As the stage set on the night’s performance, one man satback and watched as other members of his group dispersed around him. And he didso in his typical quiet and unassuming fashion. While the young boys and girlshe has trained to excel at what they do were all aglow at the end of amagnificent performance, Kanta Gaude merely wore his customary down to earthgrin.
Kanta Gaude is an icon in his own right. Having been born toa family of dancers, he carries on his family tradition with a pride that isunyielding in his insistence to host a show to perfection. “We had plenty ofexcess baggage, but we need all of this to put on the perfect show,” he sayssheepishly.
When asked what he his itinerary for the evening entailed,he says, “The Ganesh Vandana, or the invocation to Lord Ganesh is extremelyimportant. We also staged a Divalem Nach (lantern dance), which is very visually appealing. This, aswell as the Goff (rope dance) are traditional dances that we perform at Shigmo.Rounding up the event, we put together the Zagor, which is a dance performed ata period of harvest, as well as a Ghodemodnem, that is a warrior danceperformed with props designed to mimic horses.”
These dances are taught from generation to generation in theGaude family. “We uphold this art, because it is sacred to us. We have beentaught that we must respect it, and therefore, when we prepare, we do so toexcel,” adds Gaude.
And as long as there are more people prepared to give ittheir all (to the point of risking being left behind for refusing to reduce thecargo load limit) such as Kanta Gaude, it is fair to say that Goa’s danceheritage will be indeed in safe hands.
