Media Release

Mangaluru, Sep 1: Lavi Ganjimat, a renowned Konkani writer, and 'Amche Sheth,' the parish magazine from St Joseph Church, Bajpe, were awarded the 'Raknno Sahithi Prashasthi - 2024' and 'Raknno Athyuththam Firgoz Pathr Prashasthi - 2024,' respectively, at a ceremony held on Sunday, September 1 at the Mangalore Bishop House Hall. The Bishop of Mangalore, Dr Peter Paul Saldanha, presented these inaugural awards alongside Raknno Editor Fr Rupesh Madtha.

Raknno is a Konkani-English bilingual weekly run by the Diocese of Mangalore since 1938. It provides spiritual, social, cultural, and political analysis to Konkani readers worldwide.

The program began with a prayer led by Mulki parish writers, followed by a welcome address from Fr Rupesh Madtha. Dr Edward Nazreth introduced the awardees, and the awards were then presented by the bishop. The awardees shared their views and expressed gratitude to the organizers. In his address, the bishop highlighted the beauty of the Konkani language and thanked the writers for their efforts in promoting Konkani language and culture. He also commended the services of Raknno weekly.

Konkani writers' gathering

Following the awards ceremony, an input session was held where renowned poet Andrew L D’Cunha, awardee Lavi Ganjimat, and Fr Ivan D'Souza OCD, editor of the 'Naman Balok Jezu' Konkani Monthly, spoke on various aspects of literature. Fr Rupesh Madtha moderated the discussions and facilitated interventions from the audience. All guests and speakers were presented with a book as a memento.

Francis D'Cunha from Mulki compered the event, while Pramod Hospet managed the logistics. Around 100 notable editors and writers, including Dolphy Cascia, Richard Moras, H R Alva, Fr A D Lima, and Jason S D B, attended the event. The program concluded with lunch at 1 pm.