The many scripts of Konkani
Frederick FN Noronha * फ्रेड्रिक नोरोन्या * فريدريك نورونيا
- The many scripts of Konkani
The many scripts of Konkani
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Konkani, which was considered a dialect of Marathi for many decades, faces an identity crisis of sorts because it is written in five scripts.
There is a self-assuredness about Konkani writer Sheela Kolambkar that instantly puts people at ease. I first met Kolambkar in Kochi, where she was one of the seven regional writers to receive the 2012 Tagore Literature Award, given out by Samsung and Sahitya Akademi. She almost whooped with delight when I spoke to her in Marathi. “It’s good to hear a familiar language so far down south,” she said.
She had to rush on to the stage for the ceremony, but I promised to catch up with her back home in Mumbai.
A week later I made my way to her home in Mulund. “I wore a nice sari,
since you were getting a photographer,” Kolambkar says, laughing
irreverently.
Her own point of view
As we settle down to talk about her work, she tells me that
she was surrounded by books while growing up in Portuguese-ruled Goa.
Whether at home, school or at the Central Library in Panaji, “I read
anything I could get my hands on — novels, short stories, essays”. She
especially enjoyed the translated works of Bengali writer Shankar. “I
was impressed by Chaurangi, which is so close to real life.”
Kolambkar says she was encouraged to write by one of her professors in college. “He told us that writing is like looking through a kaleidoscope. Shift your position and the view changes. He stressed on developing a personal point of view.” This is a maxim Kolambkar follows to this day.
Guerra, the short story that brought her under the spotlight, gives a view of Goa when the Portuguese were withdrawing. Overnight, several friendships were broken as some Christian families chose to leave for Portugal. This forms the basis for her story.
In other stories, she brings to the fore women’s issues. In Hau Vanjud Nai (I
Am Not Barren), Kolambkar has fictionalised a true story of a girl who
was married to a man, but not allowed to sleep with him because a local
guru recommends that the couple shouldn’t bear a child for the first two
years of their marriage.
‘No substitute for certain words’
Kolambkar first started writing in Marathi. “Under the Portuguese rule,
Konkani was considered a servant’s language. Though I spoke Konkani, it
never occurred to me to write in the language.”
While writing one of her stories, Kolambkar found herself describing a scene in Goa where a character says ‘Aitar fulailo’ (I had a great Sunday). “It’s a phrase that’s so uniquely Konkani, I couldn’t find any words in Marathi. That’s when it struck me that my thoughts were Konkani. I gave up writing stories in Marathi that day.”
Writing in Konkani has been the key to expressing herself in the truest sense, says Kolambkar. “The Konkani word ‘othambe’
— droplets that fall off tree leaves and roofs after the rain has
stopped — has no substitute in Marathi or any other language. Then are
the local trees and fish, which have only Konkani names.”
I realise then that the attempt to preserve regional languages isn’t
about something abstract like culture. It’s about preserving words that
are used to describe real things that may not have a substitute in more
popular languages.
The language with five scripts
While the impact of English’s popularity on regional languages is often
highlighted, the dominance of major regional languages over dialects,
especially in literature, is lesser known. Konkani, which was recognised
as a major Indian regional language only in 1992, is written in five
scripts — Devnagri, Kannada, Malayalam, Arabic and Roman. (Devnagri is
recognised as the official Konkani script by the Sahitya Akademi.)
“During the Portuguese inquisition, Goans spread out of the state. They spoke Konkani in the kitchen and adopted whatever local language was spoken outside. As a result, there are Konkani stories written in Malayalam script, which readers in Goa have no clue of. And the Konkani spoken in Gujarat seems frozen in time. It has so many Portuguese terms. In Goa, the Portuguese terms have faded away from popular use.”
But Kolambkar is surprisingly positive about regional languages. “People keep saying that regional languages will die out. But I don’t think that is going to happen. Those who learn English get degrees and go abroad for better prospects. In the West, knowing your roots is so important. One day, all those who have settled abroad will want to know more about where they originally hail from. And when that day comes, we need to make sure we have written enough good stories to keep them hooked.”
