Mangalore, Aug 21, 2014: Karnataka Konkani Sahitya Academy organized daylong event to commemorate twenty-second anniversary of Konkani Manyata Divas, a milestone event of inclusion of Konkani in the eighth schedule of national constitution, at Town Hall, here on Wednesday August 20.  It has indeed united 41 Konkani speaking groups across Karnataka hailing from 3 major religions.

Karnataka health and family welfare minister U T Khader inaugurated the programme by beating Konkani traditional drum ‘Gumat’ here on Wednesday morning.

Speaking on the occasion, minister U T Khader appreciated the contribution of the Konkani speaking communities to the region. He said, ‘The Konkani speaking people have not only been a reason for the development of the coastal districts of Karnataka but also made everyone proud by their rich culture. It may be the tile factories or the hospitals. Their contribution for the development of this region is commendable,’ said minister Khader.

‘One needs to give importance to the linguistics in the curriculum. It’s the language which helps a person mingle in the society. Since this land is the land of many languages we should put an effort to learn the languages of other religions to know their culture,’ said minister U T Khader.

Karnataka Konkani Sahitya Academy president Roy Castelino said, ‘Konkani is the mother tongue of people of 41 groups of all 3 major religions of the state. It is the only language to have 5 different scripts and above all it marks ‘Unity in Diversity’, the uniqueness of India,’ said Roy.

University College Professor Dr Jayavanth Nayak delivered a talk on inclusion of Konkani in the eighth schedule of national constitution.

MLC Ivan D’Souza who spoke on the occasion said, ‘The activities of the Karnataka Konkani Sahitya Academy have considerably increased and henceforth there is a need to increase the governments grant to the Academy. Along with this, facilities and allowances allotted for the president and the members should be improvised for their tireless efforts in organizing these activities,’ said MLC Ivan.

MLC Ivan promised to address the council meeting in Konkani during upcoming session.

Mangalore south MLA J R Lobo in his presidential address said, ‘For the success of any organization the dedication of the members will be the key factor. Even though there are many organizations, Tulu and Konkani are the only ones to organize more activities,’ said MLA Lobo.

‘We have the responsibility to foster the rich Konkani culture among next generation,’ said MLA Lobo.

A book titled ‘Konkani Kastoori’ authored by Steven Quadras was released on the same occasion.

Thirty Konkani organizations that rendered their service to promote Konkani were honored during the programme.

The cultural group of Rosario College bagged the first prize in the competitions held during morning session.

The fellowship worth Rs 1 lac was distributed to 3 scholars of Konkani who submitted the thesis on selected subjects in Konkani.

Karnataka Konkani Sahitya Academy former presidents Eric Ozario and Basti Vaman Shenoy, Academy registrar Dr Devdas Pai, Konkani Prachar Sanchalan president Stany Alvares were present at the dais.

Earlier to the formal ceremony, 8 Konkani cultural groups began their march from 8 directions of city met at Hampankatta circle and marched towards the venue at Town Hall.

Courtesy : Bellevision