of Jorji. In order to be accepted by Rekel, Jorji has to change
and grow. Most important change that she is able to bring about is that of his attire which
he changes, second is the attitude towards Rekel which is less of suspicion and more of
Sunnem Mazor Hansta is another interesting play by Cha. Fra. which is also a play of
growth where Prof. Igidore Inashio Morello, a retired scientist learns to accept the family
through a supernatural intervention. It is a play with a clear social message unlike most of
Cha. Fra.’s plays which are more of dramatisation of issues rather than message oriented.
Prof. Igidore Inashio Morello a world renowned scientist after being away in different
lands has come back retired to live with the family which has grown without having him
around. In the meantime other than looking after the financial needs of the family, he has
blissfully forgotten the other family commitments, namely, love and emotive concern
towards his family, looking into children’s academic and personal growth, emotional
companionship for his wife. As a result the family has grown to manage on its own. The
49
Prof. Morello has come home after retirement and is feeling out place. In twenty years of
marriage he has stayed with his wife for only for fourteen months and fourteen days. He
does not know exactly in which class his daughter is studying in, he keeps
mispronouncing his wife’s name, and he often gets irritated by his wife. Now, he has
There, at night, archangel Gabriel meets Prof. Morello and informs him that God has
been happy with his work in the area of acoustics and has granted him the ability to
understand the language of animals. But that ability comes with a rider to merely enjoy
the new ability but not to evaluate and act on the knowledge or information that he gains.
However, when he hears from Kitty and Kitta, their pet cat and pet dog, about his wife’s
affair with the neighbour and his daughter’s with his neighbour’s son, he forgets the rider
that the angel had given him, gets warned initially and finally is killed by Archangel
Gabriel. With Gabriel striking him, he wakes up and realises that the whole episode was a
dream. What follows is the concern of his family members towards him, a clear antidote
Through his Sunnem Mazor Hansta, D’Silva (D’Silva, 2000: 31) argues that Cha. Fra.
makes a farcical representation of Arch Angel Gabriel wherein Gabriel has stolen a
everywhere.
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The world that is presented in this play is a topsy-turvy one, in which Gabriel is lost in
the world since his last visit, and is unable to comprehend the changes sine then; he has
human tendencies of boredom, anger; Prof. Morello can understand animal language, the
world of God and the world of the human interact; God is pleased with human
intellectual achievement; with all his wisdom and achievement in acoustics but Prof.
Morello is not able to understand humans and human communication - a fact that is
also happen to be the most scathing commentaries of the society they are writing in, so is
characteristic that D’Silva (D’Silva, 2000: 30) also points at. The play according D’Silva
farcically comments on the Society’s work in Mangalore. The researcher wishes to add
that it also is a critique of the appropriation of the Society’s activities by the people.
international organization of Roman Catholic lay men and women of all ages, with its
primary mission - to help the poor and less fortunate (Wikipedia, 2008).
Vishenth, was a worker in a tile factory but due to illness does not go to work and
depends on the aid he gets from the Society of St Vincent de Paul. He does not enjoy a
good relation with his mother, brothers or family members. His daughter and son are
hardly contributing to the family, with his son involved with gambling. He does not want
51
to take care of his old and sick mother. Neither do his brothers wish to take care of her.
The small hut that their mother was staying in was destroyed in the rain. Hence, the
members of the Society of St Vincent de Paul, requested Vishenth to give shelter to her
and promised to hand over the two and a half kilograms of rice to Vishenth. But,
Vishenth picks a fight with her within a few days and drives her to his brothers’ houses,
who in tern also show the door to her. She complains about it to Society of St Vincent de
Paul. Two of the members of the Society, Robert and Hubert, visit Vishenth to clarify on
the issue and to request him to take care of her. In the mean time Vishenth’s two other
brothers, Pedru and Paulu, come with a mat claiming that their mother is dead and
someone has to do the funeral and that they would do it only if Vishenth parts with the
gold of their mother which is in his custody. While each shifts his responsibility of giving
her a burial unless they get a share of her jewels and bank money, their mother arrives. It
becomes clear that having heard that she was going away to her sister’s house, the two
younger brothers had planned this to get her money and gold from Vishenth. In the
process it also becomes clear for Robert and Hubert that she is not all that poor as she
claims to be and they suggest withdrawal of aid to her, as she is healthy enough to travel
The stand of them holding faith as carrot to give aid to others is critiqued so is the faith
itself, as an arrangement of people for survival, not that they are really religious about. It
is surprising the way Cha. Fra. is able to penetrate into the lowest section of the catholic
community in Mangalore.
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Mankddacho Pai
short story Monkey’s Paw written in 1901. In the literary world this play has been very
popular in many languages with translations and adaptations. In Konkani this is the only
known translation. It is evident that Cha. Fra. has translated this story more for its liteary
The story opens at the home of the Zuvam Mothez, which consists of him, his wife
Luviza Mothez and their grown up son, Inaz, who works as an electrician in a factory.
As the family is involved in their pep talk, Maurice Kernel, Louviza’s brother, an ex
army person and a bachelor, enters. During the conversation Zuvam brings up the fact
that he told him of a ‘monkey's paw.’ Maurice seems reluctant to tell his audience of the
paw, but does anyway. Liviza is disgusted by the paw, because of its appearance, but Inaz
is interested in the mummified paw. Maurice tells them the story of the fakir, and seems
disturbed by their interest when they ask him whether he has wished. His wishes must
have turned out badly, as he throws the paw on the fire. Luviza rescues it. Maurice bids
them to be sensible and pitch the paw on the fire, and if they must wish, to wish for
something reasonable, and the Mothez family forget for a while about the paw while he
Once Maurice leaves, they remember the paw. The Mothezes do not really believe him,
and think that his earnest warning about the paw is just superstition. Herbert jokingly tells
his father to wish to be emperor. Zuvam wishes for Rs 3000. The paw twists in his hand,
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but they are convinced it is just in his imagination. Ianza goes to work. Zuvam in the
The next morning, as the Mothezes are worried about their son’s delay in returning, they
receive a post with bank documents for pledging the house. A little later they see a man
dressed in factory uniform dawdling by the gate. Eventually, he comes in and tells them
about the death of their son in an accident in the factory and gives them a compensation
of Rs 3000.
Six days after his death the Mothezes are grief stricken. Luviza asks her husband to wish
Inaz back to life. He is very reluctant, but does, and when Inaz comes knocking, he
knows his wife cannot let him in. He wishes his third and last wish, that Inaz is dead
again.
