SATURDAY, JULY 06, 2024
Frazer Andrade
The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour in India, which the Sahitya Akademi, i.e. India’s National Academy of Letters, annually confers unto writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 22 languages of the 8th Schedule to the Indian constitution as well as in English and Rajasthani. Founded on March 12, 1954, it is supported by the Indian government. This year, two Goans, Harsha Sadguru Shetye and Adwait Chandrakant Salgãonkar, have won Sahitya Akademi Awards for their literary works in the Konkani language, ‘Ek Ashille Bayul’ and ‘Pedanyacha Samaaram’ respectively, making Goans proud.
Harsha Sadguru Shetye, a resident of Ambajim, Fatorda is a commerce graduate who loves travelling, bird watching, reading and cooking traditional Goan food. She ventured into the art of writing at the age of 36. What inspired her to get into writing is interesting. Harsha says, “It was in the last week of December in 1999. I was watching a poetry recitation programme, which inspired me to write, leaving a thought in me that I too should express myself through various writings. So, the journey began there”.
“Konkani is my mother tongue and I can express better in Konkani than in any other language”, she says, further mentioning that the Konkani language is the identity of Goans and that she strongly feels that Konkani speakers and Konkani lovers should carry ahead their mother tongue through their writings. “I write poems, short stories, essays and travelogues in addition to pieces on Goan culture”, she says further stating that she loves to introduce young readers to Goan tangible and intangible heritage through stories.
Harsha expresses her joy saying, “It is indeed a wonderful feeling when a reader loves your writing”. “I must say I am fortunate to have received appreciation from many readers”, she adds. Harsha has written a few humorous articles for ‘Jaag’ and ‘Bimb’, a Konkani monthly magazine. She has written several pieces such as ‘Mhoji Mati Mhoje Mollob’ (a collection of Poems), ‘Motyanchi Mall’ (collection of essays), ‘Anand Yatra’ (travelogues), ‘Katha rang’ (short stories), ‘Goychi shevni’ (research book on birds of Goa), ‘Amurchavar’ (collection of essays) and ‘Sata Samudra Pelyan’ (travelogues). Some of her works in Children literature include ‘Jagma’, ‘Chala Bharat Bhonvuya’, ‘Bomade’, ‘Champu in Randchikud’, ‘Ek Ashille Bayul’, ‘Fula’, ‘Mhajo jalmdis’, ‘Goad Ani Tikh’ and ‘Hanv Konn’.
“Receiving the Sahitya Akademi Award this year gives me immense joy, leaving me with no words to express my feelings as this book, ‘Ek Ashille Bayul’ is close to my heart. It is basically a story of my childhood memories created during the years I spent at my maternal grandparent’s house at Sanquelim”, she says, further mentioning that time is precious and being blessed with 24 hours like everyone else, she tries to maintain a balance between her daily routine and time invested in writing, having no fixed schedule on writing regularly as such.
“My husband and son have always been very supportive in whatever I have been doing and I would love to thank them for the same”, she says. Harsha further mentions that she would love to write much more than she currently is, but unfortunately lacks the time to do so.
“There is hardly any matter available on Goan birds, wild flowers or butterflies in Konkani. So, as a writer I feel that it is my duty to write on such topics”, she says. Harsha expresses her sincere gratitude towards readers of her works, whose feedback and appreciation on her work motivates her to do more. “Here, I would like to specially mention Late Dr Madhavi Sardesai, the then editor of ‘Jaag’ monthly who had published my first poem in it in March 2000 and who always motivated me. I will always remain indebted to her!”, exclaims Harsha while urging every Goan to speak Konkani at home because she says if the language dies, traditions associated with it will die as well.
Adwait Chandrakant Salgãonkar from Pethechawada, Corgão, Pernem, holds a BA BEd and MA degree and loves reading, writing and exploring new places in addition to being a passionate animal lover. Being inspired by the writings of a renowned poet Shashikant Punaji, and those of his college teachers, he began writing at the age of 17.
“Writing in Konkani gives me satisfaction because I am able to express my feelings through it”, mentions Adwait, further stating that he generally writes about his life experiences, religion and culture. “I tried writing funny pieces, but after having read them, I felt that writing humorous content was not my cup of tea”, he admits with a smile. Adwait says that he wants to make people aware about the richness of the language and the vocabulary hidden in local dialects of Konkani. He is a proud author of the book titled ‘Pedanyacha Samaaram’ and has written a couple of stories and poems. “Being awarded for my work in the Konkani language is a big achievement for me”, he says. He would mostly write during the night or whenever he got the time. “For me, there has never been a fixed time duration in a day dedicated to writing”, he says.
“My family would initially discourage me from writing, in the fear of negatives spoken by people around. However, as of now they are really very supportive”, says Adwait. “One of the major demotivating elements in life has been lack of support complimented with criticism from my very own people”, he says. Having been contributing to Goa at this young age, I feel proud and I thank myself for writing the works I did in the local dialects of Konkani.
Adwait expresses his heartfelt gratitude towards all those who read his works and his college teacher, Rama Murkunde, who has been instrumental in encouraging him, over time, to write in his local dialect. “Literature is everything”, he says as he further states that it educates those willing to learn and grow. “Be in touch with literature and try to express yourself as much as you can”, says Adwait.
