Media Release

Mangaluru, Sep 2: Dr Praveen Martis, the vice chancellor of St Aloysius Deemed University, released Nav-Rang, a collection of plays and essays by Eddie Sequeira, the renowned playwright, stage artiste, and director, at a programme held at Sahodaya in St Aloysius Deemed University on the evening of August 31, Saturday.

The esteemed guests of the event were Stephen Pinto, the advisor of Michael D'Souza Trust, which funded the publication of the book, and H M Pernal, the editor of the online magazine, Kittall.

Expressing his appreciation of the lifetime achievements of Eddie Sequeira to Konkani culture and literature, Dr Praveen Martis said that the contributions of Konkani writers, musicians, singers, playwrights, stage artists, and others who pursued their interests as hobbies while managing challenging jobs in Mangaluru, Mumbai, and the Gulf countries are significantly greater than those of learned Konkani scholars.

Eddie Sequeira has written, directed, and acted in countless Konkani plays depicting the life and culture of Konkani speakers residing in the coastal region. The highlight of the event was a 40-minute performance, during which Eddie Sequeira shared his experiences as a stage artist and presented selected dialogues from his plays. Zeena Braggs, a noted Konkani stage artist, joined him.

Nav-Rang is a 160-page collection of Eddie Sequeira's plays and essays. As pointed out by Dr Praveen Martis, it is the 28th book to be published by St Aloysius Prakashan. The book costs Rs 200.

Dr Vidhya Vinutha D'Souza, the chair of St Aloysius Prakashan, the publication unit of St Aloysius (Deemed) University, welcomed the gathering. Titus Noronha, the Konkani writer and thinker, was the master of ceremonies. Christopher Neenasan, the well-known Konkani stage artiste, assisted in the sound and light arrangements.