Konkani Lokotsav 2017: Three-day festival of Konkani language and culture begins

Mangaluru: Konkani Lokotsav 2017, a three-day festival of Konkani language and culture jointly organised by the Karnataka Konkani Sahitya Academy and Kannada and Culture department kickstarted here at Town Hall on February 10.

After inaugurating the festival, MCC Mayor Harinath said, “India is the land where we find unity in diversity with several languages. When it comes to Konkani alone, there are different dialects belonging to Mangalore Catholics, GSB Konkans, various communities in Goa and so on. The contribution of diverse population is immense helping the nation grow.”

Mangaluru City Police Commissioner M Chandrashekar lauded the Konkani community existing in five different states for their unity. He further said that Konkanis were known for being unprovocative and handling any situation with calmness.

Kannada Sahitya Parishat President Pradeep Kalkura appreciated Konkani community leaders like Govinda Pai, Srinivas Mallya, M V Kamath and catholic community for their selfless service.

Vicar General of Mangaluru Diocese Msgr Denis Moras Prabhu thanked Karnataka government for recognising Konkani language and organising the festival.

Traditional items on display, food stalls with mouthwatering dishes and stalls selling everyday commodities are some of the highlights of the festival.

As many as 125 Siddhi community members of the five taluks of Uttar Kannada district performed Damam, Sigmo, Fugdi, Zakai and Duff on the occasion. Also children’s literary and cultural programmes were organised. Konkani choir lead by Eric Ozario and Vasanthi R Nayak, with over 82 singers started the programme. President of Karnataka Konkani Sahitya Academy Roy Castelino welcomed.

Basti Vaman Shenoy, Registrar of the Academy Devdas Pai and several other dignitaries were present on the occasion.