Konkani dramas are doing well in Kuwait: Cajetan de Sanvordem

Tiatrist Cajetan de Sanvordem moved to Kuwait in 1984 for a job. He started working there with the Ministry of Civil Information. Despite his work schedule, he managed to keep his passion for tiatrs alive. To show his unconditional love for Konkani drama, he has come out with his maiden Konkani video album. In a chat with TOI, he speaks about the tiatr scene in Kuwait and the reasons why it took him so long to cut his first DVD album.
You are one of the founder members of the organisation Kuwait-Goa Tiatristanchi Sonstha. As an organisation promoting tiatr, tell us what’s the tiatr scene like in Kuwait? Tiatrs in Kuwait are staged with the same love and vigour as they are in Goa. We do have difficulties to stage a show over here in Kuwait but we manage to stage tiatrs, nonetheless. To produce DVDs also is a tough task. The costs are twice the rate than if you are doing it in Goa. We are also not allowed to shoot outdoors. Special permission is required to shoot from the Kuwait Government. Konkani Tiatrists are very active in Kuwait all the year around though most are amateur artistes. It’s difficult to get a troupe together here as most of the artistes have full time jobs. Still, Konkani mogi’s (lovers) go out of their way to give their best for Konkani drama.
Having been in tiatr for so long, why didn’t you come up with an album earlier on? It’s never too late for an artiste to make a video film or take up any project. What matters is how well you do it. I am a professional and a perfectionist too. I did not want to present a sub-standard video for our Konkani lovers. Hence there was a delay as we had to put all the right songs together. My debut video album titled ‘Xiddukh Ravath’ (Be Alert) has a variety of select songs. The album which is in DVD format has been shot and produced in Kuwait
How did you get your stage name Cajetan de Sanvordem? I first sang in Santan Fernandes’ drama staged at St Sebastian feast at Khamamoll-Vaddo, Sanvordem. Whenever I acted in other towns, I was introduced as Cajetan de Sanvordem and soon I adopted this name.