Dear Teotonio,
Your response has shown that my fear was not far
fetched. The fear, as expressed in my last
communication, was that if I were to provide some
definite figures in support of my arguments, some one
or the other was bound to question their veracity /
accuracy and thus lead the debate away from the core
issue i.e. whether written literature in Konkani
existed before the arrival of the Portuguese and
whether missionary literature formed the foundation
for modern Konkani literature. It was this fear which
made me ask "others to do my homework", as you put it.
The figure '50' was a rounded one; but whether it is
taken as 40 or 50 or 60, there would be no adverse
effect on my arguments.
Now that I am at it again, let me elaborate and
fine tune that figure. (Please correct me if my data
is outdated.) Although printing activity began in Goa
in 1556, the earliest available book in Konkani is
"Doutrina Cristam" (DC) printed in 1622. The last
Konkani book (by Joao de Pedrosa) was printed in 1660
i.e. just 38 years after DC. The very last book
("Regras da Companhia ......" in Portuguese) was
printed in 1674 i.e. 52 years after DC. From this
fact, it is presumed that the press stopped
functioning after that date. The reasons for this
cessation, whatever they were, do not concern the
issue under discussion. The very last word escaped
the lips of the greatest Konkaniphile among the
missionaries of the day not later than 1684, when the
Alvara forbade its use even for oral communication.
This was 62 years after DC.
The above facts mean that the first 66 years
(1556 to 1622) of the press were barren as regards
Konkani literature. The next 38 years (up to 1660)
were extremely fecund as far as *catalogued or
reported* Konkani literature is concerned but the crop
turns out to be meagre when one looks at the
*tangible* fruits. It is thus clear that the entire
missionary literature, both notional and tangible, was
churned out in a matter of 38 or, let's say, 40 years.
It might have been used thereafter for a further
period of not more than 24 years (1660 to 1684), after
which it was interred to rest in peace for over 200
years. In spite of this history, Fr Pratap Naik and
the stalwarts of 'Dalgado Konknni Academy' claim that
Konkani in the Roman script has a *tradition* of 450
years! What other statement could be more ridiculous?
Sebastian Borges
Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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