Jillache Novre
Jillache Novre is another of Cha. Fra.’s one-act plays which deals with a transgressive
Jilla is a daughter of a maidservant whom her employer, Kasmir Torus, marries after the
death of his second wife. However, when he comes to know that his son by his first wife
is in love with her, he moves from Mangalore to a distant village called Naravi, bordering
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The story of the play unfolds at Naravi where he is lying sick in his bed and trying to
manage his business through his young wife. But his wife is visibly unhappy with this
lonely place and longs for company of people. She joins the woodcutters in singing songs
which irritates her husband. Much of the dialogue that happens there is a dramatisation of
the savoured relationship between the old husband and his young wife. As the verbal
insult between the two develops, Kasmir’s son Vitti entres the house and asks Jilla to
leave with him. Jilla refuses to come with him on the grounds of his status as a pauper
and fearing social austricisation. When Vitti drags her to leave, Kasmir gathers all his
strength, takes the gun and shoots Vitti dead and also succumbs to death.
This play has a portrayal of a very rational woman which is missing in most of Cha.
Fra.’s plays.
Kuvalyachi Val
This is a play about notions of ownership and about notions of shallow morality
Vallu, protagonist of the play, is a tenant of Pavlin Bai. He has planted an ash pumpkin
plant in the compound with the permission of Pavlin Bai. Vallu finds out that the creeper
has gone over the roof of neighbouring tenant, Avlin Bai, and has an ash gourd inside the
neighbour’s roof. When Vallu goes to remove the pumpkin, Jilli, Avlin Bai’s daughter,
screams. The scream attracts Jilli’s mother and his landlady. They take Vallu to task who
is now convinced that Avlin and Jilli have deliberately put the ash gourd inside the roof.
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Later, when Avlin and Pavlin have gone away, Vallu tries to get into Jilli’s house with
her permission to fix the tiles and remove the ash pumpkin. In the conversation that Jilli
and Vallu have, Jilli who is in love with Vallu, cannot bear when Vallu says that he loves
ash pumpkin more than her and cuts the creeper and removes the pumpkin. This enrages
Vallu who now gets into the house. When Jilly screams it attracts Avlin and the landlady.
The landlady, enraged by the developments cuts the creeper. Vallu goes up the roof and
The humorous play brings about the attitude of people to relationships between young
people.
The one-act play is a theatre adaptation of J M Menezes’ short story. The play is a
Rony, an eleven year old son of Gustin has been busy trying to locate Kimberly in the
map of Africa. Pavlam, the head of their ward comes to him who on his way to post the
letter has forgotten to post the letter of his son. He leaves the letter in the house asking
A little later, Rony’s mother, Ellu, comes to the house, followed by his father, Gustin. In
no time a fight ensues between them over feeding their son. As the verbal duel progresses
Gustin notices the letter on the table and presumes it to be of Ellu. He accuses him of
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infidelity. At the same time Ellu notices the photo of a girl on the table which had fallen
During their fight the parish priest enters and Ellu threatens to leave the house. The
confusion is cleared with the entry of Pavlam who clarifies that it is a letter written by his
son to his girl friend and the photo is that of the girl.
Tomato
Maid servants, mostly employed as cooks, abound in Cha. Fra.’s play. But the one-act
play Tomato specifically deals with the ill treatment of the maid servants.
Maxi Texera, a rich sick old man has had a long married life with Merci. She is talkative
and dominates her husband. She keeps a tab on both what her husbands eats or does,
considering his health as well as his relationship with Merchem Luvis, their domestic
help. When Merchem is eating a tomato, without the knowledge of Merci, Merci calls her
as she has found some tomatoes missing in the stock. Merchem in a hurry gobbles a part
of the tamato she was eating and hides the rest of it in Maxi’s, coat pocket. Merci, in a fit
of anger hits her with a bottle and Merchem collapses. Worried, Merci calls her friend
Monna, the police inspector at the local police station, for help. During the conversation
when she sees Merci blinking her eyes, Merci realises that Merchem is not dead and
drops the phone. She threatens Merchem not to tell about the incident to anyone. As
Merchem struggles to stand on her feet, her father Forco Luvis enters the house and is
shocked to see his daughter in such a condition. He rushes to the dispensery of Dr Paris
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Kamath and brings him. When they reach home to treat Merchem, they cannot find her as
she has been hidden by Merci. A little later, after attempts to digress the issue fail, Dr
Kamath finds Merchem hidden under a basket and treats her. He asks Merchem’s father
to take her away from Merci’s house, as they cannot be trusted with her life any more. As
they leave, Merci admits to her husband that she was the one who hit Merchem.
The play effectively brings out the lack of guilt involved in the violence unleashed by the
employers on their domestic help. Merci’s only worry is, if she is dead. The desire and
pain of Merchem has no impact on her. The play is also a scathing attack on the haves of
Mangalore Christian community who are commonly accused of ill-treating their domestic
helps.
Handdo Otla
Handdo Otla explores the human weakness towards wealth, irrespective of one’s existing
The play unfolds at a fictitious church called Nayimadi. The church is looked after by an
old Capuchin priest called Fr Gustin. He has a lay assistant called Appu. His sister Alli,
also resides in the same church and works as a teacher. The play opens with Fr Gustin
sharing a dream he had the previous night with Appu. Appu interprets the dream saying
that Fr Gustin is going to get some wealth, accidentally. True to that one Vithor Vishenth
Veigas, a lawyer from Mangalore, comes to him and discloses that his uncle Gasper
Melchior Balthazar has died leaving a will bequeathing his wealth of 30 acres of coffee
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estate and Rupees one lakh to a very self respecting man who does not hanker after
wealth. This creates a competition among Appu, Fr Gustin, Alli teacher and Kernel, a
retired army man, for the wealth. Kernel who initially presents himself as a self-
respecting man, also succumbs to the desire. During the drama that ensues, we find Alli
who was in love with Kernel much against her brother’s wishes, now switching her love
to Appu, in order to lay claims for the wealth and Appu terning out to be far smarter than
he came across thus far. Finally, in a strage development, Appu manages to lay claims to
the 10 acres of land and Rs one lakh. Of course, he also gets Alli to be his would-be wife.
The play is a comedy that brings out human frailties in the presence of wealth, with
strange justifications for the desire of wealth which brings about changes in long-lasting
relationships.
