by Anisa Fathima
April 15, 2007
The city skies were all ablaze with vibrant colours at the beginning of the week with the Suryakiran aerobatics team of Indian Air Force mesmerising Mangaloreans with an air show they are not likely to forget soon. While excitement was sky-high, the MCC decided to keep a tab on ground realities by scrutinising the traffic problems in the city’s Bunts' Hostel area and promising some measures to ease the traffic.
Meanwhile celebrities continued to flock to the coastal region to seek divine blessings, and this time it was the turn of Bollywood evergreen beauty Dimple Kapadia. Hopes of the commencement of passenger train to Hassan-Bangalore went a notch higher with the Commissioner of Railway Safety inspecting the rail track and certifying its safety.
Mangalore: Breath-taking Air Show Keeps Crowds on their Toes at Panambur
Mangalore: Measures to Ease Traffic Congestion near Bunts' Hostel on the Anvil
Mangalore: Dimple Kapadia Visits Shri Kshetra Dharmasthala
Mangalore: Hopes of Early Resumption of Trains to Bangalore Brighten
Moving Ahead, Literally
The announcement of the 18th All-India Konkani Sahitya Sammelan to be held in May at Goa, and the Kannada Sahitya Sammelan to be held later this year was made during the course of the week. The conventions will be eagerly awaited by the literary greats of the country of both languages, and for the spectator, it will be a treat to watch - poetry in motion, literally!
Both conferences promise to be grand affairs, but the real purpose of the meets shouldn’t be just interaction between literary figures, but a concerted effort towards taking steps to preserve language and culture. The conferences should encourage young people to take up literature, if not as a subject of study, at least as an area of interest.
Also, it is a platform to address the problems faced by the languages – like the influence of other languages in colloquial usage. That the Kannada literary conference will be inaugurated by a non-Kannadiga is a good sign, as far as promoting Kannada is concerned, but a more fitting person would be one who has contributed immensely to the preservation and promotion of the language.
Mangalore: Goa to Host All-India Konkani Sahitya Sammelan
Udupi: District to Host Kannada Literary Conference in October
Tipper – A Serial Killer?
A week cannot be complete with an accident involving a bus, a lorry or a tipper. Like last week, this week too we had a recklessly driven tipper, which caused a serial accident critically injuring two and damaging five vehicles.
Things seem to be going too far and out of control. Every week we witness accidents involving tippers, but nothing is done to keep their drivers in check. The authorities as well as the owners of the tippers haven’t done a thing to keep tab on the driving ethics of their employees.
Most of the time the time-bound drivers are in a big hurry to get to their destinations, and the size of their vehicles probably gives them a sense of superiority which translates in to reckless driving. Who will pay for the damages and the lives lost? In fact, in most cases, it is the drivers of the smaller vehicles that meet their ends – not the tipper drivers responsible for the accident.
Damages to the vehicles can be made good, but can anyone set a price on someone’s life?
Mangalore: Serial Accident Leaves 2 Injured, 5 Vehicles Damaged - Pics
The Art of Loving
At times, we tend to forget that people who have done wrong are human beings too – that they too have an inner voice and a conscience, and sometimes, reaching out and touching the chords of their innermost thoughts can bring about a change in them. This is what members of the Vyakti Vikas Kendra have realized – they are all set to address the prisoners in jails with a session on Art of Living.
The idea is not a shot in the dark - it has been tried and tested before, and the second of its kind follows the success of the first attempt. Spirituality is inborn – even the atheists have a belief in some divine being. It is widely accepted belief that nobody is a born criminal – it is the circumstances and environment that lead a person to seek revenge with a world and turn anti-social.
It would even be commendable if the authorities brought in regular spirituality and personality enhancement courses inside the high walls of the prisons. The concept of punishment should revolve around reformation, and not just seclusion from the society, which, sometimes backfires and makes the individual even hungrier for crime.
Mangalore: Art of Living Course for Hardcore Criminals
Kannada or Devanagiri for Konkani? How about English!
The debate over Konkani script in schools is refusing to simmer down. While the Konkani Linguistic Minority Educational Institutions’ Association wants both Devanagiri and Kannada scripts, the state Konkani Sahitya Academy is vouching for a single script, and backing Kannada.
This is an interesting debate. The flag-bearers of Konkani had fought a long and determined battle to introduce Konkani as a language of study in schools, but now that the battle has been won, a new debate ensues. Keeping in mind that the students who would study Konkani might even be from states like Goa or NRIs, it would be a good idea to have the language taught in English or Devanigiri script. For a Konkani speaking NRI student, the difficulty will be double – to learn Kannada first in order to read Konkani!
On the other hand, Kannada being the first or second language in almost all schools, the students will find using the Kannada script easier. The decision should be taken only after a consensus on the issue, which should include parents, teachers and students as well. After all, it is not about preserving Kannada, but learning Konkani.
Mangalore: Konkani to be Taught in Kannada, Devanagiri Scripts
Mangalore: Konkani in Schools - Script Row Under Debate
Wish for Water Washed Away
It was an amusing end to the week. The MCC, while shifting the pipelines to facilitate the work on NH 48, suddenly realized that several people were illegally drawing water for their homes from the 18 MGD pipe. Furious at this, the officials cut off all the illegal connections, which in turn infuriated the law-breakers who marched to Thumbe and shut off the main supply pump. After several arguments and promises, they finally relented and water pumps at Thumbe were back to work.
Well, well, well! What do we have here? A group of people drawing water illegally, and then arguing when their act is discovered. We talk of politicians and bureaucrats who are corrupt, but what about the citizens? So many stay on illegal lands, so many take water illegally, and instead of accepting their mistake, they fight back! The MCC has done the right thing in cutting off their connections; in fact, it should have taken a more severe stand. We cannot always whine that officials target only commoners while those in power always escape – what is illegal is illegal, whoever it may be. This may be perhaps one reason why the city is facing shortage of water – the water supplied to the city passes through these very pipes from which these people were stealing water.
Bantwal: Shifting of Water Pipe - Locals Take MCC Officials to Task
That was quite a pleasant week, except for the ghastly accident. With brief but blessed showers cooling down the city at the end of the week, the temperatures may be down, but the days ahead will definitely bring some hot news and hopefully there won’t be any fatal accidents with tippers.
See you next week!
Anisa Fathima
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Anisa Fathima - from 'Exclusive Archives'