09 Nov 2021  |   04:41am IST

Vinayak Khedekar receives Padma Shri

The eminent polyglot was awarded for his work writing on the state’s cultural forms, folk dances and tribal crafts through plays in Konkani and Marathi

Team Café

Goa’s very own Vinayak

Khedkar received the Padma Shri yesterday from the President Ramnath Kovind at a ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Vinayak Khedekar a notable author, folklorist, scriptwriter, former Marathi journalist and polyglot was one of 102 people who received this award this year.

He is the man behind the magnum opus ‘Goa: Life, Land and Legacy’. From Savoi-Verem village in Goa, he was never part of any formal institutional education. His yearning for knowledge however made him fluent in Sanskrit, English, Hindi, Marathi and Konkani. He later learned the Russian language along with its culture.

With more than two dozen publications under his name, Khedkar has inked Goa’s cultural forms, folk dances, tribal craft, through plays in Konkani, Marathi, research articles and books, which has got him the title of being the ambassador of Goa’s culture.

Beyond books, his notable service also guided the Kala Academy as a member Secretary which opened the doors of international travel for him to New York and South America where the exposure only heightened his knowledge. Vinayak is also the flag-bearer of several cultural activities at the Kala Academy now, including faculties of music, Goa College of Art, folk festival, bhajani competition. He also worked on the advisory panel of ICCR New Delhi for folk Art and Puppetry for the Festival of India in the USSR.

He now joins the list of eminent persons from Goa who have been granted the civilian honour, including cartoonist Mario de Miranda (Padma Vibhushan and Padma Bhushan), fashion designer Wendell Rodricks, artist Laxman Pai, musician Remo Fernandes, and many others.