Them Tho and Han is a theatre adaptation of Eddi Siker, a Konkani writer’s short story.
This play has least number of characters of all Cha. Fra.’s plays – four: a writer, a girl
who is engaged to a young man in gulf, the young man whom she is engaged to, and a
The writer in the play is a very poor man who is unable to pay his rent or has any money
to buy his food. The girl who has some unknown concern towards the writer is in love
with a man whom she has some grudge againt. Hence, she asks the writer to make
character of her lover in his story. In return, she promises to pay his rent. On the other
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hand, her lover, not knowing that the girl has met him, meets him and lures him to make
a character of his girl friend in his stories. Both of them give the writer the presents they
had given to each other. The writer writes a story making characters of both of them in
the story. This enrages both of them who come to him to threaten him. During this time,
the writer pretends as if he does not know them, as per their individual prior requests, but,
pays them with the same coin by giving the presents of each to the other and asking them
to open them in front of him. As they open the present, they are forced to confront each
other’s hypocrisy.
Apart from the humour, the play gives profound insights about writing. At one point the
writer in the play talks about characterisation. He says “the writers claim that they create
characters out of nothing, and out of imagination. But later they place one person’s hair
It is extremely difficult to categorise his plays as they do not clearly follow any classical
model of plays. For example, none of his plays will strictly be tragedies, because, they
are not about the fall of great people, nor do they create pity and fear, as Aristotle
describes a tragedy in his Poetics. None of them are larger than life characters. The only
exception to this would be his adaption of Shakespearean play Timon of Athens – a play
which almost closely adheres to Aristotelian propositions of tragedy. Most of the plays
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Following is an attempt to categorise his extant plays.
Cha. Fra. has adapted three plays from English to Konkani. However, he does not
translate them but adopts them to situations here, in different time periods and historical
contexts. The names are approximated to those of the land leaving aside their anglicised
versions and adapting them to the way they are called in rural Konkani. Some situations
are left out. E.g. in Mankddacho Pai, father and son do not play chess but drink. In the
same play the ten days between the death of the son and parents’ attempt to resurrect him,
are reduced to seven days to build the local post-burial ritual into the play.
why Cha. Fra. chooses this obscure play of Cha. Fra., about the date of which
Shakespearean scholars have serious disagreements. Some consider it to be his first play,
where as, some others, his last play. Most of them agree that it is an incomplete play.
This play was published posthumously in 1623 in the First Folio. Cha. Fra. adapts it to
Dakther Dusman is an adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s play An Enemy of the People. The
play was written by Ibsen in Norwegian in 1882. Since then, the play has been adapted or
tanslated to many languages and including cinema. In India, Satyajit Ray adapted the
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Mankddacho Pai, is an adaptation to play a horror story by W.W. Jacobs in England in
1902 by Louis N. Parker. This is also a very famous play adapted or translated to many
Moja Puthacho Kinkulo, is based on a short story of J M Minezes. Them Tho ani Hanv is
based on Eddie Siker’s short story. The researcher has not been able to lay his hands on
Comedies
The following plays can be clearly called comedies as they adhere to the characteristics
of comedy genre in the western canon: Sunnem Mazor Hansta, Them Tho ani Hanv,
Bonch[o] Band, Magirchem Magir, Handdo Otla, Jorji Buthel, Vishenticho Bhav,
Tragedies
These can broadly be considered as tragedies - Tornem Tornem Mornem, Dev Polleit
Musical
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One-Act Plays
Them Tho ani Hanv, Tomato, Mankddacho Pai, Vishenticho Bhav, Kuvalyachi Val, and
Historical Plays
Dev Polleit Asa and Shirigundi Shimao can be labelled as historical plays as they locate
themselves in distant past in some crucial historical junctures which were of great
consequence to the Konkani people. While the former is set in the mid-eighteenth century
in the context of inquisition, the latter is set in the mid-nineteenth century which tore the
community into two fractions based on allegiance to Pope or the king of Portugal.
Based on the location of his plays can be categorised as Bombay plays and Mangalore
plays. While Bhangar Monis and Avnkwar Mesthrim can be termed Bombay plays, as
they are set in Bombay the rest of the plays can be called the Mangalore plays. The
cultural location of the actions in the plays also makes quite a few things possible for the
characters. Bombay, for example, is a city where anonymity allows one to explore
oneself and one’s aspiration which may not have space in Mangalore and which is not
Difficult to Categorise
The follwing plays of Cha. Fra. are difficult to categorise : Bhangar Monis, Dakther
Dusman,
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Unavailable Plays
Since the text of the flowing plays is not available it is difficult to categorise the
following plays : Sobit Sounsar, Poinnarancho Mit, and Bokleak Sat Jiv
As Cha. Fra. has written more than twenty plays, his plays touch upon a wide variety of
The relationships he deals with are largely intimate ones. Much of his plots unfold at the
relations in almost all his plays. Bhangar Monis, and Jorji Buthel, are specifically about
husband-wife relationships. But Dakther Dusman also talks about failed husband-wife
The relationship between parents and children does not become an important aspect of
dramatisation or anlysis in his plays, with an exception of Mankddacho Pai and Dakther
Dusman. While the father-daughter relationship in Dakther Dusman, is a rare one of love
and trust, so is the one in Mankddacho Pai. However, one must notice that both are
adaptations.
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Perhaps the only relationship that seems to be possible is the male-male relationship, of
bosom friends. Bannu and Bajil, in Magirchem Magir Shimao and his Fullu Fudthad in
Shrigundi Shimao are indications of this. In both the cases, they trust each other and
have a great affection for each other as well. They do not mind risking their lives for the
Sreemathi Ayona and Izabella Morello with their neighbours in Sunnem Mazor Hansta;
Inna and Monna in Bhangar Monis, Izbel and Bannu in Magirchem Magir, Rekel and
Eddi Michel in Jorji Buthel, Mesthri and Avil’s Mother in Avnkwar Mesthrim, Mornem
and Karval in Tornem Tornem Mornem, Fr Peter and Monem in Tornem Tornem
Forbidden relations are also dealt with in Cha. Fra’s plays. Pawlet Cosma and Zuze
Minin in Boncho Band, Jilla and Vitti in Jillache Novre are some of the examples of this.
However, they are more suggestive in nature. All the same, the recent scholarship shows
how forbidden relationships are dealt more suggestively and in terms of denial in much of
media.
