There are parents who love our mother tongue Konkani and yet feel constrained to opt for English education for their children in today’s world. I need not speculate on this situation. But I can share my own experience to calm the fears of both who are fighting for Konkani as Medium of Instruction and those parents who despite loving Konkani much yet feel forced to fight for English for their children’s sake.
In the college where I was doing my studies after passing Segundo Grau in 1930s, we were forbidden to speak in Konkani and we were punished if caught doing so. And yet after I had finished with my training I was posted to an unwanted place called Chembur, in Mumbai in 1953 (the place is quite different now). There I saw the need for a boys’ High School and invited a big man at the time S.K.Patil to lay the Foundation Stone, and he began talking in Konkani to me. Surprised, straight away I said to him: “You are not a Goan and how do you speak Konkani”. And he replied “From Ratnagiri, North of Konkan down, the whole of Konkan speak Konkani”. That was in 1957.
Later I came across one from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, who was doing his thesis for Ph.D on the origins of Marathi and was finding it almost impossible to read the old Marathi literature and engaged a Pundit to do so and discovered that while the Pundit did not know the meaning of the words the researcher knew the meaning because he happened to be a Goan! Interested in knowing better my language Konkani I went for 30 long years about preaching and listening to Konkani speakers from Ahmedabad where they were inviting me every year and leave a car at my disposal and I would drive with a guide to every corner where such speakers were found. Then at every corner of Mumbai from Colaba to Borivali every year for seven weeks, and the crowds in great numbers would flock to hear me, Goans, Mangaloreans and I was surprised in places like Mandvi, crowds of East-Indians would come and when asked would answer: we follow every word you speak. The Mangaloreans would not believe I was from Goa and would say that I am from Kordeal in Mangalore. After Mumbai, Kholapur, Khanapur,Belgaum, Virajpet in Coorg, then Karwar and all of Mangalore.
Bigger surprise was awaiting me, as I went to do my Ph.D at Banaras Hindu University and chose the 13 Older Upanishads as my research topic I discovered that many texts were translated in a biased form. Even men like Dr Radhakrishnan saw his own Advaita position in the text that spoke of something else. The Sanskrit Department told me to make my own translation but to get it approved by them. And what a surprise, words used in Sanskrit were used in Konkani, for example ‘udakam’ for water, ‘udok’ in Konkani. The thesis was reviewed in “The Hindu”, Chennai. After 2 years, while teaching at Bengaluru I wrote a Self-Instructor calling it “Sarki amchi bhas sompi”(Correct Konkani is easy) giving the rules for parsing, declension of words etc. and I did it in THREE scripts just as the people of the places I visited expressed it, in 25 lessons one learns normal Konkani. And I was surprised before I could publicize it I had to run into 2nd edition which is now exhausted. People came personally some from Australia, Canada, England etc wherever there are Goan Associations. Unexpectedly the book, here in Goa was accorded a Puroskar by the K.B.M, and The Director of Education, Goa Government by its Circular No.202(167-176,85-AE/5) to the Heads of Government and Non-Government High Schools and Higher Secondary Schools recommended it as “useful for Students as well as Teachers to enrich their knowledge”.
Soon after it was accepted and bought by “Konkani Lovers”, Bangalore, Gowd Saraswat Samaj, Chitrapur Saraswat Local Sabha, Bangalore Saraswat Mahila Samaj, Canara Union, Goan Catholic Association Bangalore and others like Konkani Catholic Association, Bhatkal Muslim Jamaat etc. And the popular Singbal Book Shop, Panjim sold thousands of copies. But what touched me much was that all groups of Konkani speakers like and accept Konkani as a spoken language and do not pay much attention to the script used. So I find the parents should not bother either about the script nor about fighting for Devnagri script, for the Konkani that is taught ignores parsing forgetting that in languages where articles are not used the declension cases and parsing is most important, otherwise just listen to some of the speakers on the Konkani Programs, Madhei Channel, Goa, where some speakers speak half Marathi and call it Konkani.
