Further to mypost regarding Konkani-language magazines, I found another magazine, Paklleo, Januaru 2011 issue. It says it is a Republic Day Issue, and down below the masthead it says, Volume 5. It is priced at Rs 25. It is published and edited by Pandharinath Damodar Lotlikar. Printed on thick glossy paper, the 38-page issue (including covers) lacks enough content to justify its price. There are at least six gpvernment advertisements, including three full-colour ones on the inside front cover and the inside and back covers. I suppose these ads pay for the printing cost at least. This brings me to the editorial in the latest issue of Gulab. The editorial praises the recently-held Third Roman-script Konkani Conference in Goa, it also raises some pertinent questions on what such sammelans or conferences in reality help in pushing forward the Konkani-language movement. In my last post I asked what the circulations of both Gulab and Goykar magazines might be, but there has been no answers from Fausto V. Da Costa, editor of Gulab, and Tomazinho Cardozo, editor of Goykar. I wished that both, as members of Goanet, should have given us some idea about their circulation figures. I had also said that in my interactions with some young Goans and with some middle-aged persons, I found that they are not keen readers of Konkani magazines or literature. The Gulab editorial says that many Konkani books and magazines are not seen on the shelves of bookshops or in book stalls. It further adds that some magazines are only read by their publishers. The editorial says that some of these magazines are not available in the book stalls in Mumbai. The editorial also touches upon the issue of Konkani written in different scripts. I have not clearly understood what the editorial means by "... ek Rominentlean Romi borovpachi rit zalear dustri Nagrintlean Romi borovpachi rit, tisri Kon'noddantlean Romi borounchi rit and chovthi khunnamni borovpachi rit." Does it mean that besides Konkani written in Roman script, it is possible to write Devnagiri Konkani in Roman script as well in Kannada in Roman script? I have no knowledge what "khunnamni" means. I believed that Konkani can also be written in Malaylam script. Perhaps Fausto can explain all this numbo-jumbo in plain and simple English. The editoral harps on having "possitive thinking" to sort out the mess around the Konkani language issue. It calls for uniformity in written Konkani, meaning that Konkani must be written in proper grammatical manner. There should be consensus among Konkani scholars on the craft of writing Konkani. The different bodies, such as Dalgado Konkani Academy, the Thomas Stephens Konknni Kendra and the Goa Konkani Academy (though the latter is for Devnagiri Konkani but some of its members are also write in Romi Konkani), must work out their differences and settle for a form and style that is acceptable to the common people. I know it is not going to be easy as there is bound to be "clash of egos" or "personality clashes". The Konkani movement has many divisions. To bring them on a common front is a formidable task. The Gulab editorial says that today Romi Konkani lover has been "commercialized." It probably means that ealier the Konkani protagonists worked selflessly in the cause of the language but today the Konkani advocates seek to know what benefits they will get or how they will improve their "prospects" (as used in the editorial). I wish the organizers of the sammelan publish the papers read at the meet. It would then be readily available to those who could not attend the conference and also to those keen followers of the language issue. Lay people would appreciate to read what the scholars of the language have said.
Eugene Correia in Goa