If Cha. Fra. wants to defy relationships then why read his plays? One of the answers to
states that the purpose of both myth and drama is to exaggerate and not to solve the
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Play of Absence and Presence
Hiding in Cha. Fra.’s play, of people and things, plays a crucial role in the development
of plot. It is a sort of dues ex machine which allows the development of the plot. People
and things are hidden and their search constitutes important aspect of the developement
of action. In Avnkwar Mesthrim, all the characters hide something or the other - letters,
love, past actions, mistakes; in Tornem Tornem Mornem, Mornem is constantly hidden
by everybody, either physically, or their actions with her; in the same play hiding of key,
clothes become important metaphors; gold chain, truth in Doro, Monna and Inna and
Monna’s past affair in Bhangar Monis, truth from people in Dakther Dusman, truth and
things in Magirchem Magir, Roji in Jorji Buthel, and so on. The absence of character
during the action of the play pushes for the search of what is hidden as well as
metaphorically the truth of characters. For audience, it also gives the superior feeling as
they are the only privy to the presence of the absence, especially in the case of hiding of
people and things. This gives the notion of omniscience to the audience or the reader. The
absence of a character for the other characters on the stage is a curious and paradoxical
All the characters especially female ones in Cha. Fra.’s play are conscious of wealth and
social control. Wealth is an important determiner of relationships. Alli shifts her love to
Appu, the cook, in Hando Otla, in Jillacho Novro Jilla does not go with her lover because
he is pauper and afraid of society, Inna in Bhangar Monis does not go after Monna,
because he is poor and marries Janna. Shimao’s sister-in-law comes back to him and
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wants to be his wife because Shimao is rich again in Shirigundi Shimao. Female
characters clearly know their priority over their physical or emotional desires – that
financial security is crucial for their survival. In this sense they are clearly adhering to the
social norms that teach that financial security is important for them as they do not have
Most of Cha. Fra.’s plays happen within a day, thereby adhering to Aristotelian unities of
Most of the characters in his plays distrust other characters. Almost all plays end up
except perhaps for Sune Mazar Hastha in negative tones, irrestpecive of whether they are
comedies or tragedies. There is a general pessimism that is seen pervading in all his
plays.
This, however, is in contrast to his prose which, while launching a scathing attack on
Most of Cha. Fra.’s plays happen in houses with a single setting in which the plays
unfold. Why do Cha. Fra.’s plays do that? What does such a technique allow Cha. Fra. to
do with his characters and language? One outcome perhaps is that he is able to make the
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language and plot intense, as the capturing of the audience is to be done through language
and not done through too many actions. While this is quite a challenge for any season
writer, this also allows him to make his plays psychological. The physical immobility of
The only plays where actions shift are Shirigundi Shimao and Dakther Dusman. While
the former has two setting, with most of the play happening at Shimao’s house, and the
last scene taking place at a cave in jungle, the latter has three places where the action
takes place – Dr Roshoman’s house, Petnoli Press, Captain Sother’s Veranda and Dr
What makes literature, has been much disputed from notions of literature as mimesis to
Eagleton’s view that literature is merely a mode through which certain social groups
But if we go by the romantic notion of literature, that is, that which defies the normal or if
significations, then we have plenty to look for in Cha. Fra.’s plays. The success of Cha.
Fra.’s plays lies precisely in the fact that they allow multiple signification to happen and
thereby prove subversive to everything. However, if one is to look for the norm-al in
Cha. Fra.’s plays, then one will constantly be discouraged by Cha. Fra.’s reading of the
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plays. Every plays is about defying of the norm-al. Be it husband-wife relationships,
there is only discord. Yet, there is no one character that Cha. Fra. wants you to
sympathise with in most of his plays. Most plays allow diametrically opposite reading to
happen, for example, did Fr Peter and the parish priest have an affair with or fascination
for Mornem? Was the parish priest in Tornem Tornem Mornem only hiding Mornem’s
clothes or was he deriving some secret pleasure from them? Cha. Fra. would allow these,
and many more meanings to emerge. In Derrida’s sense this allows infinite signification
to happen. The plays of Cha. Fra., by denying binary, allow a play of multiple meanings
to happen. They therefore are the plays of the audience and not of the author.
In his essay, ‘Creative Writers and Day Dreaming,’ Freud argues that creative writers are
also a sort of day-dreamers who realise their fantasies which are denied an open play,
through their creative works. They not only layer their fantasies but also allow the
This argument can be extended to Cha. Fra.’s plays, in that his creative works primarily
engage with that which is denied expression in normal life – hence an attack on husband-
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Since these also happen to be the fantasies that audience and readers want to engage with,
According to Freud if a literary work is also reflection of author’s everyday struggle with
life, then we again have evidence for the incompatible marriage relationships that Cha.
Fra. wants to constantly represent. It is now commonly known that Cha. Fra. did not
enjoy a good married life. It was a difficult marriage that he and Stella, his wife, led.
Perhaps this is one reason why we find that no marriages are functional marriages, one of
Cha. Fra. has hardly set any of his plays in the familiar place. His places are fictitious.
The names themselves suggest impossibility of the existence of such places in Mangalore
– for example, Naimadi Church in Hando Otla, or Murnal church or place in : Tornem
The distancing we know through Derrida is actually close. Distancing allows two
possibilities for Cha. Fra., one, he can thus pass of his plays as figments of imagination
and escape from charges of defamation, second, allow audience disarm themselves and
thereby completely surrender themselves to him, to be led by the gentle hand of the
playwright.
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With Murnal, one can almost see an attempt on the part of Cha. Fra to create a fictitious
Tornem Mornem, Shirigundi Shimao, and Dakther Dusman. Cha. Fra. does not clearly
evolve this place like Narayan or Hardy or Faulkner. Only in one play does he call it a
town - Dakther Dusman – and give reference to neighbouring places. This shows the
inconsistency of the use of this place in his three woks. Perhaps Cha. Fra. was evolving it
in these works.
It might be useful to find out when and why does Cha. Fra. start creating this fixed
fictitious place.
Characters of Cha. Fra.’s plays come from varied walks of life but are Konkani
they do not come as characters on stage. This limits the world view or weltanschauung to
that of Konkani Christians alone. It, in another way, also points out at the closed nature of
the community, at least when it comes to the question of literary cultural productions.
Cha. Fra.’s characters come from varied occupational background and also from all
quazi religious social workers, carpenters, daily wage workers, cooks, and housewives.
