Moves on for ’Konkani Chair’ at MU - Sahitya Academy

Moves on for ’Konkani Chair’ at MU - Sahitya Academy

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, July 5, 2014: It is learnt that concrete moves are initiated to establish a chair in Konkani at Mangalore University, from what Roy Castelino, president, Konkani Sahitya Academy said on July 3. The academy has taken up the issue with chief minister Siddaramaiah, ministers including R V Deshpande, Kimmane Rathnakar, and Umashree and vice-chancellor K Byrappa. The proposed chair could become a reality by next year, Castelino said.

 

 

Presiding over the inauguration of the first ever Konkani Club for schools and PU colleges under the academy’s first initiative, at Rosario College; the initiative to set up clubs in 50 schools/colleges, the first of which has been set up in Rosario PU College, Castelino said the academy has lined up series of such programmes. "The academy wants to rope in youth in its aim to promote Konkani language, for they alone can be the torchbearers for the language," he said, adding the clubs will provide a forum for Konkani speaking youth to showcase their talent.

Although Konkani is being taught in schools as third optional language for the past seven years, the natural extension of the teaching the language in PU colleges has not yet been realized, he said. The academy now intends to take this objective further by setting up clubs, he said, adding that this is important given that the number of people speaking Konkani is on the decline. The academy will open  clubs by March 2015.

The academy has drawn up an ambitious plan to release two Konkani publications each month and has released eight books in the past four months, Castelino said. "The academy already has manuscripts for 10 books ready with it and these will be released over the next five months," he said, adding that the academy will publish books on merit and market them as well through the Konkani Bazaar that will take these books to doorsteps of readers.

B Devadas Pai, registrar of the academy, said the academy is opening clubs to provide a proper learning environment and also instill love for Konkani among youth. The move to bring out books of authors from different dialects of the language too is aimed at encouraging all sections of the language speakers, he said.