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FM N
On 11/01/2016, Frederick FN Noronha * फ्रेड्रिक नोरोन्या * فريدريك
نورونيا <frederic...@gmail.com> wrote:
> http://www.dnaindia.com/lifestyle/report-the-many-scripts-of-konkani-1708893
>
>
> 1.
> 2. The many scripts of Konkani
> The many scripts of Konkani
> (dna-Rajendra Gawankar)
>
> -
> - 0
> - 0
> - 0
>
> R Krishna <http://www.dnaindia.com/authors/r-krishna> | Sun, 1 Jul
>
> Konkani, which was considered a dialect of Marathi for many decades, faces
> an identity crisis of sorts because it is written in five scripts.
>
> There is a self-assuredness about Konkani writer Sheela Kolambkar that
> instantly puts people at ease. I first met Kolambkar in Kochi, where she
> was one of the seven regional writers to receive the 2012 Tagore Literature
> Award, given out by Samsung and Sahitya Akademi. She almost whooped with
> delight when I spoke to her in Marathi. “It’s good to hear a familiar
> language so far down south,” she said.
>
> She had to rush on to the stage for the ceremony, but I promised to catch
> up with her back home in Mumbai.
>
> A week later I made my way to her home in Mulund. “I wore a nice sari,
> since you were getting a photographer,” Kolambkar says, laughing
> irreverently.
>
>
> Goa. Whether at home, school or at the Central Library in Panaji, “I read
> anything I could get my hands on — novels, short stories, essays”. She
> especially enjoyed the translated works of Bengali writer Shankar. “I was
> impressed by Chaurangi, which is so close to real life.”
>
> Kolambkar says she was encouraged to write by one of her professors in
> college. “He told us that writing is like looking through a kaleidoscope.
> Shift your position and the view changes. He stressed on developing a
> personal point of view.” This is a maxim Kolambkar follows to this day.
>
> friendships were broken as some Christian families chose to leave for
> Portugal. This forms the basis for her story.
>
> *(I Am Not Barren), Kolambkar has fictionalised a true story of a girl who
> guru recommends that the couple shouldn’t bear a child for the first two
> years of their marriage.
>
> Konkani was considered a servant’s language. Though I spoke Konkani, it
> never occurred to me to write in the language.”
>
> While writing one of her stories, Kolambkar found herself describing a
> words in Marathi. That’s when it struck me that my thoughts were Konkani. I
> gave up writing stories in Marathi that day.”
>
> Writing in Konkani has been the key to expressing herself in the truest
> Marathi or any other language. Then are the local trees and fish, which
> have only Konkani names.”
> I realise then that the attempt to preserve regional languages isn’t about
> something abstract like culture. It’s about preserving words that are used
> to describe real things that may not have a substitute in more popular
> languages.
>
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Damodar Ghanekar
This message is eligible for Automatic Cleanup! (
‘Aitar fulailo’... delightful uniqueness
On 11/01/2016, Frederick FN Noronha * फ्रेड्रिक नोरोन्या * فريدريك
نورونيا <frederic...@gmail.com> wrote:
> http://www.dnaindia.com/lifestyle/report-the-many-scripts-of-konkani-1708893
>
>
> 1.
> 2. The many scripts of Konkani
>
> The many scripts of Konkani
> (dna-Rajendra Gawankar)
>
> -
> -
> - 0
> - 0
> - 0
>
> R Krishna <http://www.dnaindia.com/authors/r-krishna> | Sun, 1 Jul
> 2012-09:30am , Mumbai , dna
>
> Konkani, which was considered a dialect of Marathi for many decades, faces
> an identity crisis of sorts because it is written in five scripts.