One interestingly also notices that Cha. Fra’s characters do not include government
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servants, despite Cha. Fra. himself having been a government employee in two
organisations in Bombay. There are also no characters who work with modern
machinery, like drivers, or printers. There are however, those that work in the Gulf
countries but their profession is unknown, much like the condition in realitywhere people
never really bothered about what kind of work one did in the Gulf, except that they
One also notices that Cha. Fra. does not have characters from the elite families of
Mangalore who are English educated and move in only specific circles. His rich are those
in rural parishes where there are normally only one or two significantly rich parishioners.
One can also see the absence of ‘working women’ in the sense of working in offices or
factories.
This could be perhaps because Cha. Fra. never seriously encountered this class. Hence,
their absence. Similarly, the absence of government employees also could be because not
many Konkani Christians took up this profession. However, this could also be read as
Cha. Fra.’s interest in representing only certain types of people with certain qualities.
Absence of ‘working women’ could be led to the fact that until recently it was quite
uncommon to find working women except as teachers. These absences could also be
because it’s only recently that a large section of the Konkani Christian community got
exposed to formal education. However, the various characters mentioned above exhaust
all the people that one will encounter among the Konkani Christians.
The characters he represents are all of flesh and blood. None of the characters are
presented in black and white. It is even difficult to determine the narrative stand of the
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author in terms of what characters he approves. Anyone trying to find a link between
author’s lived ideology, his own life with his character is sure to meet with failure. For
Cha. Fra. at least here is quite elusive.
One prominent thing that one finds in his plays is that he has given voice to all characters.
All characters defend their positions. All are given a strong, metaphoric and figurative
language most of the time bordering on rudeness.
While he criticises the characters who constitute old centres of power, like the estate
owners, and priests, he does not give any lee way to the newer sections which make claim
to the dominance of their ideology like the communists, activists, or feminists. All are
empathised and critiqued.
In Thornem Thornem Mornem, the church belfry becomes a symbol for the church,
crumbling one at that. Sarcastically, what the priest thinks it required to rejuvenate is
money and not anything else. The fact that Fr Peter uses that place to hide Mornem
becomes symbolic of church hiding its sexuality within it and later burying all its sins
there.
If we apply E. M. Forster’s theory of flat and round characters, one realises that most of
Cha. Fra.’s characters are flat characters. Very few are round characters like Jorji in Jorji
Buthel, who show certain moral growth as well as that of personality as the play
progresses.
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The Gulf Characters
Cha. Fra. seems to be having an aversion to gulf-returned characters in his plays. Eddi
Michel in Jorji Buthel and Roland in Magirchem Magir are examples of this. Thy have
been portrayed as a little rootless, exploitative, immoral portrayed negatively as they
speak Konkani with the mix of English which the playwright strongly disapproves.
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CHAPTER IV
75
CHA. FRA.’S POETRY
Cha. Fra. is the only poet writng in Kannada script to win the prestigious Central Sahitya
Akademi award (1988) and he won it for his anthology of poetry –Sonshayche Kan
(Rabbit’s Ears). According to Sardesai, “Varied in form and content they bear the
unmistakable stamp of C. F. D’Costa’s genius: his sense of rhythm, his boldly original
imagery, hi verbal economy, his keen observation of life and things around him and
Stella D’ Costa, mentions that Konkani has seen only two poets – Louis Mascarenhas,
and Cha. Fra. D’Costa. In the same book he divides the period of Konkani poetry into
three – First, the period of Louis Mascarehnas, the second, that of ManoharRai Sardesai,
and the third, modern period. He puts Cha. Fra’s poetry in the third period.
About the themes of Cha. Fra’s poetry ManoharRai SarDesai in his A History of Konkani
Literature (2000) says, “Varied in form and content they bear the unmistakable stamp of
C. F. D’Costa’s genius: his sense of rhythm, his boldly original imagery, his verbal
economy, his keen observation of life and things around him and above all, his
sensitivity.”
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On his poetry SarDesai quotes Cha. Fra. saying, “Human senses are not the same as
nature provided them. Processes of evolution have degenerated them to their present state
…. The auditory faculty alone has withstood the ravages of evolution. Being human it
may be faint, feeble and failing. But it bravely sufferes the loneliness essential to raise the
vibrations of creativity. When eyes were blind in the unborn life, when the nose was
numb and could not distinguish fragrance or stink, when the taste was dormant or the
stifled touch could feel next to nothing the ears alone in (sic) alone in the prison of
mother’s womb, could hear the silent smiles of the father outside.”
“His poetry is in that respect symbolic, more suggestive and evocative than explanatory.
Both in the case of vocabulary or ideas he does not follow the beaten path. To the unwary
reader he offers a sudden wealth of words and ideas never heard before.”
SarDesai says, “C. F. D’Costa’s poetry is an appealing yet disturbing commentary on life.
He is not a pessimist but we discern both in his plays and his poetry a certain bitterness
born of dissatisfaction with the sorry state of life, of men in general and Konkanis in
me, they all weep over my body before I am dead. They offer me no lunch, no dinner, I
enjoy no prestige in a voice that can be heard and has to be heard – compelling,
“His poetry is both description of nature and exploration of the nature of man, and at
times attains to universal heights. His poem “fatigue” is an example. In a few rapidly
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drawn word pictures he cites the example of a person whose fatigue is born of a desire
Apart from appreciating his humour SarDesai identifies that Cha. Fra.’s poems “not
merely communicate a thought but a state of mind” which poses a formidable challenge
for translation. “the sound of the syllabus, the ideas associated with words and impact of
words on words, all these are a challenge to the translator committed not merely to
“It is a poetry that is happily not divorced from life; it is a poetry that is not stifled by the
noose of words. This poetry is not a versified prose but a language that is carefully
distilled to suit the special nature of poetry makes demands on the memory of the writer
and his intelligence. It is not easy to understand his poetry unless one has thoroughly
mastered not only the Konkani Lexicon but all its wealth of idioms and proverbs.”
Victor D’Silva says that after the broadcast of his first poem ‘Sopnanthulem Raz’ in Goa,
Cha. Fra. grew steadily as a poet with the help of Vishnu Naik and Wilfred Barboza.
(D’Silva: 2000, 6). D’Sliva says Cha. Fra. taught Mangaloreans what poetry is. His
poetry flows easily both in terms of style and language, proper diction, simple
vocabulary, coining of newer words, metric choices, makes Cha. Fra. stand out.
His poetry is a virtual goldmine of words. They not only refer to the life- style, and
environment but also of the rural folk. They reflect his rich perception of the world.
