Manuel D'Lima

{{Short description|Indian playwright and theatre director (1934–2016)}}

{{about|an Indian former playwright|the Portuguese–American designer|Manuel Lima}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Manuel D'Lima

| image =

| caption =

| birth_place = Porvorim, Goa, Portuguese India, Portuguese Empire

| birth_date = {{circa|1934}}

| nationality = Indian

| other_names = {{hlist|Manuel de Lima|M. J. D'Lima}}

| occupation = {{hlist|Playwright|theatre director|banker|musician}}

| death_date = October {{death date and age|2016|1934}}

| death_place = Santacruz, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

| known_for = Staging religious plays during Lent

| notable_works = Soddvondar (1970s)

| employer = Bank of India

| years_active = 1970s–2000s

| module = {{Infobox musical artist

| origin = Goa, India

| embed = yes

| genre = {{hlist|Goan music|beat music}}

| past_member_of = The Syndicate

}}

Manuel J. D'Lima{{efn|alternatively spelt as Manuel de Lima}} ({{circa|1934}} – October 2016) was an Indian former playwright, theatre director, musician, and banker known for his work in tiatr productions and radio plays. He began his career in his hometown of Porvorim, Goa. Following his move to Santacruz, Bombay, D'Lima began to produce commercial theatre productions. Later, he began to write radio plays and skits on All India Radio, Bombay. A former member of the Goan cover band The Syndicate, D'Lima became known mainly for his religious plays that he staged during the Lent season in Goa or Bombay. He is one of the early writers of religious tiatrs that were staged in the 1970s.

Early life

File:A view from Porvorim hill.jpg

Manuel J. D'Lima was born in 1934. He hailed from the town of Porvorim, in the colony of Goa, which was then part of Portuguese India, during the Portuguese Empire (now located in India). He began his stage career in his home region writing and staging Konkani tiatrs, a form of musical theatre indigenous to Goa. These productions found an audience in Porvorim.{{Cite book |last=Mazarello |first=Wilson |author-link=Wilson Mazarello |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K-1PAQAAIAAJ |title=100 Years of Konkani Tiatro |date=2000 |publisher=Government of Goa, Directorate of Art & Culture |pages=173, 339 |access-date=2024-01-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240107200151/https://books.google.com/books?id=K-1PAQAAIAAJ |archive-date=2024-01-07 |url-status=live}}

Career

= Introduction to theatre and radio in Bombay, British India =

D'Lima moved to Bombay, British India (now Mumbai, India), a metropolis known for its vibrant entertainment industry. There he presented his first major tiatr, Ek Oklek Don Noure (The Bride With Two Bridegrooms), in support of Socorro-Union, a type of social club{{Cite web |last=Da Silva |first=Fernando Monte |date=18 July 2015 |title=Goa's social clubs facing youthful dis-membering? |url=https://www.heraldgoa.in/Review/Goa-Social/Goa%E2%80%99s-social-clubs-facing-youthful-dismembering/91207 |access-date=2024-07-04 |website=oHeraldo |archive-date=2024-07-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240707061128/https://www.heraldgoa.in/Review/Goa-Social/Goa%E2%80%99s-social-clubs-facing-youthful-dismembering/91207 |url-status=live }} in Socorro, Goa around the mid-20th century. The play first debuted in Porvorim, his native town located in the coastal region of Goa. D'Lima also began work with All India Radio, the state-owned public radio broadcaster in Bombay, where he secured a position as a regular artist. On this platform, also known as Akashvani, he wrote approximately 100 small playlets and radio comedy skits.

=Subsequent move to religious plays during the Lent season=

File:J. P. Souzalin's religious tiatr Sam Francis Xavier.jpg, Sam Francis Xavier by J. P. Souzalin, in Konkani]]

D'Lima's contributions to Goan theatre extended beyond secular-themed performances, as he also staged Christian religious plays in the mid-1970s. Although predominantly biblical in nature and tied to the season of Lent, these productions aimed to inspire introspection, contemplation, and personal transformation among their audiences.{{Cite web |date=14 March 2015 |title=Tiatr and the period of prayer, penance and abstinence |url=https://www.heraldgoa.in/Review/Voice-Of-Tiatr/Tiatr-and-the-period-of-prayer-penance-and-abstinence/85969 |access-date=2024-01-22 |website=O Heraldo |archive-date=2024-07-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240704154422/https://www.heraldgoa.in/Review/Voice-Of-Tiatr/Tiatr-and-the-period-of-prayer-penance-and-abstinence/85969 |url-status=live }} He, along with Konkani dramatists such as Simon C. Fernandes, Remmie Colaço, Prem Kumar, Robin Vaz, and Aleixinho de Candolim, is credited with upholding the legacy of Souzalin's religious tiatrs.{{Cite news |last1=Fernandes |first1=Paul |last2=Esteves |first2=Pio |author-link2=Pio Esteves |date=2015-02-19 |title=Religious tiatr traces its roots back to the 1960s |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/religious-tiatr-traces-its-roots-back-to-the-1960s/articleshow/46292164.cms?_gl=1*1xic3hm*_ga*YW1wLVZSa1JjbUZONEdOWklrVTRJWGFieHZrbk93cUkzVHgtSENVYzdRX1FnczUzeU1fbzExekVfemw5Q04zRkJ5TF8.*_ga_FCN624MN68*MTcwNTkwMTI0My4xMTQuMC4xNzA1OTAxMjQzLjYwLjAuMA..#_ga=2.243413957.159991920.1705751399-amp-VRkRcmFN4GNZIkU4IXabxvknOwqI3Tx-HCUc7Q_Qgs53yM_o11zE_zl9CN3FByL_ |access-date=2024-01-22 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257 |archive-date=2024-07-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240704154422/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/religious-tiatr-traces-its-roots-back-to-the-1960s/articleshow/46292164.cms?_gl=1%2A1xic3hm%2A_ga%2AYW1wLVZSa1JjbUZONEdOWklrVTRJWGFieHZrbk93cUkzVHgtSENVYzdRX1FnczUzeU1fbzExekVfemw5Q04zRkJ5TF8.%2A_ga_FCN624MN68%2AMTcwNTkwMTI0My4xMTQuMC4xNzA1OTAxMjQzLjYwLjAuMA..#_ga=2.243413957.159991920.1705751399-amp-VRkRcmFN4GNZIkU4IXabxvknOwqI3Tx-HCUc7Q_Qgs53yM_o11zE_zl9CN3FByL_ |url-status=live }} Collaborations among D'Lima and other performers within the Konkani theatre community included Cyriaco Dias, a Konkani actor and playwright, who played Jesus Christ in D'Lima's religious tiatr Soddvondar (The Deliverer).

