Minguel Rod

Miguel Manoel Rodrigues (10 August 1924 – 4 October 1955), known professionally as Minguel Rod, was a Goan singer, composer, playwright, and actor known for his work in tiatr productions. One of the greatest composers of the Konkani stage, he was a leading figure in the golden phase of tiatr from the 1940s to the mid-1950s, alongside Konkani actor C. Alvares. Throughout his career, he composed over 300 kantaram and wrote 32 tiatrs, many of which were well-received and popular among his audience.

Early life Minguel Rodrigues, was born as Miguel Manoel Rodrigues on 10 August 1924, to Manoel Rodrigues and Dominica Vicente, he hailed from a financially disadvantaged family in the village of Cortalim, located in the southern region of Goa. Rodrigues embarked on a career as a playwright, staging his tiatrs, in a neighbor's verandah, using improvised curtains made from bed sheets. Initially, his productions catered to a local audience, presenting shorter tiatrs within his native village.

Rodrigues ventured into creating longer dramas aimed at larger crowds. However, in his eagerness to showcase his work, he overlooked the requisite procedure of obtaining a performance license from the government authorities. The Portuguese administration, under whose colonial rule Goa remained at the time, became aware of this transgression and endeavored to apprehend Rodrigues. However, the young Rodrigues managed to evade capture by fleeing Goa and finding refuge in the city of Bombay (now Mumbai). (Brother's Wedding), back to life. This theatrical production was meticulously organized, weighing the various factors involved, such as its strengths, weaknesses, and overall satisfaction of the director and actors. The tiatr resonated well with the audience, instilling confidence in Fernandes and prompting him to continue the tradition. The following year, Fernandes directed and produced another tiatr written by Rodrigues, titled Ghorachem Kestaum, further contributing to the preservation of Rodrigues' artistic legacy.

During this period, a significant community of Goan expatriates who had migrated from East Africa had settled in Canada. The performances of the aforementioned tiatrs deeply resonated their hearts. Inspired by the success of Rodrigues' works, individuals such as Frank D'Souza, Margaret D'Souza, Delphine D'Souza, Braz D'Cruz, Frank Fernandes, and Zulema D'Souza joined forces with Richard Fernandes to establish a theatrical group known as The Goan Theatrical Group (GTG). Margaret D'Souza took on the responsibility of scripting the performances in English, which were then translated into Konkani to cater to the Konkani-speaking community residing in Toronto, Canada. The GTG embarked on a journey, creating and presenting their own theatrical productions for nearly two decades. 1941 Untitled tiatr Singer Debut tiatr 1943 Bebdo Singer

Xetkampti Singer 1945 Duddvancho Fors Writer/singer Debut as playwright 1976 Irmanv-achem Cazar Writer/singer re-release by Richard Fernandes

1977 Ghorachem Kestaum Writer/singer re-release by Richard Fernandes

Select discography Burgueponn Dotik Roddttat Tarvotti