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PICTORAL COMIC FORMAT BOOK IN KONKANI: Cecil Pinto
first-ever pictoral comic format book in Konkani, to be
brought out by S. Chittaranjan Nayak of Kochi. See
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/mp/2004/03/01/stories/2004030101290200.htm
This writers' network http://groups.yahoo.com/group/goawriters
is open to those serious about writing. Contact Cecil (above)
for details.
A NEW MAILING LIST ON WRITING in Romi Konkani. Check out
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/tskk-writing
An introduction: "This group consists of persons
interested to write Konkani in Roman script using
the scientific system developed by Thomas Stephens
Konknni Kendr (TSKK), Alto Porvorim, Goa, India.
Subscribers will be given information about Konkani
language, literature, publications, etc (in any
script) only in Roman script using the TSKK
orthography. They are encouraged to give feed back
preferably in Konkani. Spread the word about this
yahoo group to your friends. If they want to
receive regular mail in Konkani in Roman script,
ask them to subscribe to this group. Thanks --
Pratap Naik, S.J.
SUGGESTIONS TO EXPATS: Thomas Stephens Konknni Kendra's Fr
Pratap Naik SJ
list of suggestions on what non-resident Goans can do for
Konkani:
NRI Konkanis (Konkani speakers or their
descendents) from Karnataka and Mumbai have done
and continue to do a lot for Konkani and Konkanis
of their region. Now it is the turn of Goan NRIs to
do something concrete and meaningful for their
mother tongue Konkani. Let them not waste their
time in endless discussions. Instead let them do
something worthwhile for Konkani. I propose a few
areas for their Action Plan.
* Since Konkani in Roman script was neglected from the time
of liberation, now we have to work for giving Konkani in
Roman script its rightful place. Therefore, bring pressure on
local MLAs, MPs, and government to amend the Official
Language Act 1987 to get official and equal status for Roman
script on par with Devanagari script.
* Launch a secular Konkani weekly in Roman script. It should
not be a mouthpiece of any particular political party or
government. It should fearlessly speak out for Goa and issues
related to Goa. Such a weekly will promote critical thinking
among local people and value-based political, social life style.
* NRIs could select and publish every year at least
10 Konkani books of a good standard written in
Roman script. Let them start their own publishing
house of a standard like Penguin, Oxford, Cambridge
or Macmillan.
* Publish children's literature. To promote Konkani among
children, a children's multi coloured periodical is really
necessary and need of the hour.
* NRIs could establish few awards (Rs. 50,000 to 100,000)in
the name of their clubs or institutions and give them
annually to a deserving person for his/her lifetime
achievement to serve Konkani in Roman script. Four such
awards were established for those who write Konkani in
Kannada script.
* Organise annual competitions or festivals for adults such
as: Tiatr, Khell-Tiatr, Khell, One act play, Kantaram, Mando,
Christmas Carols, devotional hymns, motets.
* Organise annual competitions for adults: short story,
novel, article, poem, article, elocution, etc.
* Organise annual competitions in two categories, namely for
high school students and college students: elocution, essay,
short story, poetry, folk story narration, Konkani riddles
and proverbs, look at a picture and write a caption, etc
* Select the first three tiatrs which win prizes at Kala Akademi
competition, and have Tiatr festivals in important towns of
Goa. Through these festivals the young tiatrists will get an
exposure to their talents and creativity.
* Produce good quality audio CDs of Kantaram, songs and jokes.
* Give scholarships/grants to do research on various topics related to
Konkani in Roman script.
* Establish a full-time Konkani channel for entertainment and
news. Such a channel will give a boost to Konkani and
talents of younger generation. 13. For whatever reason NRIs
cannot attend to item numbers 1 to 12 on their own, then let
them financially support or sponsor projects of those
institutions which promote Konkani language, literature and
culture in Goa.
VIEWPOINT FROM VASCO: Neeraja Vaidya - Yadav
Read your (GNB) post in VU (Vascokars United).
There's a site called mayaboli (i think,
www.mayaboli.com) where people post in Roman
Marathi or Devanagari enabled by the site,
whichever they feel like. The aim is communication.
You have to be able to get across to the other
person what you want to say, that's all.
I often read stories by Christian boys in Sunaparant. They
write perfect Konkani, but I wonder if that's the kind of
dialect they speak in, at home. Their dialect is probably
closer to Romi, but they've learnt Nagari in school, so they
follow that grammar...
My favourite in Sunaparant is Anton Chepekar and his kind of
Konkani. That is mostly followed only by Romi writers.
