Preservation of Tiatr Literature

What is Preservation of Tiatr Literature?

Preservation of Tiatr Literature is a scheme of the Tiatr Academy of Goa (TAG), under the Department of Art, Culture and Museums, Government of Goa. It exists to preserve the written material of Goa's Konkani musical theatre. The scripts of tiatrs, khell tiatrs and khells, the scripts of one-act plays, and the lyrics of kantaram, the topical songs that punctuate a tiatr, and to encourage script writers and lyricists to publish their work in book form.

The Academy is direct about the problem it is solving. Thousands of tiatrs have been produced and staged and thousands of kantaram composed and sung over the decades, yet very few books of tiatr, khell tiatr, khell and one-act play scripts and lyrics of kantaram have ever been published. Scripts circulate in manuscript, in performers' notebooks and in memory, and they disappear when a troupe folds or an artiste dies.

What the scheme provides:

• The Academy prints scripts of tiatrs, khell tiatrs and khells, one-act plays, and lyrics of kantaram with or without music in book form, in Konkani in the Roman script.
• A minimum of 500 copies of each book is printed.
• Category-wise honoraria and free copies, set out below.

The three categories

The scheme's structure is category-based, and identifying your category is the first step.

Category III is the least obvious of the three and the most useful for a publisher. The Academy pays 100 per cent of the cost of printing after verifying the rates, the applicant keeps the print run, and in exchange gives 100 books to the Academy free of cost. No honorarium is payable in that route.

Who is eligible for Preservation of Tiatr Literature?

You can apply if:

• You are a tiatr artiste, or the legal heir of a deceased tiatr artiste.
• Category I: you are a tiatr artiste who has expired or is living but not active on the tiatr stage, and you are submitting scripts of tiatr, khell tiatr, khell or one-act plays; or, if submitting only kantaram, you have a minimum collection of 50 songs with or without musical scores.
• Category II: you are a tiatr artiste who is active on the tiatr stage, submitting scripts as above; or, if submitting only kantaram, you have a minimum collection of 100 songs.
• Category III: you are an individual artist or publisher who wishes to publish scripts of tiatr, khell tiatr, khell or one-act plays on your own, and you ensure the book conforms to all norms of the scheme.

You cannot apply, or a manuscript will not be printed, if:

• You are neither a tiatr artiste nor the legal heir of a deceased tiatr artiste, and are not applying as a self-publishing artiste or publisher under Category III.
• Your kantaram collection is below 50 songs under Category I or below 100 songs under Category II.
• The manuscript does not adhere to the traditional formats approved by the Tiatr Academy of Goa.
• The scripts or lyrics contain any adverse remark, written or verbal, against any government, individual or institution, or anything against caste, creed or religion that may hurt the sentiments of anybody. Where this is proved, the Academy reserves the right not to print the book, to refrain from making payment, or to recall payment already made.
• You are a publisher applying without a written no objection certificate from the author.

Preference is given to scripts, lyrics and music written by tiatr artistes of yesteryears, that is, the older material most at risk of being lost.

What documents are required?

How to apply for Preservation of Tiatr Literature

1. Identify your category: I for a deceased or inactive artiste or a legal heir, II for an active artiste, III for a self-publishing artiste or publisher. The benefits and obligations differ significantly.
2. Prepare the manuscript in Konkani in the Roman script, adhering to the traditional formats approved by the Tiatr Academy of Goa, and check it for any content that could be read as an adverse remark against a government, an individual, an institution, or against caste, creed or religion.
3. Take a printout of the prescribed application form, available in the office of the Tiatr Academy of Goa, and fill in all the mandatory fields.
4. Attach the self attested copies of the Aadhaar card and PAN card, three typed copies of the manuscript, and — if you are a publisher, the written no objection certificate from the author.
5. Sign the application form and mention the date.
6. Submit the duly filled and signed form with the documents to the Tiatr Academy of Goa, AS-1 / AS-4, Block A, 2nd Floor, Campal Trade Centre, opposite Kala Academy, Campal, Panaji, Goa 403001, and keep a copy of the submission and any acknowledgement.

