Umesh Marpalli
Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (SP)
Udupi, Jul 22: Under the leadership and guidance of Kasargod Chinna, who happens to be the immediate past president of Karnataka Konkani Sahitya Academy, an award-winning film director, dramatist and cine actor, a two-day state level Kokani Sahitya Samskriti Sammelan – 2014 (Konkani literary and cultural meet) is being organized at R S B auditorium in Manipal on August 23 and 24.
The organizers said that the two-day Konkani literary and cultural festival, which will be held at architect of Manipal, Dr T M A Pai Nagar Manipal and will unfold to the participants Rashtrakavi Manjeshwar Govinda Pai.
The programmes will begin with the hoisting of the flag containing the emblem of the Sammelan at 10 am on August 23. A procession comprising of about 20 cultural groups will be led from Syndicate Circle Manipal to R S B auditorium via Tiger Circle and Golden Jubilee Hall at 3 pm. The procession will have dignitaries, guests, scholars, artists, littérateurs, poets, and leaders of the Konkani community as its participants.
The programme will be presided over by M V Kamath, a veteran of Konkani community, who also happens to be an editor and a columnist. Gopalakrishna Pai, Jayanth Kaikini, S M Krishna Rao, Puttur Narasimha Nayak, Padma Shenoy and Ananth Prabhu, will be some of the leading Konkani personalities who are expected to take part in the two-day programme.
At the Sammelan, Konkani achievers who have served different spheres of the society including Konkani language and culture will be felicitated. At the yard of the venue, stalls of Konkani books and CDs, paintings by Konkani artistes, exhibition of ancient and antique Konkani display and Konkani delicacies will be held. The Sammelan will also have seminars, poets' meets, plays and other cultural programmes. The Sammelan plans to bring 42 communities in the state like Mangalore Catholic Christians, Muslim Navayats, Kudubis and others from Karnataka, who speak different Konkani dialects, under one roof. About 4,000 delegates are expected to take part in the Sammelan.
A programme of releasing Konkani books and CD's will also be held on the occasion. If anyone from the Konkani community has written novels, poems and so on in Konkani and have printed them, or created Konkani CDs, they will be released in the presence of stalwarts of the community at the said dais. Interested persons belonging to the Konkani community are requested to contact the Sammelan organizing committee for details.
This information was given by Kasargod Chinna, who addressed a press conference here on Saturday. The press conference was attended by Amruth Shenoy, Mahesh Thakur, Nagesh Kumar, Janardan Bhandarkars and members of the organizing committee.