The Soddvondar production featured notable cast such as Xavier Mendes, of the musical trio the Mendes Bros (Felix, Derrick and Xavier Mendes), during the play's staging in Bombay. It was also performed in Panjim, Goa, featuring Dioguinho D'Mello in his final acting performance. Collaborating with popular actors from the Konkani stage, D'Lima began to write a series of up to seven larger-scale tiatrs productions during the late-20th century. These include Europi Saukar (European Banker), Shakuntala, Bism Saib (The Bishop), Milagr (The Miracle), Khorkhos Ostori (Inevitable Woman), Soddvondar (The Deliverer), and Quo Vadis? (Where are you going?). D'Lima cast drummer Tony King in the latter play.{{Cite web |date=2014-06-07 |title=Fanki Tony King Ontorlo |url=https://issuu.com/ixtt/docs/23 |access-date=2024-01-22 |website=Vauraddeancho Ixtt |language=gom |archive-date=2023-02-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230228210354/https://issuu.com/ixtt/docs/23 |url-status=live }} D'Lima's introduction to religious plays was initiated by J. P. Souzalin's play Saibinicheo Sath Dukhi (The Seven Sorrows of Mary), staged during the early 1970s.

=The Syndicate band and ''tiatr'' contracts (1980s–2000s)=

D'Lima was involved in the Goan music scene as a member of the popular 1980s cover band known as The Syndicate, formed in 1979.{{Cite web |date=17 March 2011 |title=Qatar: Top Band "The Syndicate" To Perform At The 11th Annual May Queen Ball In Qatar |url=https://www.daijiworld.com/news/newsDisplay?newsID=97308 |access-date=2024-07-04 |website=Daijiworld |archive-date=2024-07-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240704154419/https://www.daijiworld.com/news/newsDisplay?newsID=97308 |url-status=live }} The Syndicate disbanded around the year 2002.{{Cite news |last=Pinto |first=Cecil |date=21 October 2010 |title=Sounding out Goan cover bands Remo's offer to reward originality |work=Gomantak Times |pages=7}} D'Lima then entered into a partnership with fellow artist Santan Rodricks. They initially accepted tiatr producing contracts{{efn|Tiatr contractors oversee the logistical and financial components necessary to stage Konkani theater performances. The primary responsibilities include securing performance venues, managing audio/technical equipment, and handling promotional activities for tiatr shows. In November 1986, tiatr contractors earned approximately {{INRConvert|17000|year=1986}} per show in a 2,000 seat venue and around {{INRConvert|10000|year=1986}} in a 1,000 seat venue.{{Cite journal |last=Kale |first=Pramod |date=1986 |title=Essentialist and Epochalist Elements in Goan Popular Culture: A Case Study of "Tiatr" |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4376359 |journal=Economic and Political Weekly |volume=21 |issue=47 |pages=2054–2063 |jstor=4376359 |issn=0012-9976 |access-date=2024-07-04 |archive-date=2021-02-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226081602/https://www.jstor.org/stable/4376359 |url-status=live }}}} under the pseudonym "Lima-San." D'Lima was one of the early tiatr contractors operating in Bombay from the 1980s to the 2000s, but during this period, D'Lima shifted his focus from writing and directing tiatrs to banking and managing tiatr contracts. D'Lima worked in the banking industry for the majority of his working life.{{Cite book |last1=Da Costa |first1=Fausto V. |title=TIATR 125th Anniversary Commemorative Volume |last2=Rose |first2=Joe |author-link2=Joe Rose (Konkani actor) |publisher=Tiatr Academy of Goa |year=2019 |location=Panaji, Goa |pages=18, 87, 105}} His work at Bank of India ultimately led to his decision to discontinue theatre work.

Personal life

File:Santacruz Bombay 1952.jpgs during internal migration{{Cite journal |date=2018 |title=Goans and East-Indians: A Negotiated Catholic Presence in Bombay's Urban Space |url=https://journals.library.brocku.ca/index.php/ijpds/article/download/3268/2521/10487 |journal=InterDISCIPLINARY Journal of Portuguese Diaspora Studies |volume=6 |pages=61–62, 64 |via=Brock University |access-date=2024-07-07 |archive-date=2024-07-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240707061124/https://journals.library.brocku.ca/index.php/ijpds/article/download/3268/2521/10487 |url-status=live }}]]

D'Lima resided in Santacruz, Mumbai, with his family. In October 2016, he died at his home in Santacruz. He was around 81–82 years old.