Tributes in
honour of the late renowned Konkani poet Ramesh Bhagwant Veluksar poured in after the news of his death
was released. The Sahitya Akademi award-winning Konkani poet and writer passed
away on Sunday following a brief illness while on a visit to Rae Bareli in
Uttar Pradesh.
Right from former
chief minister Digambar Kamat to the institution Konkani Basha Mandal, the
expressions of grief and praise for the late writer came from across the state.
“I pay my tributes to
renowned Konkani writer,poet and Konkani mogi Ramesh Bagwant Veluskar. He has
immensely contributed for Konkani literature. Goans will always remember his
work for promotion of Konkani literature. May his soul rest in peace. My
heartfelt condolences to his family members,” said former CM and Margao MLA
Digambar Kamat.
Konkani Bhasha Mandal
(KBM) recalled that Veluskar was one of the most committed leaders of the
Konkani literature and Konkani movement. His ‘Goenchya Matyentli’ poem was one
of his best works. He was also a very well known lyricist.The former President
of KBM, Veluskar played a vital role in getting people from all sections of the
society together. He wrote songs for the ‘Shaani Masti’ CD of KBM. He also
contributed in the field of children’s literature.
The statement
released by KBM added: “He was a multi-linguist with a strong command over
Konkani, Marathi, Hindi, English, Bengali and Portuguese languages. Along with
Konkani, he wrote in Hindi and Marathi languages. His works are translated in
many other languages. He has translated several books from other languages and
made it available to the Konkani readers. He was a voracious reader and a
critic.
“The field of Konkani
literature has lost a guide. His literary journey shouldn’t have ended at such
a short span.”
Many also took to
social media to express their condolences. These included Yolanda de Souza,
Harsh Kamat and Prajal Sakhardande, who described the late littérateur as a
sensitive poet champion of Konkani.
“I mourn the passing
away of well known Konkani poet, writer and literary figure Ramesh
Veluskar.Despite being a Konkani littérateur, he was also prolific in Hindi and
Bengali. Due to his love for Hindi, he had settled down in Rae Bareli, UP,
where he expired. I can remember having seen him many times for various
literary functions and meets where he used to come with his typical khadi kurta
and a cloth bag hanging over his shoulder form one side. Here’s praying for his
atma to attain Sadgatti,” posted Parag Hede on Facebook.
Kumar Kalanand Mani
posted: “…It (the passing of Veluskar) is a big loss for all of us. Goa has
lost a great son, a great poet of the soil. I alongwith Kishor Arjun had
decided few days before to publish his translated book on Mahatma Gandhi.
Rameshbhai, we will complete your unfinished task…Goa, Konkani and the
environmental fraternity will miss you a lot.”
Veluskar, who was a
versatile children’s playwright and a poet of repute, also served as a teacher
in various primary and middle schools in Goa for over 33 years before he
retired. It is to be noted that he started out teaching Konkani, a language he
himself had never studied in school.
A decade after he
first began teaching his students Konkani, Veluskar published his first
collection of Konkani poems, ‘Morpakham’, in 1979.
He won several
literary awards including the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award for his 1989
collection of poems ‘Saulgori’, and the Non-Hindi Writer Award of the Union HRD
ministry for his poetry collection ‘Samudramudrika’ in 2011. He authored
several books in Konkani and Hindi, and is best known for translating
Rabindranath Tagore’s ‘Gitanjali’ and Sant Tukaram’s ‘Abhang’ in Konkani.
He also translated
the literary works of famed Portuguese poet Carlos de Andrade in Hindi.
It
is during his stay in Bhubaneshwar that the writer met his Uttar Pradesh born
wife, MithileshKumari Srivastava, whom he married in 1982. Post Liberation,
Veluskar moved to Pilar, and after completing his graduation, began teaching at
St Andrew’s High School at Goa Velha.Veluskar leaves behind his wife,
MithileshKumari Srivastav, and daughter, Simantini.