Damodar Mauzo bags Vimala V. Pai Vishwa Konkani Sahitya Puraskar 2011

Damodar Mauzo bags Vimala V. Pai Vishwa Konkani Sahitya Puraskar 2011

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, Nov 11, 2011 : Damodar Mauzo, the Konkani novelist and short story writer from Goa, received the Vimala V. Pai Vishwa Konkani Sahitya Puraskar 2011 at a glittering ceremony held at T. V. Raman Pai Convention Centre in Mangalore on Nov 10 Thursday.

The award was conferred on Mr. Mauzo by Pradhan Gurudutt, the chairman of Kuvempu Bhasha Bharathi Pradhikar in Bangalore in appreciation of his novel “Tsunami Simon.” Mauzo received a shawl, flowers, a citation, a memento, and a purse of Rs. 1 lakh. Vimala V. Pai, in whose honor the award is given away, presented the cheque to the writer.

Based on the tsunami theme, the novel speaks about the lives of the Kharvi community and their struggles to choose between age-old traditions and modern principles. Mauzo was selected by a jury of 5 under the leadership of Uday Bhembre, the Konkani writer.

In his address, Pradhan Gurudutt spoke of the role of awards in promoting good literature and of the need to translate good works into one’s own language. He also lauded the efforts of the World Konkani Centre (WKC) to promote Konkani language, culture, and traditions. Expressing his appreciation of the Konkani people for their valuable contributions in business, literature, art, education, culture, music, and others, he said that he would support them in any way he can.

Congratulating the writer, he said that Mauzo has taken up a very contemporary theme and that he has not come across any other book on the theme of tsunami.

Speaking on the occasion, Uday Bhembre said that all the judges had unanimously selected Tsunami Simon for its contemporary nature, language, characterization, and the struggle it illustrated.

In his address, Mauzo said that this is the greatest award he has ever received. Admitting that he was worried about the length of his novel, which is just 150 pages, he said that he gained inspiration from the fact that Julian Barnes won this year’s Man Booker Award for his 150-page book “The Sense of an Ending.”

T. V. Mohandas Pai, who had instituted the award in honor of his mother, and P. Dayananda Pai, the chairman of Konkani Language and Cultural Foundation, also spoke on the occasion.

Basti Vaman Shenoy, the president of World Konkani Centre, welcomed the gathering. Poet Melwyn Rodrigues and Dr. Kasturi Mohan Pai escorted Mauzo to the dais to the accompaniment of applause and music.

T. V. Ramachandra Pai, Venkatesh Baliga, Vimala V. Raman Pai, and others were the other dignitaries on stage. 
 

A cultural programme, comprising songs, the staging of a play called Runanubandha by Triveni Kala Sangama Mumbai, and others formed part of the event.

Earlier, Sandhya Pai, the editor of Taranga, inaugurated the book fair, after which the round table dialogue on Konkani literature was held. Uday Bhembre, the chairman of the event, was also its keynote speaker. A number of Konkani as well as non Konkani writers participated in this event. Some of the participants were P. Shivaraj, Sudesh Lotlikar, Pundalik Naik, Judy Pinto, Fr. Francis Rodrigues, Wilson Kateel, H. M. Pernal, Dr. L. Sunita Bai, A. G. Gopalakrishna, and others.