Konkani
Bhasha Mandal has been working for the development of Konkani through various
programmes and events that are held in the state from time to time. Aimed at
instilling the love for their mother-tongue Konkani in the children, Konkani
Bhasha Mandal (KBM) recently hosetd and event in collaboration with Ravindra
Bhavan with a twist. A release function of Konkani educational literature for
children took a different route and transformed itself into a fun evening of
songs and dance. The event that was held on January 27, 2015 at Ravindra Bhavan
in Margao saw seven different schools from across Goa participate in the event.
What’s more, the tiny tots belonging to each school performed on the especially
choreographed songs of Shanni Masti 2, an audio CD consisting of children’s
songs that was released at the event.
Chetan
Acharya, President, KBM reiterated KBM’s efforts to work in the field of
children’s educational literature. Acharya said, “If children are to opt for
Konkani in their primary education, then we need to create a suitable
environment for the same. This can be best done by promoting Konkani through
music and books.”
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To
keep it refreshing, the organisers came up with the idea of having the release
of one item after one dance performance. The entire programme was oriented
towards children from pre-primary and primary section which is the focus area
of KBM. According to the sources from KBM, the magazine and books of children’s
songs is an outcome of continuous workshops with young as well as renowned
children’s writers in Konkani over last several months where Dr Usha Sharma,
associate professor of NCERT and Taposhi Ghoshal, renowned illustrator guided
the writers as well as illustrators.
The
programme saw the release of a children’s song CD titled ‘Shanni Masti 2’, The
first issue of a Konkani quarterly magazine for children, titled ‘Chirput’, a
book of Konkani nursery rhymes for KG 1, titled ‘Mannkulyanchi Kavana’, an
English-Konkani and Konkani-Konkani primer, titled ‘Chitrabodh’ and educational
charts in Konkani for children (Takate). Speaking at the occasion, Director of
Art and Culture, Prasad Lolienkar stressed the need to preserve the innocence
of children that is diminishing fast these days. Lolienkar said, “Children have
a different perspective than elders. However, we kill the same and force them
to grow faster,” whilst emphasising the need to teach children in their mother
tongue and appreciated the efforts taken by KBM to promote Konkani amongst
young minds.
