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Mangaluru : Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) mayor Harinath on Friday February 10 inaugurated Konkani Lokotsav 2017, a three-day festival of Konkani language and culture, by unveiling the symbol of Konkani culture at Town Hall here. Konkani Lokotsav has been jointly organised by the Karnataka Konkani Sahitya Academy and Kannada and culture department.

Addressing the gathering, mayor Harinath said, "It is a privilege to witness the Konkani Lokotsav programme. It is good to see large number of people gathered for this programme. India is known for unity in diversity comprising myriad languages. People of all religions, be it Catholic Konkanis, GSB Konkanis or other communities have contributed towards building the nation in various ways. It is always important that there is no barrier to what we do and to the service we render to the country."

Mangaluru city police commissioner M Chandrashekar said, "Konkani communities exist in five different states and today they are united together under one roof to promote Konkani culture and literature. I belong to Telugu community; two years ago due to regional disputes a separate state (Telangana) was formed with a lot of violence and it felt really sad. On the other hand, Konkani community people’s unity is very great and it has been maintained from centuries. We will definitely be inspired by the spirit of Konkani community and hope other communities too follow the same."

Lauding the Konkani community further, he said, "99% of Konkani speakers have a very pleasant personality and are amiable, they hold themselves back from getting provoked or becoming provocative; rather, they stay calm and handle the situation with such ease. The best part about the Konkani speakers is they are highly enterprising and ensure they reach the top and in this present scenario, it is one of the noble qualities they have. People with such quality can develop, which is a fact of life and history."

Kannada Sahitya Parishat president Pradeep Kalkura said, "It is good to see that Konkani Sahitya Academy has come up with this programme to bring in the various arts of various Konkani communities. Several GSB community people like Govinda Pai, Srinivas Mallya, M V Kamath and others have contributed to the country and at the same time, the contribution made by Catholics in the fields of medicine and education is noteworthy and appreciable."

Vicar general of Mangaluru diocese Msgr Denis Moras Prabhu said, "This day will be remembered in the history of Konkani community. It is good to see the way people have thronged to this Konkani programme, which showcases the richness of Konkani culture and literature. We have always nurtured our love for our langauge which has made it possible for Konkani to reach this high standard. We are also proud that the Karnataka government has recognised Konkani lanuage. I urge everyone to keep religion aside and unite together to promote peace and harmony in the society."

The programme began with Konkani choir under the guidance of Eric Ozario and Vasanthi R Nayak, comprising a team of 82 singers, and a welcome dance by Shwetha Kamath and team.

President of Karnataka Konkani Sahitya Academy Roy Castelino welcomed the gathering.

Mayor Harinath inaugurated exhibition stalls of traditional items, food stalls of unique and delicious dishes, and an exhibition-cum-sale of everyday commodities.

Prior to the programme, a cultural programme was perfomed by Siddhi community of five taluks of Uttar Kannada district comprising five teams with over 125 members. They performed dance forms like Damam, Sigmo, Fugdi, Zakai and Duff.

Basti Vaman Shenoy, registrar of the Academy Devdas Pai and others were present.

After the inaugural function, children’s literary and cultural programmes were held. Children and women who have carved out a niche for themselves at the national and state levels with their talents were felicitated.