Sunaparant/Bimb/Jaag and Gulab should publish articles from
each-other's paper/magazine. You don't see Christian writers
in Bimb. Do you see Hindus writing in Gulab? This might soon
turn into a religious issue otherwise....
A PRESCRIPTION FOR KONKANI? Cecil Pinto forwards a word from
Anu Garg's Wordsmith
"Perhaps Konkani needs heterography instead of
Standardization."
heterography (het-uh-ROG-ruh-fee) noun
1. A spelling different from the one in current use.
2. Use of the same letter(s) to convey different sounds,
for example, gh in rough and ghost.
[From Greek hetero (different) + -graphy (writing).]
The idea of heterography is a recent phenomenon, relatively
speaking. Earlier, when English was mainly a spoken language,
it was a free-for-all, spelling-wise. Any spelling was good
as long as you could make yourself understood. Each writer
spelled words in his own way, trying to spell them
phonetically. Shakespeare spelled his own name in various
ways (Shaxspear, Shakespear, and so on).
If you read old manuscripts, you can find different spellings
of a word on the same page, and sometimes even in the same
sentence. Spelling wasn't something sacrosanct: if a line was
too long to fit, a typesetter might simply squeeze or expand
the word by altering the spelling.
If the idea of to-each-one's-own spelling for the same word
sounds bizarre, consider how we practice it even today, in
the only place we can: in our names. Look around you and you
might find a Christina and a Cristina and a Kristina and many
other permutations and combinations.
With the advent of printing in the 15th century, spelling
began to become standardized. By the 19th century, most words
had a single "official" spelling, as a consensus, not by the
diktat of a committee.
Today if you write "definately" and someone points out that
you've misspelled the word, just tell them you're a
practitioner of heterography.
-Anu Garg (gargATwordsmith.org)
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SEEKING INFO INPUTS
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QUERY ABOUT TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT IN GOA: Sareen Priyanka Surjit
Kumar
query: "I have been subscribed to Goanet-News for quite some
time now. I am a tranportation planner, studying at the
School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, Roll No
SPA/NS/TP/368. We were in Goa for a study for the traffic
management plan of Panjim. We conducted primary surveys as
well as collected the secondary data. However, we missed out
a few things.
I have listed the same below and would be grateful if you
could send me the same by mail: (i) Employment data --
spatial as well as time series. (ii) Tourism data -- spatial
as well as time series. (iii) Any data pertaining to any past
traffic and transporttaions studies carried out in Panjim,
including origin-destination surveys, classified vehicle
volume counts, parking surveys etc. I would be really
grateful if you could send me any of the data listed above.
[GNB REPLIES: We've sent your query to an architect-friend
who will try to help.]
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EVENTS, HAPPENINGS...
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SEMINAR ON IT ISSUES: Amartya Sen
says the Goa Institute of Management, Systems Management
Department is organizing an IT debate to discuss and brain
storm the issues of the IT Policy of Goa 2005 released very
soon. GIM is organising this debate along with Goa Chamber of
Commerce, Confederation of Indian Industry (Goa Chapter).
This will be an opportunity to interact with the core
committee responsible for setting up IT initiative in the
near future and the participating Corporates to showcase
their expertise. Nov 11, 2005. From 2 to 7 pm. At Goa
Institute of Management (www.gim.ac.in)
NEXT AT LILA'S: At 5 pm on 9 November, Lila invites
you to view the photographs of Asavari Kulkarni. A
photo-columnist of the daily Tarun Bharat,
Asavari’s work covers a wide range of subjects.
Besides a slideshow by the photographer, there will
be an informal display of her work. Please note
that following this session, Lila takes time off
and will reopen only on 7 December.
AT THE FRIDAY BALCAO: On Nov 11 from 4 to 6 pm at Goa Desc
Resource Centre No. 11, Liberty Apartments, Feira Alta,
Mapusa Goa. Topic: Ten Years of The Disability Act in the
context of Goa. Open discussion.
INDIAN CLASSICAL: Kerkar Art Complex organizes concerts of
Indian Classical Dance and Music every Tuesday from 6:45 to
8:30 p.m. during the tourist season. This is the only place
in Goa State where concerts of Indian Classical Dance and
Music are organized on a regular basis. Kerkar Art Complex
Gaurawado Calangute, Bardez Goa – 403516 Tel: 2276017 Fax:
2276509 Email: subodhkerkar at satyam.net.in Website:
www.subodhkerkar.com
(GOANET)
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