Jnanpith awardee and Konkani author, Damodar Mauzo said that the threat to Konkani language is from within and "we shouldn't blame external factors for it."
He was speaking at the inaugural of Goa Heritage Festival (GHF) on Tuesday.
He explained that people are making use of other languages and the use of Konkani, which is the mother tongue, is limited. "If people don't invite monolingual approach towards our mother tongue, then our struggle for unique identity will be meaningless," added Mauzo.
SAFEGUARD REGIONAL LANGUAGE
He started off his keynote address of the five-days heritage festival by focusing on the importance of protecting heritage and celebrating diversity. Mauzo stated "Amchem daiz sambalun dovrunk zai (we need to safeguard our heritage). We belong to a culture that is diverse. And, diversity is what brings about unity, and it needs to be celebrated."
He focused on the life of many great Goan personalities like D D Kosambi, Abbe Faria and others who throughout their life upheld the unique diversity of Goa and took it to the world.
The Konkani author appealed to participants of GHF to protect and safeguard Konkani as he believes that regional languages are important part of local culture.
THE IDEA OF THE FESTIVAL
The idea of the festival is to highlight Goa's numerous and varied cultural traditions.
Vice Chairperson of GHAG, Heta Pandit, spoke about the journey of the festival and said that the idea was initiated way back in 2000. She spoke on how over the years the group has worked to host various festivals and other events that highlight art and activism.
BOOK LAUNCH
On the occasion of the inaugural 'Parmal: Aicat Mozo Tavo' book was also released. The book contains articles, scholarly works, memoirs, tributes, biographies, etc.
Rupmani Guha Thakur, who worked on the book, said, "There is little knowledge and quite a bit of misinformation about Goa. The book contains themes that are not only essential for distribution in Goa but also for national and international distribution."
