By Alok S, Team Mangalorean
Pics by Alok S & JP

Mangalore: The Karnataka Konkani Sahitya Academy (KKSA)'s 'Konkani Sahitya Rath' campaign was flagged off at the Lourdes Central School (LCS) campus here on Thursday morning, June 21.

The opening ceremony was inaugurated by Expert Education Trust president Prof Narendra L Nayak. During the campaign, the Academy will donate more than eighteen thousand books in Konkani of Rs ten lakh value to 120 schools.

In his inaugural speech Narendra Nayak lauded astute and intelligent KKSA president  Kasargod Chinna for having formed a wonderful team for the propagation of the Konkani language. He said, "Konkani students are comparatively more intellectual when compared to others. We need experts in all fields, be it Journalism, Engineering, Medicine, Law or any other field. Today there is a need for career guidance, not only for students but also their parents to help their children choose the right careers. If our country gets a large number of good teachers, it will surely be the best country in world."

'Konkani Sahitya Rath' convener Roy Castelino welcomed the gathering. DK district DDPI Moses Jayashekar said that it was important to develop one's mother-tongue and acknowledged the dedication of KKSA in doing so. "This is evident in the 100% result scored by the 61 students who answered Konkani as their third language paper in the recent Tenth standard board exams" he added.

LCS correspondent Dr Victor Machado speaking on the occasion congratulated the KKSA on taking up this cause of donating Konkani books to encourage readership of the Konkani language. He also assured that the school will teach the language in the best possible way.

Mannd Sobhann gurkar and former KKSA President Eric Ozario speaking on the occasion expressed total satisfaction over the result of the hard work put in by KKSA. He recalled that when the need for establishment of Konkani Sahitya Academy was felt, a demand was made to the then chief minister Veerappa Moily. Moily felt that along with Konkani other languages also needed a 'Sahitya Academy', therefore the Tulu and Kodava Sahitya Academies were born, said Ozario. He also recognized the major contribution and leadership of Kasargod Chinna in his tenure as the KKSA president.

Chinna also spoke on the occasion and said that the motto of this campaign was to take the Konkani language to the next generation. He announced that the academy would organize Konkani cultural events every 15 days in the premises wherein students from schools and colleges would take part. Additionally the academy is chalking out plans to host a convention of Konkani film and theatre artistes soon. A Konkani Yuva Vidyarthi Sammelan in December is also on the cards. 

Vitori Karkal compered the programme. Assistant convener Mahesh R Nayak delivered a vote of thanks.

LCS principal Fr Ferdinand Gonsalves, Ashok Shet, Stany Alvares and Rajaram Nayak were also present on the occasion.

The closing ceremony of the 'Konkani Sahitya Rath' will be held at the Canara Girl's Higher Primary School, Dongarakeri, on Friday June 22, where former minister and Mangalore north MLA Krishna J Palemar will deliver the closing message. Kasargod Chinna, Shrikar Prabhu, Pradeep Pai and Vaman Kamath will also be present.