Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai

Mumbai, Sep 6: Well-known Konkani poet John Baptist Sequeira, popularly known as J B Sequeira passed away on Thursday, September 6 in Australia.  He was 75.  He has left behind his wife and two children.

He was the past vice-president of Konkani Bhasha Mandal, Mumbai and had presided over the 18th All-India Konkani Sahitya Sammelan held at Curchorem in Madgaon, Goa in 2007.

J B Sequeira was born at Mumbai but spent most of his childhood at Shankerpura, Pangala in Udupi.  He completed his primary and high school education at Pangala and Katapadi in Udupi district and migrated to Mumbai in 1956.

JB Sequeira is the Winner of ‘Sahitya Akademi award’ (1988), ‘The Dr TMA Pai Foundation Award’ (1989), ‘Sandesha Konkani Best Literature Award’ (2003) and is named ‘Kaviraj’ by Kalasagar, Mumbai and also is associated with many organizations and institutions.

In his early 20s, he wrote his first Konkani novel, ‘Solvonint Jik’. A few other books authored by him include, ‘Doth Kithli’ (1962),‘Vavraddeancho Tallo’ (1968), ‘Kallzache Umalle’ (1987), ‘Ek Sopann Adhurem’ (1989), ‘Oxim Ailim Lharam’ (1992), ‘Sotam Khotam’ (1998), ‘Avalle Dhuvalle’ (2001), ‘Mukhavaram / Movllam’ Vol I (1995), Vol II (2002) and Vol III (2002), ‘Ami Konglish Uloitanv’-Vol I (April 2004) apart from the latest ‘Ami Konglish Uloitanv’-Vol II.  Some of his works have been translated to English and Tulu.

JB's  'Mukhamvaram/Movllam' in three volumes is a pioneering document consisting of over 25,000 idioms and phrases, colloquial innuendoes and popular vocabulary in Konkani.