1. Commemorative Lecture
In pursuance of the goals set, a Commemorative Lecture is conceived as an annual event. The first such lecture was delivered by Adv. Uday Bhembre, a well known Konkani writer, Activist, Ex-MLA and President of Asmitai Pratishtan, Goa. It was held at Ernakulam on 13th March 2011. Apart from a Talk Session the event also comprised of a Multilingual poetry session, where poets from five different languages read out two of their poems each. The session was made a unique experience with the Konkani translation of these poems also being prepared and read out during the same session. Such events will be organised in the first quarter every year, with eminent orators delivering the lecture.
2. Publication of Books
We have published an Anthology of Konkani poems, written by P.G.Kamath, titled ‘Ollokh’ (Cognizance). This posthumous publication contains 28 poems, with a caricature of the late poet, drawn by Nikhil M Pai, a young artiste from Mangalore, put up on the front cover.
We are also glad to facilitate the distribution of Konkani books. First in the series is ‘Choola’, the Malayalam translation of the Konkani novel (Hawthan) by Mahabaleshwar Sail. The translation is done by Dr. (Mrs) L. Suneeta Bai and published by Konkani Bhas Ani Sanskriti Pratishtan, World Konkani Centre, Mangalore.
We are also planning to partner with other publishers in bringing out Malayalam translations of Konkani works. As part of this activity we propose to bring out an Annual Digest, first number to come out soon. There are also many titles lined up for publication, including some reprints of valuable works otherwise not available now, to appear after a gap of several decades.
3. Music Performances
We also invited Pandit Upendra Bhat of Pune, the renowned disciple of Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, for a performing event. An Interactive session with the great singer, for the benefit of music students was organised on 07 May 2011, which was inaugurated by Sri. Nilkant Halarnkar, Minister for Tourism, Govt. of Goa. A second program was conducted on 08 May 2011 in partnership with Sangam Kala Group, and both the events were well received by music lovers and media alike. Audio & Video Compact Disks of the event has been released. We plan to put up similar performing events encouraging the talented young artists in due course.
4. Seminars and Workshops
It is our goal to spread awareness of our cultural traditions and also to promote campaigns holding our heritage high. As part of this, a Seminar on Konkani Folklore was organised at Cochin on 25 September 2011 in collaboration with other NGOs like Anugraha Charitable Trust, Kerala Konkani Academy and Konkani Sahitya Samaj. Dr. Jayanti Naik, winner of The first N.M.Saraswati Bai Puraskar, inaugurated the event. We are also planning to organise Workshops focussing different aspects of arts and literature.
5. Audio and Video Disks
The present technological advancements could not have been tapped by our elders who lived in hardships and for obvious reasons could not reach out to the general public to a large extent. In order to document these precious works, we are planning to bring out audio and video disks containing the recordings for the benefit of our generation.
First in the series, an Audio CD “Rangaantaranga” containing 12 devotional songs by R.Ranganatha Prabhu, was released on 06 Nov ’11. An advantage of such disks is that these can be enjoyed without any stress on reading, without any limitation or constraints of scripts and being user friendly at one’s CD Players, desktops or laptops.
6. Exhibitions / Show Events
It will be our pleasure to put up creative works on display. It could be books, Films, CDs , Cartoons or Paintings. We arranged an event on 22 May 2011 at Cochin, to Honour the artistes from NANDU, the first Konkani Short film to get a Censor Certificate from Kerala. The 30 Minute long film was also screened during the event. Similar events are also mooted, to be held in due course, to recognize and encourage the budding young talents of our times.
We have also facilitated sales counters to make available books in and on Konkani language on different occasions, thereby facilitating the publications to reach out to the public.
7. Other challenges
We place on record our satisfaction of persuading SCERT in activating the Konkani Text Book Committee. The Board for Certification of Films, Thiruvananthapuram, does not have Konkani knowing experts on their panel, which was overcome with our suggested work around. This enabled them in getting the first Konkani Short Film NANDU a Censorship Certificate. We have also initiated action plans with the Government of Kerala to form an autonomous body in line with the aspirations of the Konkani community in the State. Efforts are on to facilitate time slots dedicated to Konkani language programs in the visual media, in a couple of channels, to start with.
