*GUJ condoles death of veteran journalist and freedom fighter Gurunath Kelekar*
The Goa Union of Journalists (GUJ) condoles the passing away of veteran journalist and freedom fighter Gurunath Kelekar. Following a prolonged illness, Kelekar breathed his last on Tuesday. He was 91 and is survived by his son and two daughters. Kelekar was instrumental in establishing ‘Novem Goem’, a fortnightly Konkani magazine post liberation in 1962. After the closure of ‘Novem Goem’ in 1970, Kelekar started ‘Goencho Mog’, a weekly in Roman Konkani. In the 80’s, Kelekar strongly felt a need for a full-fledged daily newspaper in Konkani language. He joined hands with trade union leader Christopher Fonseca and formed ‘Novem Goem Pratishthan’ and took out a 67-day long padyatra across the state of Goa, collecting funds for the herculean task. With the funds that he collected, Kelekar started an eveninger ‘Novem Goem’ in Roman Konkani. The eveninger couldn’t be sustained for long due to shortage of funds. Kelekar consistently expressed his thoughts through his writings and columns in various newspapers and magazines. He will be remembered for his writings on Constitutional values and Gandhian thoughts. The Goa Union of Journalists conveys its deepest sympathies to the Kelekar family. -- FN* फ्रेड्रिक नोरोन्या * فريدريك نورونيا +91-9822122436
