Pics: Meryick D’Silva
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore (NM)

Mangalore, Mar 30: The state Konkani Linguistic Minority Educational Institutions" Association, with the support of Konkani Sahitya Academy, organized a workshop on writing Konkani in Devanagari script, in the city on Saturday March 29.

As many as 60 teachers from three districts (Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, and Karwar) participated in the workshop.

Addressing the participants, Roy Castelino, president, Konkani Sahitya Academy, said, “We are committed to strengthening Konkani in the educational institutions, irrespective of the script in which it is written. After the continuous fight to add Konkani in the 8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution and setting up of a separate academy for Konkani, we have succeeded in introducing Konkani as the third language in the curriculum,” he said and added that the enrichment of Konkani literature gets more mileage if there are students learning it as part of academics.

He further said, “Konkani is spoken by Christians, Hindus, and also Muslims. There are nearly 41 communities speaking the language spread across many states. It is also written in five scripts. The academy will encourage Konkani literature in all scripts. Our aim is to enrich Konkani, its culture, and language.”

Prof Mohan Pai, president, Karnataka State Konkani Linguistic Minority Educational Institutions’ Association, said, “The Association was formed in 1983 and our voluntary efforts did not yield fruit as we had to work outside the educational system. In 2007, we had 28 students who took up Konkani in Devanagari script while the number has touched 303 in 2013,” he said, and added that Konkani in Devanagari script is taught in about 13 schools across the three districts.

Basti Vaman Shenoy, veteran Konkani activist, said, “After Konkani was introduced in schools, we hoped better days for Konkani and more takers. Many Konkani speaking persons own educational institutions. However, when it came to opting for Konkani as the third language, there were not many takers. Today, after the combined efforts of many people, we are seeing positive reciprocation.”

Konkani poet Melvyn Rodrigues said that Konkani language can alphabetically be better represented in the Devanagari script. "The Konkani written in Kannada has limited letters," he said, citing many examples.

Prof Madhav Pai, Gurudath Baliga, and Subhraya Pai were the resource persons.

Besides, Kalakul repertory of Mandd Sobhann staged a short play titled, ‘Bodlavonn’ ('Change') on the occasion. The play will be staged at several places across the state as part of a campaign to encourage Konkani in schools. Later in the evening, the same play was also presented at Konkani Sahitya Academy hall.