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He quotes Nagesh Karmali who says Cha. Fra. is the only literary link between Goa and
Referring to his Sosyache Kaan, Cha. Fra. says the poet takes the reader to diverse
worlds. In this world there is agony, passion, anger, curse, and he is stands amongst his
people in different climates. He does not divorce from his roots. But, at the same time
does not mind uprooting the practices that are inimical to the community. He is a born
rebel.
Willy Da Silva, in his introduction to Sosyache Kaan says that Cha. Fra.’s thinking
wanders in many directions without boundaries, and as his words get formed on the page
the poetry emerges. Love in his poetry is not shy. Sometimes he is disappointed in his
love. Cha. Fra. is the only one amongst Mangalorean poets who sees god in the human’s
eyes, who speaks to God in human terms, who fights with him. Such and engagement
with God has made him unpopular with the priests and other religious people. Because of
this Cha. Fra. is the only non-tradiational poet among the Mangaloreans.
According to Melwyn Rodrigues, Cha. Fra. created every poem on the foundation of
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Use of Nature
One of the dominant themes in his poetry is the nature. The nature is both destructive and
creative. ‘Pavs’, ‘Pavshile Vorvi’, ‘Pavs Ashetham’, ‘Gulobachoi Thali’, ‘Had Chedva
Budkulo’, ‘Mita Kan’, ‘Somsaraha Mathyar’, ‘Une Une Dista’, ‘Kal sangjecha vadalar’,
and ‘Kelyachem Rudan’ are some of the examples of this. ‘Pavs’ engages with the
incessant rain that is characteristic of the West coast which fills the wells, ushers is
agricultural activity but also brings down houses, spoils roads and spreads cholera, and
jaundice.
The nature also gives him a framework to raise fundamental questions about human
nature, as in ‘Mita Kan’ which has gone to the sea rendering the cooked rice tasteless. In
‘Une Une Dista’ while he dwells on the essence of things that gives identity to objects
like sound of ocean, shyness of a girl, the fat of a pork, heat of abolem flower, he leads it
to ask questions about the essence of human nature. He asks when a man kisses a girl if
she does not close her eyes, or her cheeks do not blush has the relationship not lost its
essence?
Of all the seasons Cha. Fra. seems to be most fascinated with the rainy season. Of the
poems that the researcher has studied to for this work he has not come across any other
season that Cha. Fra. has spoken about. Even the poems written around Christmas, new-
year do not engage with the climate that accompanies these seasons. That at one level
draws our attention to the natural climate of Mangalore which is predominantly sultry
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when it does not rain. Or rather, there is only one pleasant season, rainy, just as it was
Treatment of Women
Although women abound in his poetry, Cha. Fra.’s treatment of women is quite
problematic. There are hardly any women-centred poems. In many poems he uses them
to merely make his point or express his frustration. They are hardly given agency but
seen more as those that are unable to break from the systems of the society. Women are
mostly passive in his poetry, they do not speak. ‘Had Chedva Budkulo’, ‘Thisro
Shakuni’, ‘Unem Unem Dista’, ‘Kalu Bulu Chali’, ‘Sado’, ‘Baye Bhujem Kaliz Khaim’,
‘Baylamchim Shinknam’ are examples of this. They are clearly bearers of the culture,
with references to their involvement in acts like fetching water, giving meaning to the
land being integral part of the unique landscape, which however is not the case for man,
producing eatables, etc. However, while he denies agency to them he does not degrade
Cultural Ethos
The cultural aspect of the Mangalorean community abounds in his plays. This includes
hierarchies, seasons, man-woman relationships, landscape and so on. For example, in the
poem ‘Has Has’, within 20 lines constituting five stanzas he clearly brings about seven
relationships and the power equations among those relationships in terms what could be
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sister’s husband, brother’s wife, father’s sister, mother’s sister, and wife. In ‘Pavshili
Vorvi’ he speaks about various culinary preparations that are specific to rainy season
namely mango pickle, lemon pickle, and collection of spices. In the same poem he also
talks about the kind of agricultural activity that happens with the rainy season, the kind of
agricultural implements used, and the kind of precautions one should take for the season
ahead. ‘Sheyo Rose’ is another of the poem that talks of another special dish of the
region. ‘Maink Sangunaka’ is another of the poem that deals with mother-daughter
relationship.
‘Amcha Ksethrantholo Abhyarthi’ is a distinct poem that brings the national-political into
the community. This is the only poem that talks beyond the typical inner concerns of the
Relationship with the church, its ministers, and practices is another area of the cultural
that he explores, mostly to criticise it and disapprove its overarching power, and mindless
The belief system of the people is another area that Cha. Fra.’s poetry engages with. The
belief system is complex and at one level also speaks about the nuanced relationship it
has with practices and belief system of other religions and with one’s own. ‘Angovn’
offers an interesting insight into the way the Mangaloreans have engaged with the
practices of other communities. In the poem the father who is waiting tensed outside
delivery room of his wife, unable to stand the pain of his wife, starts promising offerings
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gods and spirits of all religions known to him. He promises a sheep to the mosqe and
cock to the temple; a copper baby to St Antony, and candles made of honeycob wax to
‘Dev and Devnsar’ is another of his poem which perhaps is an indication of pre-
conversion practices of the community which believed in both benevolent and inimical
powers. The poem advices to treat both God and the devil equally.
In none of his poems is Cha. Fra. positive about religion, its practices and the priestly
class. His poems offer a scathing critique of the religion. Most open rejection of the
priestly class comes in the poem ‘Adhik Vikal Prani’ which compares the priest to a
cobra and terms the priest as the most poisonous one. The poet in the poem having
encountered a snake and a priest has killed the priest. The poem also brings out the
people’s reaction to the killing which is more of a product of fear of the unknown
consequences of the act rather than the moral or ethical stand. Perhaps no poem or
In ‘Dev Ani Devsar’ he rejects the Christian theology of the Catholic Church which calls
for the shunning of the devil and glorifies God. Contrary to the teachings of the Church,
he advices that people give equal consideration to both the God and the Devil. The stand
however, although new in Konkani literature, the common practice in rural areas has
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been that during extreme conditions the people have been known to turn to appeasing
‘Ghanti Kithyak Vaztath’ satirises the practices of ringing the bell in the church. The
poem which is in a dialogic mode, asks the ringer of the bell the meaning of different
ways of ringing the bell. He then mocks at the way people blindly believe in the
communication through the bell, which has overshadowed the reasoning of the people.
