ASMITAI PRATISHTHAN

The objective of the Pratisthan is not only to preserve and nurture the Konkani language and culture, but also to contribute to the flowering of the multi-faceted Indian culture through the konkani people. The Pratisthan programmes are drawn up to achieve this objective. The following work will be taken up during the financial year 1995-96:

1)Kalidas's Sanskrit classic "Shakuntal" will be translated into Konkani by Dr. Atmaram Bhat, a retired teacher of Mardol, Goa.

2)The award winning collection of short stories in Malyalam "Nalu Kettu"" by Shri Vasudevan Nair will be translated into Konkani, by Shri Gokuldas Prabhu, from Cochin. Shri Gokuldas Prabhu is himself a Sahitya Academy award winner in Konka ni.

3)"Kristanv Ghorabo", a Konkani novel written in Roman script, about 100 years back, by Shri Eduardo Bruno De Souza, will be transl iterated in devnagiri script.

4)"VICHUN KADLELI PORZA", a Konkani novel in Kannada script written in the year 1994 by Shri Edwin D'Souza of Mangalore will be transliterated in devnagiri script. Shri Edwin D'Souza has authored 25 novels in Konkani in Kannada script and has won various awards for his literary work in Konkani in Kannada script.

5)A short story collection titled "PARIGH ·" of the late Shashank Sitaram of Mashem, Canacona will be published. Shashank Sitaram died of cancer at a very young age and just before his death he requested Shri Chandrakant Keni to publish the collect ion of his short stories. A function will be organised at Mashem, Canacona, Shashank's birthplace to honour the memory of Shashank Sitaram and to release the book.

6) A book on Goan History will be written in Konkani. Efforts are on to find an author who is well versed both in historical research and Konkani writing.

7)The Pratisthan appreciates the fact that literary activity is only one of the various ways of serving any given language and culture. There are various other ways viz. promoting folk art, music, stage, etc. It is necessary to recognise the contri bution of stalwarts, who may not have literary feathers in their caps, but who may have rendered yeomen's service to the cause of language and culture. The Pratisthan has decided to recognise the services of such people and it will give an annual award of Rs.l0,000/- to a person selected for his outstanding contribution to Konkani language and culture.

8) Konkani Basha Mandal, Goa, has been a pioneer for the last few decades in serving the Konkani language. It also started a primary school for children in Konkani medium about 15 years back. The school has been doing wonderful work. The Pra tisthan announces a grant of Rs.25,000/ to the primary school of Konkani Basha Mandal, Goa, for the year 1995-96.

9 )At the initiative of our Hon. Minister of State for Eleectronics, Govt. of India, the Dept. of Electronics will give a grant of Rs. 15/- lakhs, over the next three years, to the Pratishthan for implementing a scheme to create, with t he help of computers, a corpus of konkani words & their meanings, and subsequently, use this corpus for computerised translation of books from other languages into konkani. Prof. K.J. Mahale, a former Vice-Chancellor of Manipur U niversity, will be implementing the project on behalf of the Pratisthan.

A NOTE ON A SMITAI PRATISHTHAN

ASMITAI PRATISHTHAN is a public charitable trust. The Deed of Trust is registered under No. 2268 of Book-I, Volume No. 408 on 19.8.1994.

The main objective of ASMITAI PRATISHTHAN is to preserve, enrich and project Konkani culture and to promote national integration by contributing in a concrete manner to the strength of the composite culture of India.

The Pratishthan seeks to achieve this objective through publication of literature of high quality, literary projects for translation and exchange, audio visual documentation and projection of art and culture as well as by organising literary and cultural programmes so as to emphasise the basic values and important elements which render Konkani flavour to Indian culture.

The Pratishthan has sought a certificate from the Income Tax authorities for exemption of donations to the Pratishthan under S.80 of the IncomeTax Act. The Pratishthan is likely to receive the said certificate shortly.

The Pratishthan intends to create a fund which will be the corpus of the Trust and the expences for the activities of the Trust will be met from the interest alone.

The Pratishthan launched its activities in April 1995. For the year 1995-96 the Pratishthan has selected five books for publication. One of them is an original work while two are transliterations and the other two are translations of classics from other languages. The proposed project for Electronic Dictionary will be prestigious and will open immense possibilities.

You can obtain futher information about Asmitai Pratishthan by sending an e-mail message to Yugesh at: [E-MAIL]

yugesh.bhatikar@actamed.com

KONKANI

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