Is Konkani dying?
A. S. Prabhu, Moira.
I HAVE BEEN a witness to the language controversy raging in Goa for the past three decades. So much so that it acquired agitational approach taking a toll of several people, the most known is one Floriano Vaz, who innocently under the patronage of fence sitters met with his death and was declared a martyr.
Over the years the Konkani movement has been politicised by governments in power. The moot question coming to my mind is, Has Konkani achieved the desired status? As a blue blooded Goan born and bred on this sacred red soil and now in my late 60s, I emphatically say, NO. Why and who is to be blamed for this mess? Some wizards say that the colonial rulers are to be squarely blamed for keeping killing the language. Agree, but what have we Indians done in the last 43 years?
I give the sequence of events that may answer some of these pertinent questions. Konkani is a language derived from Sanskrit and is spoken in different parts of the Konkan Region of Maharashtra, Karnataka and parts of Kerala in differing accents. But the heartland of Konkani is Goa where more than 95% of the population speak and use use it. Except that for a bigger part of Portuguese rule it was transcripted in Roman script as Devanagri script was not popular. This is past and let it be buried under the debris. Let us move ahead.
Konkani has been accorded �Official language' status in Devanagri. Have any serious efforts been made by all the successive governments to ensure that it moves forward so that it can be used for official transactions? If Konkani is not moving forward it is solely because of Goans who have an aversion for their mother tongue and are obsessed with an inferiority complex. No language determines the status of a person, on the contrary knowledge of any language is an additional qualification. Personally I know seven languages almost to perfection but even at this age would not shy away from learning more languages.
I feel sad that in our villages even children of middle class families with illiterate or semi-literate parents feel shy to speak Konkani and fire English. Broken English like, "�Mummy chicken where gone?" Even the rosary and church prayers are recited in English and not in our �mai bhas' (mother tongue). People do not like to be told the ground realities vis-�-vis this language controversy.
If this is the tendency how can Konkani come to the centre stage and acquire prominence? Go to any part of the world and the natives speak and write their own language. English is an international language and retains its prominence. A section of Goans are to be blamed for this sordid state of affairs. If Konkani has been preserved at last at this level the credit should go to our tiatrists and our clergy who have used if from time immemorial from stage and the pulpit for delivery of dramas/sermons/homilies. The lower strata of people and invariably Hindus whole heartedly use Konkani on a day-to-day basis. People should be realistic and not be enslaved by false pride and coin slogans like �Konknim uloi, Konnin boroi ani konnin raj choloi.�
(courtesy: Independent Goa Observer website)
UPCOMING EVENTS IN KUWAIT:
MAY BALL 2005
Organized by Goan Welfare Society (GWS)-Kuwait
Date: 12th May 2005, Venue: Safir Palace Hotel, Riggea
Band: Stepping Stones Highlights: Crowning of the MAY QUEEN 2005.
Enjoy the Goan hospitality at its best.
MARIO DE MAJORDA's KONKANI DRAMA "CHUKLELIM PANVLAM"
Presented by FERNS BROTHERS.
Date: 24th June 2005, Venue: Hawalli A/C. Auditorium.
KONKANI MUSICAL SHOW "Tum Voir Aum Sokol" - A Rip-Roaring Comedy
Blockbuster. Cast: Formidable artistes from Goa, Mumbai and Kuwait.
Date: 9th Sept. 2005 Venue: Hawalli A/C. Auditorium
Written & Directed by Kuwait's Konkani Comedian Philip.
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