‘Adavn Bapan Kellem’, has postcolonial overtones of the biblical reading. The poem
humorously asks what Adam ate, and he lists the names of a series of local fruits that he
might have eaten. He also mentions the names non-native fruits like Apples, cherries.
One can read the postcolonial challenges to the received version of the Garden of Eden
story and an attempt to appropriate the story in the local terms while problemetising it.
tacitly accuses the clergy of destroying the innocence of young minds and of planting the
‘Kelyachi Kanth’ laments the likening of banana to a penis. The poet seems to be sad that
banana is used as a euphemism for penis to talk of taboos related to penis which he thinks
has denied him the chance to look at the banana in its own terms. The poem is highly
critical of religion which has thus destroyed the normal ways of knowing and making
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The Unacknowledged Legislator
Quite a few of Cha. Fra.’s poems echo Percy Bussy Shelly’s claim that poets are the
unacknowledged legislatures of the world. Cha. Fra. in quite a few of his poems gives
practical tips to lead life normally. Most of such poems that give advice to leading a
meaningful life are small normally one or of two stanzas. ‘Dev Ani Devsar’ asks people
to treat God and Devil equally, ‘Kani Jini’ asks the reader to maintain restraint in
everything and lead a moderate life. ‘Has’ asks people to live life happily. ‘Bhangar and
Ragath’ explores the strange and evil relationship between gold and blood suggesting that
It can be concluded that it is in his poetry that Cha. Fra. achieves utmost critical sense,
challenging many power structures, and practices. He also best displays the culture of the
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CHAPTER V
86
CHA. FRA.’S PROSE
Victor D’Silva (2000) identifies a number of prose writings of Cha. Fra. under different
genres. Cha. Fra. was a journalist, and ran many periodicals. As a result he ended up
writing short stories, editorials, serialised stories, answers to readers’ questions on varied
issues, articles, research articles, and creating many aphorisms in Konkani. The
researcher has not been able to track his serialised stories which go back to as early as
1954. Hence, this chapter will largely concentrate on a few of his short stories, editorials
Serialised Stories
Victor D’Silva (D’Silva: 2000, 62) mentions that Cha. Fra. published his first serialised
story in 1954 in Poinari periodical on the life of St Christopher under the pen name,
Saimbachem Pathak and Wate Wayli Val, Volachi Maryad, and Fula in Painari, are the
However, Cha. Fra. has not been known among Mangaloreans for his novels or long
stories. ManoharRai SarDesai does not make any mention of his Cha. Fra. name in the
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Short Stories
‘Adanv Ani Ev’ in ‘Vishal Konkan’, ‘Dev Paleth Asa’ and ‘Sansnacho Vishev’ for Udev,
‘Kolscho’, ‘Amchem Phula’, for Jivith are the short stories of Cha. Fra. that D’Silva lists
The researcher has been able to track eleven of his short stories: ‘Thap’, ‘Sam
Hall’, ‘Chimto’, ‘Morem Padlo,’ ‘Kando’, ‘Varem Zod’, ‘Vidhov Chali’, and ‘Volachi
Maryad’.
Of all his stories the only story that clearly stands out in terms of its craft and structure is
‘Kolso.’ The rest of the stories clearly indicate that short stories are not his forte. Perhaps
for the same reason ManoharRai SarDesai (SarDesai: 2001, 266) makes only a passing
mention of Cha. Fra.’s name amongst Mangalorean short story writers in his A History of
Konkani Literature.
Prose
Cha. Fra. began to write articles, and short stories in 1951 for Poinari. In 1956 he became
the editor of Zag-Mag. In 1959 he became the editor of Poinari, a position he held for the
next three years. In 1962 he started his own periodical called Vishal Konkan. In 1969 he
came to Mangalore and started Udev. In 1983 he began Jivith. In all he was the editor of
five peridicals – perhaps this remains as the unbeaten record in Konkani journalism. He
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started four different periodicals and was their founder editor and was an editor, of one
It was in these periodicals that Cha. Fra. wrote almost all his articles, short stories,
His articles encompass varied themes and issues. Some of the predominant issues in his
prose are Konkani language, the attitude of Mangaloreans to Konkani, attitude of clergy
and city dwellers to Konkani, the distance between Goans and Mangaloreans, the attitude
In most of his writings he bitterly speaks about the attitude of Konkani people to their
language. In ‘Amche Bhashechi Deswat’ which is one of his long and well-researched
write up, he makes a historical analysis of Konkani and attributes its present decline to
the lethargy of its own speakers. The article displays his keen sense of history, a clear
‘Bhadyacha Gharanth Ravthelyanchi Kalethi’ criticises the code mixing that Konkani
speakder do. He calls the mixing of mostly English words and also of other local
languages namely Kannada and Tulu into the language as a “bastard” state of Konkani.
‘Konkani Manshank Ulo’ critiques the teaching of English in the schools and the
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‘Barpancho Sonsar’, ‘Amchem Barpi Kurvathat’, express a serious concern over the
dwindling interest in the writers for qualitative writing. The second article even warns
Konkani. He dwells on the commendable work done by A. T. Lobo, Khadap and the like.
Although a number of articles keeps referring to what ails Konkani organisations and
these in his commentary on the seventh all India Konkani Writers’ Conference held in
Goa.
Konkani. In it he identifies four different ailments. First, the weakness of poetry. The
reason for this he finds in the non-publication of poems by the editors of periodicals. As a
result, he feels, the link between the poets of previous generation and that of ours has
disappeared. Second, the weakness of plays. Here, he finds fault with the entire
thinking in plays seems to be the other reason. Third, weakness of literature. For this he
blames the politics of patronage among the bodies concerned. Fourth, and the last one, is
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‘Parishede Vishim Amchim Chinthnam’ is a reflection on the Konkani Parishad. The
article is a reflection on Konkani language on its 45th year of existence. Cha. Fra. takes
‘Samajinth Alwalle Gumtagar’, ‘Konkani Padam’, ‘Gayan Samsar’ are three articles
which dwell on music in Mangalore, both traditional and modern. ‘Samajinth Alwalle
Gumtagar’ is about the traditional musical instrument of Konkani folk lore – gumat. The
article begins with a reference to Jokim Pereira of Bijai and how his family started and
has maintained the tradition. Then the articles introduces to the art and craft of gumat to
the readers with a reference to the types of beats. The article ends with a reference to the
causes for the waning of gumat in the community. The article is quite well-researched
and written.
