THIS IS A VERY HOT
EMOTIONAL TOPICE FOR SOME:
Is Konkani relevant
anymore?
My friend Mervyn stoked up
the disappearing embers by writing this:
PROUD TO SPEAK MY MOTHER
TONGUE
There was a time,
especially during the colonial era in Goa
and other parts of India,
when many of our Goans would not be
seen talking in their own
mother tongue; not that these individuals
couldn't speak the
language. For them, speaking in a foreign
tongue gave them that air
of superiority(at least so they thought!).
They felt important.
Speaking in Konkani was considered below their
dignity. SHAME
ON THEM!
As a lover of Konkani
myself and all that our culture embodies,
I find it difficult to
gauge the motives of these "foreign" Goans.
The following verses(sadly,
the only ones I can remember) - from
a poem composed during my
school days by that well-known
Jesuit historian, the late
Fr. Claude Saldanha, S.J. - seem to sum up
everything. Referring to
these self styled foreigners as kalafirngis-
Black Europeans), this,
in 1940, is what he wrote:
'They are shy
to talk sweet Konkani
Because they
think it's low,
They rattle
off in company
A foreign
tongue for show.
The men put on some pantaloons
And think they look quite fine,
They hardly know - the good buffoons
That borrowed plumes don't shine!
Melodious mandos -swaying
songs
With all their hearts they
hate
Which cannot swing the
girls around
With arms at any rate.
And so, they say, 'the mando's dead'
Not meant for cultured folk,
But all their culture it is said
Would not impress a bloke!
Konkani is such a
sweet language, with greetings and
expressions not found in
other foreign languages.
Take the daily salutation,
for example:
'Deo boro
dis diun (May God give you a good day)
or 'Deo bori
rath diun(May God give you a good night).
And what of that
nightly blessing from our Elders?
'Deo bori
rath amcam somestam di Saiba etc (Lord,
give us a good night etc
etc).
This last expression has
certainly more meat to it than the
plain 'Thank you'. Besides,
all these also have one
thing in common - they
embody Christian principles.
Far from being ashamed of
our mother tongue, folk
songs and dances, let us
make every effort to revive
and keep them going
forever.
Future generations
will thank us for this.
Mervyn Maciel
A friend answered back in
the firmest and most sensible in the negative of the argument.
No many young people in Goa
speak the mother tongue. They choose English because they all have dreams of
leaving for England.
Even few new, second and
third gens in the diaspora speak Konkani because in the great sphere of things
it is quite irrelevant. No one else knows or speaks the language.
It natural for Goan
migrants to assimilate in their new lands, especially in the language because
without it one is complete marooned.
I don’t know of any young
people in Australia who speak Konkani, certainly not the descendants of the
East African migrants. My children don’t and don’t want to. There is a move in
the GOA in Sydney where a small group has started Konkani classes.
In my mind, Konkani is
useful to have if you visiting Goa.
Mervyn replies to his
friend.
For your 'exhaustive'
response to my article which in
no way was directed at those like yourself and others who were
brought up in an English-speaking environment.
Like you, I too knew precious little Konkani since my
parents
both conversed in English. It is only when we were on holiday
in Goa that I heard Konkani for the
first time and picked up very
few words. Much later, when I was schooling in Goa and needed
to use Konkani both inside and outside
the home, I took an
interest in the language since I also love our folk songs.
I would never speak Konkani or Swahili
for that matter were
I in the company of friends who only spoke English; but I
have been embarrassed on occasions when some of my
Goan friends, conscious of the fact that we were among
English friends, still passed a few odd comments in Konkani!
Yes, it is sad to see the erosion of our Mother tongue even
in
Goa with the influx of Indians from other parts of India.
Sadly, we Goans are fast becoming a minority
even in our own
country and before long I fear that the little bit of Goan-ness
that still exists in some quarters may soon be a thing of the
past.
All the best, and as they'd say in Goa VIVA!
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