>
> There is a self-assuredness about Konkani writer Sheela Kolambkar that
> instantly puts people at ease. I first met Kolambkar in Kochi, where she
> was one of the seven regional writers to receive the 2012 Tagore Literature
> Award, given out by Samsung and Sahitya Akademi. She almost whooped with
> delight when I spoke to her in Marathi. “It’s good to hear a familiar
> language so far down south,” she said.
>
> She had to rush on to the stage for the ceremony, but I promised to catch
> up with her back home in Mumbai.
>
> A week later I made my way to her home in Mulund. “I wore a nice sari,
> since you were getting a photographer,” Kolambkar says, laughing
> irreverently.
>
>
> *Her own point of view *As we settle down to talk about her work, she tells
> me that she was surrounded by books while growing up in Portuguese-ruled
> Goa. Whether at home, school or at the Central Library in Panaji, “I read
> anything I could get my hands on — novels, short stories, essays”. She
> especially enjoyed the translated works of Bengali writer Shankar. “I was
> impressed by Chaurangi, which is so close to real life.”
>
> Kolambkar says she was encouraged to write by one of her professors in
> college. “He told us that writing is like looking through a kaleidoscope.
> Shift your position and the view changes. He stressed on developing a
> personal point of view.” This is a maxim Kolambkar follows to this day.
>
> *Guerra*, the short story that brought her under the spotlight, gives a
> view of Goa when the Portuguese were withdrawing. Overnight, several
> friendships were broken as some Christian families chose to leave for
> Portugal. This forms the basis for her story.
>
> In other stories, she brings to the fore women’s issues. In *Hau Vanjud Nai
> *(I Am Not Barren), Kolambkar has fictionalised a true story of a girl who
> was married to a man, but not allowed to sleep with him because a local
> guru recommends that the couple shouldn’t bear a child for the first two
> years of their marriage.
>
> *‘No substitute for certain words’*
> Kolambkar first started writing in Marathi. “Under the Portuguese rule,
> Konkani was considered a servant’s language. Though I spoke Konkani, it
> never occurred to me to write in the language.”
>
> While writing one of her stories, Kolambkar found herself describing a
> scene in Goa where a character says ‘*Aitar fulailo*’ (I had a great
> Sunday). “It’s a phrase that’s so uniquely Konkani, I couldn’t find any
> words in Marathi. That’s when it struck me that my thoughts were Konkani. I
> gave up writing stories in Marathi that day.”
>
> Writing in Konkani has been the key to expressing herself in the truest
> sense, says Kolambkar. “The Konkani word ‘*othambe*’ — droplets that fall
> off tree leaves and roofs after the rain has stopped — has no substitute in
> Marathi or any other language. Then are the local trees and fish, which
> have only Konkani names.”
> I realise then that the attempt to preserve regional languages isn’t about
> something abstract like culture. It’s about preserving words that are used
> to describe real things that may not have a substitute in more popular
> languages.
>
> *The language with five scripts*
augusto pinto
Augusto
Tensing Rodrigues
augusto pinto
One question bothers me forever : where does Konkani originate ? Will anyone enlighten me on this, with valid historical evidence (with proper references) ?
I've heard this apocryphalish story about Emperor Frederick (full disclosure: most probably he was not the Owner of GBC 😌) who wanted to put an end to this question once and for all. The language experts in his empire all claimed different languages to be the original language of man: Sanskrit, Greek, Hebrew, Chinese, Tamil, Swahili...
In order to once and for all put an end to these squabbles and find out know which was the original language of human beings he devised an ingenious and seemingly fool proof experiment.
He got a clutch of new born babies and separated them from their mothers and kept in a room isolated from all contact except that they were given food and shelter. Their ayahs were given strict orders not to speak them at all, in fact not to communicate with them at all, not by baby-language, not even by touch so that they would not be influenced by the language of the ayahs. A group of language experts were told to constantly and carefully observe them.
Moral of the story: Language is as basic a need as food, clothing and shelter.
Leonard Fernandes
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