What happens after you apply

• Recommendation Board review. A Recommendation Board of two members appointed by the Academy reviews the manuscript and recommends whether the book can be published.
• Approval and soft copy submission. If approved, the applicant submits a soft copy of the manuscript on a CD, DVD or pen drive.
• Editorial review. A member of the Editorial Board edits the approved manuscript for spelling and orthography: significant work in Konkani Roman script, where orthographic conventions vary between writers.
• Publication. The Academy prints a minimum of 500 copies in Konkani in the Roman script.
• Benefit distribution. The applicant receives the honorarium and the free copies applicable to the category to 200 books under Category II, 25 copies under Category I, or full printing cost under Category III against 100 books given to the Academy.

How applications are prioritised

Applications are processed on a first come first serve basis and are considered as per the availability of funds. Within that, first preference goes to scripts, lyrics and music written by tiatr artistes of yesteryears. The Academy also reserves the right to make changes in the rules of the scheme, so current conditions should be confirmed at the office before submitting.

The combination of first come first serve and limited funds has a practical consequence: a family holding the manuscripts of a late tiatrist should not wait for a call for applications. Filing early in the financial year is materially better than filing late.

Common reasons a manuscript is not printed

• Song collection below the category minimum: under 50 for Category I or under 100 for Category II where only kantaram are submitted.
• Manuscript not in Konkani in the Roman script, or not in the traditional format approved by the Academy.
• Content containing adverse remarks against a government, individual, institution, caste, creed or religion.
• Publisher applying without the author's written NOC.
• Fewer than three typed copies submitted for the Recommendation Board.
• Funds exhausted for the year, since applications are considered as per availability of funds on a first come first serve basis.

Help and contact

• Tiatr Academy of Goa, AS-1 / AS-4, Block A, 2nd Floor, Campal Trade Centre, opposite Kala Academy, Campal, Panaji, Goa 403001
• Parent department: Department of Art, Culture and Museums, Government of Goa; Directorate of Art and Culture, 5th Floor, Shram Shakti Bhavan, Patto, Panaji; phone 0832-2404600; email dir-dac.goa@nic.in

Companion schemes at the same Academy are Documentation of Tiatr through Research Work, which publishes researched books on tiatr in English or Konkani Roman script, and Oral Documentation of History of Tiatr, which video-records veteran artistes with at least 20 years on the Konkani stage. No fee is charged for any of the three.

How to check your application status

Preservation of Tiatr Literature has no online portal, applicant login or tracking number system. It is an entirely offline scheme run out of a single Academy office, so status checks are offline too.

• Visit the Tiatr Academy of Goa in person. The office is at AS-1 / AS-4, Block A, 2nd Floor, Campal Trade Centre, opposite Kala Academy, Campal, Panaji, Goa 403001. Carry your copy of the submitted application and any acknowledgement you were given at the counter, since there is no separate reference number to quote.
• Ask specifically where your manuscript is in the process: whether it has reached the Recommendation Board, whether the two-member Board has given its recommendation, whether it has moved to the Editorial Board for review of spelling and orthography, or whether it is queued for printing pending availability of funds.
• Call the parent department if the Academy office is not reachable. The Directorate of Art and Culture, Government of Goa, 5th Floor, Shram Shakti Bhavan, Patto, Panaji, can be reached on 0832-2404600 or dir-dac.goa@nic.in, and can point you to the Academy for a manuscript-specific update.
• Expect the answer to hinge on funds, not just paperwork. Because applications are considered first come first serve and are subject to availability of funds, a manuscript can be fully approved by the Recommendation and Editorial Boards and still be waiting for its turn to be printed. Ask directly whether the delay is procedural (still under review) or financial (approved but waiting for funds) as the follow-up differs.
• Follow up periodically rather than once. Since there is no automated notification when a decision is made, an applicant who does not check back may not learn of approval, rejection, or a request for corrections to the manuscript for a long time.