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THE Goa Day International is celebrated this year 2001 in the spirit of Solidarity--a state of mind which may allow all Goans, whoever they are and wherever they are, to uphold their Goanness and show pride in it. How can we get ourselves in that very special mood, not only on this day but throughout our lives, every day of our lives? The eminent Portuguese poet, writer and thinker Fernando Pessoa (1888-1935) once said, "A minha Pátria é a Língua Portuguesa" (My Country is the Portuguese Language). By this he meant that he was completely at home among the 200 million persons, who spoke that language around the world, including the vast Portuguese and Capeverdian communities in the diaspora. On the other hand, in a recent article in the Goan Overseas Digest, Shanti K Dhoot from Goa wrote, "To my mind, the only common and uniting feature among Hindus and Catholics in Goa is the language, Konkani, which is spoken all over Goa, albeit in different accents and with different scripts", adding that "It is sad that those who live abroad have given it up, generally for English, but this in no way can be taken as minimising its vital significance as a unifying bond". That's it, my fellow Goenkars: our language is a vital ingredient of our identity as Goans and, even for those who unfortunately do not write or speak it, and maybe without they being even aware of it, it has for ages and through generations qualified their very being, their way of life and their mindset. I have always felt it in my daily confrontations with friends, colleagues and superiors, whether European, African or American. Dhoot further says that she believes that, if we lose the language, we will lose our identity except for superficials and that is why, despite learning English and any other language, we should "not fcomet Konkani, which uniquely among languages, is called 'amchi bhas'". Let's therefore celebrate our Goanness, our own identity as people, under the sign of Solidarity. Let's show kindness and a smiling face to our fellow Goans, helping each and every one who may need our assistance or our advice, never caring to mind, in a crab-like mentality, that maybe the neighbour whom we are helping will one day surpass us in the very 'metier' in which we instructed and/or launched him or her. This is the true spirit of Solidarity. And let this solidarity among the Goans--nay, among Konkanis--be based on that special something that is imbibed into us by the language of our forbears and on whatever else they have left us. In an article entitled "Kiteak Him Durgam?" (Why These Fences?) relayed by Fausto D'Costa on Goanet, the Mangalorean writer Gecome Pinto regrets that "Khoinchei lokam modem bhas ekvott haddta tor Konknni lokam modem bhaxenuch amkam pois keleat" (Among any people the language creates unity but among the Konkani people it is the language that has brought us apart), and adds, "Oi, amchi bhas ekuch, amcho dhorm ekuch punn khoim tori amchi sonskruti poisovlea" (Yes, our language is the same, our beliefs are the same but at some point our cultures drifted apart). Pinto was speaking about the differences among Goan and Mangalorean Hindu Konkanis and among Goan and Mangalorean Christian Konkanis, but what he says applies equally to the more restricted Goan context--the differences among Goan Hindus, Christians and Muslims, among Goan Hindus themselves castewise and regionwise and among Goan Christians also, unfortunately castewise and regionwise (by 'regionwise' I mean whether a person is 'Sashttikar', 'Bardezkar', 'Kankonkar', etc.). Differences in the mindset, in behaviour, in the way we treat others, differences which after all derive, to some extent at least, from the way we position ourselves as regards our native language. Solidarity towards all Goans, solidarity towards all Konkanis. Are we to attain it by unifying the script of our language? A lot has been said and written on the matter. One of the points on which those who fought for (and succeeded in obtaining) the recognition of Konkani as the official language of Goa and for granting it a place among the national languages of India structured their case, was the obligation of linking to the language the Devnagri script. And, in practice, we see that the version of the language taught in the schools and progressively being used by the priests in the Catholic churches of Goa is the so called 'Antruzi Konknni' (the Konkani of the former Antruz province of the erstwhile Kingdom of Sundem--now the Ponda 'taluka'). Will this unify the Goans? Hardly so, in my view. The scholars may dictate their--wise perhaps--points of view, but in the long run any language, if it is to keep developing and maintaining itself alive, is fed by the common people. It follows the trends imparted upon it by the people's day-to-day manner of talking. And, as for the script, even though scholars may sustain that only Devnagri should be accepted, and even though Gecome Pinto says, "Kedna zatolem lipichem ekikoronn ani kedna sogle Konknni bhav-bhoinni, zat-kat, dhorm ani her songthi pois korun ek zatole?" (When will there be a unification of script and when will all the Konkani brethren, laying apart their beliefs and other differences, become one?), my own belief is that the unification will best be achieved through diversity. In Goa, in spite of all the differences of speech referred to
above and the different scripts which have been followed over
centuries, we all feel that we are one people; and we also feel some
kind of affinity to the Konkanis who are settled for ages to the
north and south of Goa, in Mangalore, Kochi and even in Gujarat,
notwithstanding the scripts which they employ to write their
Konkani. We may not understand what they write and conversely they
may not understand what we write, but, when it comes to oral
expression, all of us know that we are speaking the same language
even though we may have some difficulty in understanding one
another. I maintain that one of the features And on this Goa Day 2001, let all Goans be true to their identity which is moulded greatly by the Konkani language, and, though not discarding our special cultural (because based on the same common language) links with all the other Konkanis, let us proclaim our solidarity to one and all our fellow Goans, showing ourselves ready to render our counsel and our assistance to whoever may be in need of it. Jcome de Abreu
Noronha |
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