-------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Add your name to the CLEAN GOA INITIATIVE | | | | by visiting this link and following the instructions therein | | | | http://shire.symonds.net/pipermail/goanet/2005-October/033926.html | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Re: UDAY BHEMBRE's ROAD MAP TO HELL by Godfrey Gonsalves In his article, Godfrey Gonsalves makes several charges against Uday Bhembre. But he is not likely to get any response from UB. Not because the charges cannot be answered but because, to the best of my knowledge, UB is not a netizen, he does not possess even an e-mail ID of his own; he uses the ID of his colleague only for RECEIVING any communication which could not be sent by post. Therefore, let us consider the points raised by Godfrey on their merits. 1. Konkani in Roman script has a history since the 16th century. This is a BASELESS LIE which is being propagated by vested interests who subscribe to the Goebelsian principle that a lie, when repeated a hundred times, becomes truth. The truth is that in the sixteenth century, when Goa was conquered by the Portuguese, European missionaries followed them and began their conversion activity. But they found that the natives already had a religion with temples and scriptures of its own. These temples and scriptures came in the way of their mission of winning souls for Christ. So they, especially the Jesuits, set about destroying all the temples and literature. They instigated the converts to steal written material from their Hindu neighbours. They also raided private homes and confiscated any written material found there. All this material was systematically destroyed. Many Goans found this too unbearable and decided to run away to other lands which today are situated in the states of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala. [THIS IS THE ROOT CAUSE OF THE MULTIPLICITY OF SCRIPTS EMPLOYED FOR THE KONKANI LANGUAGE.] It was only in the second half of the XVI century that the missionaries realized the need to learn the local language in order to administer to the converted populace. It was then that they took the help of converted Saraswats who were asked to dictate stories based on Hindu scriptures (Ramayana, Mahabharata, etc.). These were stories which they had read before their conversion when the originals had not yet been destroyed. The missionaries took these down in the only script that they knew, Roman. So that was the beginning of the use of Roman script for Konkani to satisfy the dire need of the missionaries. But LATER THE MISSIONARIES LEARNT THE LOCAL SCRIPT AND TAUGHT THE LANGUAGE TO THEIR NOVICES IN THAT SCRIPT. All this is on record, written by the missionaries themselves. They wrote religious books in Konkani in the local script but could not get them printed because, in spite of their best efforts, they could not obtain fonts in the local script. Fr. Thomas Stephens, the British Jesuit was one of those who tried their utmost to procure these fonts; their letters are a testimony to this. It was only when the Portuguese Government banned the use of the local script for official documents that Fr. Stephens transliterated his books into Roman script and got them ready for printing. His Doutrina Christam was printed posthumously in 1922; This SEVENTEENTH CENTURY work is the earliest Konkani book printed in the Roman script. Later, many more books are reported to have been printed, the last one having come out the press in 1660. Thus we see that missionary activity in Roman script Konkani lasted barely thirty-eight years. ALL THESE BOOKS WERE MEANT TO HELP THE MISSIONARIES IN THE PREPARATION OF SERMONS IN KONKANI. THE LAY PEOPLE DID NOT USE THEM. The only work that was used by lay people was Fr. Stephens Krist Puran which was produced as a substitute for the Abhangas which the Hindu devotees sang at temples and shrines all over Western India all the way to Rajasthan. [Please note that, similarly, the Goan Ladainha is a substitute for the Hindu Satyanarayana puja. It is prevalent only among the Goans!] For this very reason, Fr. Stephens composed this work in Marathi and ovi metre so that the old tune of Abhangas could be maintained. He also used a lot of Konkani words so that it would also be understood by the people who sang it. Although this work was printed in the Roman script, handwritten copies in DEVANAGARI script were circulated for the benefit of the lay people. ONE OF THESE IS PRESERVED IN LONDON MUSEUMS MARSDEN COLLECTION. The books in Roman script were used by the missionaries upto 1984 when Konkani was banned even from being spoken. This situation continued until the nineteenth century. During this period nobody even saw those books and most of them have disappeared without a trace; no Goan has seen them; they are not available anywhere in the world. NO KONKANI LITERARY WORK IN ROMAN SCRIPT WAS PUBLISHED BETWEEN 1660 AND 1890 (that is, for over two centuries!). LET GODFREY CITE SUCH WORKS, IF ANY, BEFORE REPEATING THE LIE that, in Konkani, Roman script has a history since the sixteenth century! It is also relevant to point out here that no native Goan anywhere ever published any Konkani literary work in the Roman script before 1990. I INVITE GODFREY TO PROVE THE CONTRARY! It would be pertinent to mention here that EVEN THIS IMPORTANT EVENT OCCURRED OUTSIDE GOA. THE FIRST PRINTED KONKANI TEXT IN DEVANAGARI, written by natives, DATES TO 1678. It is a testimonial attached to Henrich van Rheedes monumental work Hortus Indicus Malabaricus and written by three Konkani vaidyas. At least one of these vaidyas, who provided the Portuguese translation thereof, was conversant with the Roman script. Yet, he did not think it worthwhile to write the Konkani text in the script adopted by the missionaries for printing. Let Godfrey, or his guru, disprove the above facts, if he can. [to be continued] S. M. Borges
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