‘Konkani Padam’ is another well-researched rare article which maps the history of
Konkani songs. This articles in one sense takes off from where ‘Samajinth Alwalle
Gumtagar’ ends. The articles begins with the waning of the gumat in the Konkani
community. Then it moves on to exploring with a tinge of sadness the coming of western
music into the community due to various socio-political reasons. He recognises the role
played by various institutions in this regard, namely, St Aloysius College. He then does
an assessment of all the leading audio cassette singers, Wilfy, Jerome D’Souza, and Eric
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The last of the three articles, ‘Gayan Samsar’ draws our attention to historical origins
‘Kordelak Naman’ is an article that stands out amongst all the others of Cha. Fra. The
article traces the contribution of Fr Alexander Duba to Cordel parish. This is one of the
rarest articles where he has traced the contribution of a priest to the community and
admired his commitment. This stands out because in one of his plays or poems he has
‘Akkal Nathllo Nilakkal Vaad’ deals with the controversy over a cross that was allegedly
found in Nilakkal in Kerala. Cha. Fra. while mocking at the religious divide that has
emerged between the two communities due to this, clearly argues for the prevalence of
human nature beyond the controversies of religion. Cha. Fra.’s contempt towards religion
His write up ‘Purshanv’ is highly critical of the open display religion and of road shows
that various religions engage in. He condemns the public display of religious practices,
‘Igarz and Mashid’ dwells on the controversy over the construction of Masjid near
Milagris Church in Manglaore city. Here too, he does not become partisan but asks for
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‘Nagdem Nathal’ is a critique of Christmas celebration and a reflection on the contrasting
events during the birth of Christ. He contrasts the way priests treat the faithful, with the
way Christ took care of his people, and the concern and kindness Jesus displayed.
‘Phirgazanthlem Jivith’ are the other articles where he reflects over many of the Christian
‘Az Fest Phalyam Khyast’, ‘Az Kaal Pargat Parkshani Nakkal’, ‘Bafe Lunch’,
Isenth Samsar Aker Karuyam’, Amcho Dispodtho Bred’, and ‘Molam Kashim
Vadthath?’ deal largely with issues concerning the general socio-political condition in
India. These articles do not necessarily deals with issues pertaining to Mangalorean
community but have a civic approach to issues concerning the public. In some articles
like ‘Bafe Lunch’, there is a lamentation over the changing style which is rejecting the
old inter-personal communication possibilities. Other articles deal with issues like social
Cha. Fra.’s prose shows the breath of his intellectual and emotional engagements. From
his concerns he clearly emerges as a humanist who is able to transcend beyond his
community, religion and received knowledge. What one cannot but appreciate in his
prose is his unrelenting concern for the oppressed, the marginalised, the downtrodden, the
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weak, and the helpless. While there is concern for the language his conception of
language is that which brings all the speakers of that language on equal and common
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CHAPTER VI
95
CONCLUSION
Cha. Fra. is one of the rarest towering personalities in the Konkani literary scene. There is
perhaps no one in Konkani who has achieved so much in such a varied fields as plays,
poetry, lyrics, and journalism. What is important to note is that Cha. Fra. is perhaps the
only one who became close to the masses, who moved with them, and who actively took
up their causes. While most writers were largely arm chair writers, Cha. Fra. became a
writer-activist, a brand that has become famous today but much looked down upon then.
He was a writer with enormous courage. As a result he had to endure repeated rejection
from almost all the centres of power within the society – the clergy, publishers, owners of
public spaces, established writers, and the whole of Mangalorean community. Like the
proverbial prophet, Cha. Fra. could not get much acceptance and recognition in his native
place, although he was much appreciated, praised and respected in Goa and Bombay
One sees that the different genres allow Cha. Fra. to explore different concerns about
different segments of society. The poetry of Cha. Fra. does not rise beyond his
engagement with the modern institutions of the state or civilised society. His poetry is
people, their habits, shortcoming, problems, the climate they live in, the seasons they
96
engage with and the power centres that they negotiate. His poetry is quite optimistic in
nature. Presentness marks his poetry. There is less of past or future time engagement in
his poetry. It includes an element of both the Romantic and the Modernist elements.
On the other hand, his prose engages with the community’s larger negotiation with the
linguistic, political, economic forces in the society. He goes beyond the region, beyond
the community in the prose. The time that he engages is past, present, and future. His
prose too is quite optimistic. There is a strong reformist spirit in most of his prose.
His plays, in contrast to his prose and poetry, come across as more pessimistic. His
linguistic finesse, and experiments are far superior in this plays than his poetry or prose.
The plays engage with the past and present time of the community. However, like his
poems the plays too are heavily grounded in the Mangalorean community, which is what
In the final assessment it becomes clear that the different genres of literature that he
engages with, bring out different types of creativity and creative genius of Cha. Fra.
While the plays and poems have really brought out the unique creative facets of Cha. Fra.
novel and short story have not really blossomed in his hand, a point that might open up
huge possibilities’ for research not only in the case of Cha. Fra. but also in understanding
creativity itself.
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Possibilities for Future Studies
This being one of the fist theoretical engagement with Cha. Fra.’s plays, and the
researcher has gone through all available critique of Cha. Fra.’s works, following
First and foremost, there is a great need to collect all his works and publish which are
scattered all over Goa, Bombay, Mangalore and the Middle East. Although quite a few of
his plays and poems are collected and published in two volumes there is enough material
Second, dating of Cha. Fra.’s works is also an urgent need. That will help better locate his
Third, a more in-depth study especially of his short stories, serialised stories needs to be
undertaken.
Fourth, there is a need to study him vis-à-vis other Konkani playwrights and those in
other languages. This will not only help better locate Cha. Fra. within the Konkani theatre
Fifth, a greater study of his language needs to be done, stylistic, sociolinguistic and
psycholinguistic. The researcher is sure, that such a will offer tremendous insights to
applied linguistics.
98
Sixth, influence of Cha. Fra. on other writers in Konkani as well influence of other works
and writers from French, English, Marathi and Parsi theatre on Cha. Fra., also need be
studied.
fruitful.
Seventh, an inquiry into why Cha. Fra.’s genius does not shine in the case of short stories
and novels would throw up interesting outcomes both in the case of Cha. Fra. and
understanding creativity.
Lastly, an extended semiotic study of his works would also throw up far greater
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