Florine Roche
Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi

Udupi, Dec 25: As expected amidst the presence of thousands of people from Gowda Saraswat Brahmins (GSB) community who had gathered at the Basti Padpu Maidan, Hejamady, the much awaited Vishwa GSB Convention was inaugurated by Nagaland governor Padmanabha Balakrishna Acharya on Sunday December 25. The convention conducted under the aegis of GSB Samaja Hitharakshana Vedike is aimed at bringing together the people of the community sprinkled the world over and foster a spirit of brotherhood among the community people.

On this occasion a symbolic cheque of about Rs 70 lac was handed over to defence minister Manohar Prabhu Parriker, who was the chief guest on the occasion towards Rashtra Raksha Nidhi. This fund is towards the contribution for the Army Welfare Fund – Battle Casualties" of the defence forces of the country and was raised under the aegis of GSB Samaja Hitharakashana Vedike. The symbolic cheque was handed over to the defence minister by philanthrophist B Subraya Baliga, who had contributed Rs 30 crores towards army welfare fund in 2012 by handing over the cheque to the then President of India Prathibha Patel.

The Basti Padpu ground of Hejamady resembled a sea of people who had gathered in the Ullal Srinivas Mallya mandap to witness the gala event being inaugurated, the first of its kind in the history of the GSB community. The governor inaugurated the convention by lighting the lamp in the presence of president of the Convention P Dayananda Pai and some of other great luminaries of the GSB community who joined him in lighting the lamp on the stage.

In his inaugural address the governor P B Acharya, who originally hails from Udupi and was an alumni of the first batch of MGM College, Udupi, said Indian integrity is in danger in the North east and called upon the people to strengthen the weak links in the armour of our great country by volunteering to serve in the North Eastern states of India. He stressed the need to strengthen the country from all angles and said, "Our purpose is not just to become a strong society but to have self respect to all its citizens. We need to strengthen our country as a whole so that we fortify the entire nation by removing the weak links or by strengthening them."

Giving the example of Kerala where nurses and nuns who have volunteered to serve in North Eastern states since independence he said, "These people have been serving in the North eastern states for so many years when others did not even dare to take up the challenge and work there."

He also pointed out that though Konkani speaking people are spread over different parts of the country Konkani heart everywhere speaks in one language. This community can contribute immensely towards the betterment of the society because of their potential, he stated.

He further added, "Education is the only answer to liberate our country and our people from poverty. But educated people should not be self-centred. The empowerment you get through education is not for yourselves. When you distribute among others the happiness is much greater."

Defence minister Manohar Prabhu Parrikar who received the symbolic cheque for the army welfare fund thanked the community members for their good gesture and voluntary act. He said it is not important how much people contribute to a cause, but the very act of contributing itself is commendable. "This is a voluntary fund. This fund does not demand respect but commands respect," he stated in an obvious reference to the efforts of a film producer a few months back to belittle the noble cause.

Manohar Parrikar, who spoke in chaste Konkani, compared the GSB community to a lever saying the capacity of the community to contribute to the society is much greater as compared to their small strength in the entire population of the country. He also said, "In Prime Minister Narendra Modi we have a Prime Minister who not only has vision for the next 50 years but also has the courage to execute that vision. We have to strengthen the hands of the Prime Minister in his efforts to make India a vibrant and a strong nation."

He gave credit to the bahujan samaj (majority people) of the Goan state saying despite the GSB forming only 3 percent of the Goan population he could become the chief minister because the Goan people did not discriminate based on his community. He said as chief minister he was able to touch the hearts of the people of Goa and said people should go for knowledge with morality concept to build a strong society and with that a strong nation.

President of Vishwa GSB Convention, businessmen Dr P Dayananda Pai in his presidential message pointed out that the GSB community has created history with this convention and this day will be written in golden letters in the history of GSB community because for the first time GSB community people have attended a social function in such a huge gathering. He congratulated the members of GSB Samaj Hitharakshana Vedike for their unflagging efforts in bringing together people of the community spread over different parts of India and the globe.

Dr Dayananda Pai recalled the famous words of Swami Vivekananda - Service to society through organisation and vice versa. Quoting Einstein he said "only a life lived for others is life lived worthwhile" and complimented the office bearers and volunteers of GSB Samaj Hitharakshana Vedike for working selflessly for the betterment of the community. Dr Pai called upon the people of the community to take defeat in their strides and become successful through renewed efforts and not to give up in the face of adversity. Dr Pai likened the GSB community to two other communities namely the Parsi community and the Jewish community. He said despite their small numbers these communities including the GSB community have been able to make a mark in the world stage because of the indomitable and never say die spirit of the people of the community.

Saying that charity begins at home Dr Pai donated Rs 25 lac towards endowment fund of the GSB Samaj Hitharakshana Vedike and also Rs 1 lac towards the Rashtra Raksha Nidhi fund.

Dr T V Mohandas Pai, chairman of Manipal Global Education, Bengaluru in his keynote address stressed on the importance of education in building a strong community and in our efforts to take the country towards the path of progress. He said through knowledge economy India has the potential to become a $10 trillion economy in the next few years.

Earlier the governor P B Acharya was given a ceremonial welcome and was brought to the stage on a procession. In his welcome address Vivekananda Shenoy pointed out that the guidance and inspiration of B Subraya Baliga who had donated Rs 30 crores for the Welfare of soldiers was the guiding spirit and inspiration for the members of the GSB Samaja Hitharakshana Vedike to start the Rashtra Raksha Nidhi. He also gave credit to the late Swami for the guidance and inspiration he gave to them. He pointed out that the foundation for Vishwa GSB Convention was laid in the GSB Convention held in Koteshwar in 2012. He pointed out that the coming together of GSB members in large numbers in Hejamady is an reflection of the social awareness prevalent among the people of the community.

The programme began with the singing of national anthem by Uppunda Rajesh Padiyar followed by a Veda ghosham.

Nandagopal Shenoy, general secretary of the Vishwa GSB Convention gave the vote of thanks. Sanooru Narasimha Kamath, Karkala, compered the programme.

The formal function was followed by an interactive session on Education, Employment and Entrepreneurship which was presided by K Ullas Kamath of Jyothi Laboratories. Vathika Kamath Pai, Mangaluru, P Vilas Nayak Udupi and Narendra Nayak were the participants in the session.

Cultural programme and other interactive sessions formed part of the day’s programme.

Railway minister Suresh Prabhu who was to be the chief guest for the valedictory function did not attend the meeting but sent a video message conveying his good wishes. Dr Jagannath Shenoy, managing director of Ganesh Beedi works was the main guest at the valedictory function.

Konkani drama "Railway Platform" was staged as part of the cultural programme at the end.