Pics: Spoorthi Ullal
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (ANK)
Mangaluru, Nov 20: The prestigious Vishwa Konkani Awards were conferred on five eminent achievers in various fields in a splendid ceremony held at Canara Girls High School here on Monday November 20.
Former vice-chancellor of Hampi Kannada University Dr B A Vivek Rai presented the Vimala V Pai Konkani Sahitya Puraskar to Gajanan Jog for his 'Khand Ani Her Katha' Konkani short stories, Vimala V Pai Vishwa Konkani Poetry Award to Wilson Kateel for his 'Encounter' anthology of Konkani poems, Basti Vaman Shenoy Vishwa Konkani Seva Puraskar to Dr G Nagendra Prabhu for his exemplary service in the field of science and research, and Dr Usha S Heranjal for her outstanding service in the field of healthcare.
Dr Tanaji Halarnkar was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to Konkani language movement.
Addressing the gathering, Dr B A Vivek Rai said, "I congratulate all the awardees. I have been watching the functioning of World Konkani Centre spearheaded by Basti Vaman Shenoy. The Vishwa Konkani Kendra is doing a tremendous job in emphasising Konkani language and culture. Most people believe in the concept of 'one state, one language'. But our country having myriad languages has led by example. Languages unite people of different religions. The Konkani speaking community is spread throughout the coastal belt from Goa to Kerala. People belonging to Muslim, Christain and Hindu communities speak Konkani. The language has thus united people of different communities.
"There is huge advantage in learning other languages, as by doing so, we also learn different cultures and traditions of different religions. So it is wrong to adopt the concept of one state, one language. Language unites communities, and we have made this possible," he said.
Chairman of Manipal Global Education T V Mohandas Pai said, "We need to emphasise and put efforts into saving our language and culture. Konkani has a vast history and our community should be united in taking our culture and language forward. Today we have awarded the prestigious awards to five achievers. We need to recognise those who contribute towards Konkani culture and language, only then can we be a rich, accomplish society.
"Today we are technically advanced due to which there is communication gap between people. The advent of WhatsApp and Facebook has meant less of TV viewers and lesser book readers. It is quite challenging, we need to think how we can take our culture forward when technology has advanced to such a great level. We should unite and take certain responsibility to take our language and culture forward," he said.
Concepta Fernandes compered the programme. President of World Konkani Centre Basti Vaman Shenoy welcomed the gathering.
Siddhartha Pai, vice-president, Vishwa Konkani Kendra, Venkatesh N Baliga, Ramdas Kamath, Jagadish Shenoy and others were present.