Report and Pics by Vinay Pais
Daijiworld Media Network – Kundapur (RD/SP)
Kundapur, Sep 4: ‘Konkani Divas’ was celebrated by the city-based Konkani Ghar, a popular centre for all Konkani cultural activities, at Brahmashree Guru Narayan complex, here recently. It was held at the auspices of ‘Jai Konkani (regd)’ organization.
Mangalore Konkani Language and Cultural Foundation president Basti Vaman Shenoy, after inaugurating the annual celebrations, said, “In spite of being linguistic minority, Konkani-speaking people, perhaps, are the most privileged people of the country, as their mother tongue has been recognized in the Eighth schedule of our constitution. It is now possible for the youth of our community to compete in the highest public service examination – IAS, by writing answers in their own mother tongue. It also makes our intellectuals eligible for the highest literary award – ‘Jnan Pith’, which was recently conferred on a Goan Konkani poet- Kelkar. Besides, any Konkani literary work- original or translated, can compete for the Kendra Sahitya Academy award, New Delhi. To top it all, we have the right to teach our children up to Class XI with Konkani as the medium of instruction. But, the onus of propagating the language absolutely lies on the Konkans,” he said.
Shenoy also added, “it is therefore incumbent on our people to forego ‘Mommy Daddy’ culture and opt for ‘Avai Bappai’ language, not only at home, but also outside as well, and as and when we meet our own people. Kundapur, unlike any other regions of this country, is a unique place, where nearly sixteen spoken dialects of Konkani language can be heard,” he observed.
As a part of the celebrations, Konkani students of local schools and colleges were felicitated by Kundapur Working Journalists Association.
Swathi Shet of SDM College Udupi and Nikhil Kamath of Venkataramana English Medium School were the chief guests.
Divya Nayak of Bandarkhar’s College presided over the function.
Keerthi Bhat welcomed the guest. U S Shenoy, convener of ‘Jai Konkani’ delivered the introductory speech.