Media Release

Margao, Jul 9: The prestigious Gulab Awards 2010 for excellence in the Konkani tiatr, literary, social and sports fields will be presented to the meritorious winners at 3.30 pm on July 20 at Pai Tiatrist Auditorium, Ravindra Bhavan, Margao.

The function commemorates the 58th birth anniversary of Fr Freddy J Da Costa, the founder-editor of the Konkani monthly magazine Gulab, who had also instituted these Awards.

Fr Freddy J Da Costa began the publication of the Gulab Konkani monthly in Roman script in January 1983. With the view of preserving and fostering and propagating Goan culture, he also established the tradition of awarding every year those stars who had made notable contributions in various walks of Goan life.

In the beginning, the number of awards was seven – tiatrists who excelled in varied genres, Goan sportsperson of the year and a luminary who added to the prestige of Goa (the Gulab Man of the Year). The tradition has been maintained to date, the number of Awards having now reached 12. As the demand for comedians on the tiatr stage has increased in recent years, we now have two awards in this category – male comedian and female comedian.

Gulab Awards have attained a prestige of their own in the Tiatr world, and Goans eagerly await their announcement. Many people have compared these Awards to the Filmfare Awards given to Bollywood stars.

In commemoration of Fr Freddy’s own contribution to Konkani literature as well as his constant encouragement to budding writers, Fr Freddy J Da Costa Memorial Trust conducts a literary competition every year. The prizes of the 2010 edition will also be distributed to the respective winners during this function.

Filipe Nery Rodrigues, minister for water resources, government of Goa will be the chief guest of the awards function organized by the Fr Freddy J Da Costa Memorial Trust.

The Gulab Awards function will be accompanied by a colourful variety entertainment programme consisting of music, songs and comedy. All are cordially invited to attend the function in large numbers.

For entry cards, contact: Gulab office at Margao – 2715692 (Fabian G Da Costa), 9764706080 (Fr Manuel Gomes), 9960816598 (Prof S M Borges).