Mangaluru: In a historic development for the organization, Konkani Bhasha Mandal Karnataka President K. Vasantha Rao has announced that, for the first time in its history, five awards will be presented during the Golden Jubilee celebration. The following awardees were selected for 2022 in the presence of the Executive Committee:
1) Lifetime Achievement Award: Ramadas Gulwadi, a senior citizen above 60 years of age, for his lifelong dedication to the promotion of the Konkani language.
2) Folk Award: Kalyanibai Neerkere, a Lokaved artist and village healer.
3) Konkani Worker Award: Appuraya Pai of Sagar, who sustains his livelihood solely through subscriptions to his Konkani weekly.
4) Youth Award: Clanvin Fernandes, Konkani drama/film actor.
5) Book Award: Kritika Kamath, who published her debut Konkani work.
In addition, 50 Konkani-speaking individuals from various communities across Karnataka, who have not yet received recognition for their service to Konkani, will be honored.
Recognizing the pivotal role that students play in safeguarding the language’s future, a competition has been organized for inter-school and college students, covering various activities. Cash prizes will be awarded to the winners. In a recent essay competition for Konkani students, Franklin Christan Castelino of Aloysius College secured the first position, followed by Aksatha Vinayak Shanbhag of Saraswati PUC College, Kumta, the second place, and Ravalnath R. Kamath, a Konkani MA student at Mangalore University, the third place.
Established on January 1, 1974, Konkani Bhasha Mandal Karnataka represents the unity of 42 dialects of Konkani spoken by people of diverse religious backgrounds, including Christians, Hindus, and Muslims. Led by twelve presidents to date, it was initiated by the legendary poet Chafra D’Costa, known as Konkani ‘Varakavi,’ with Austin D’Souza Prabhu as secretary and Fr Mark Walder, editor of Rakno magazine, as treasurer. Today it serves as the parent organization for all Konkani speakers’ associations.
In 1995, KBMK played a key role in organizing a World Konkani Convention, and to mark the occasion, dedicated the event’s proceeds to establish the Konkani Language and Culture Foundation. The organization has been instrumental in establishing the Karnataka Konkani Sahitya Academy at the state level and, at the national level, strived to include the Konkani language in Article VIII of the Constitution.
The Golden Jubilee programme, initiated by Manohar Kamath, Registrar of Konkani Sahitya Academy, in collaboration with 32 Konkani institutions, has seen various successful events throughout the year and is being concluded under the leadership of the organizer and secretary, Raymond D’Cunha Takode.
During the press conference, President K. Vasanth Rao, Secretary and Convener Raymond D’Cunha Takode, Convener of the Awards Dr Arvind Shanbhag, Patron Prashanth Shet, Treasurer Suresh Shenoy, Vice President Ratnakar Kudva, and Joint Secretary Juliet Fernandes were present.
Read more:
Mangaluru hosts 25th All India Konkani Literary Conference
Shankerpura Church wins Diocese-level Konkani singing competition