By: Vivek Ullal
Why are we called Konkanis? Our name is derived from our mother tongue, Konkani, which literally means “of the Konkan”. Konkan is the name given to the narrow strip of west coast of India, from coastal sub-peninsular Gujarat to the tip of Kerala, enveloped by the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Western Ghats on the east. The largest concentration of Konkanis is in the State of Goa, and Konkani is its state language and also one of the official national languages of India.
Next to Malayalam, which has over 90% of its words directly derived from Sanskrit, Konkani has the distinction of having about 70 % of its vocabulary, derived from this ancient language. The language has many dialects, and changes subtly, every few miles up or down the coast. It even changes in the same region, depending on the community that uses it. For instance, the Konkani spoken by the Christians, Goud Saraswat Brahmins, Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmins, and some other non-Brahmin Hindu community have some characteristic differences. In most places, Konkanis are a minority, and adapt easily to the state or regional linguistic culture of the area, such as Marathi, Kannada, Tulu, Malayalam or English.
According to an exhaustive article about Konkani on the web-page, www.academic.marist.edu/konkan/news.html, (this web-page may not be in existence now), the Saraswat Brahmins, who are the best known Konkani community, moved from the banks of the now extinct river Saraswati (one of the tributory of River Sindhu (Indus) in Sindh) to Thrihottrupura (now Tiruth) around 2500 BC. Another group migrated to Gomantaka (now Goa), while yet another group migrated to Bangla (now Bengal).
Being in small numbers wherever they settled, they were persecuted by Muslim rulers, Marathas and more recently, the Portuguese. Different rulers banned the writing and teaching of Konkani, thus destroying an ancient literature. Some Konkanis from Goa migrated to pockets of Ratnagiri and Sawantwadi (in present state of Maharashtra), Malanad, coastal Karnataka and Kerala.
It is wrong to consider Konkani as a dialect or derivative of Marathi. Evidence shows that Konkani language existed long before Marathi did, and its literature existed long before any such work was written in Marathi. Konkani writers used the ancient script of Brahmi earlier, to be replaced by Devanagri later on. According to an excellent article by Krishnanand Kamat in his web page “Kamat’s Potpourri”, www.kamat.com/kalranga/konkani/konkani.htm., the earliest Konkani inscriptions were in year 1187. In the year 1209, Jnaneshwari was written (and later translated or re-written in Marathi). In 1548, the Portuguese destroyed all Konkani books.
Konkani has the distinction of being the first Indian language to be used for a printed publication: Fr. Thomas Stephens published Doctrina Christi (Doctrine of Christ), in which the text is Konkani in Roman script, although the title is in Latin. Fr. Stephens later published in 1640, Arte da lingoa Canarim (the Art of the language of Canara). This is believed to be the first grammar treatise written for any Indian language other than Sanskrit. In 1675, Appu Bhat, Rang Bhat and Vinayak Pandit of Cochin published a treatise on Ayurveda in Konkani. The script was Devanagri, and was probably the earliest evidence in which this script was used for Konkani. The first Konkani newspaper O Konkani was published in 1886 followed by Salak in 1889. The oldest one still in print is Rakno, a weekly started on Christmas Day, 1938, and is published in Mangalore. In Goa, there is a Konkani daily, Sunampranth.
Although the Goud Saraswat Brahmins, Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmins, and Christians from Goa and the Kanaras are the best-known Konkanis, there are many other communities that use Konkani as a mother tongue. Among Hindus, there are also Daivajna Brahmins, Vaniyas (merchants), Chaptekars (cooks and caterers), Gudikars (drama prop suppliers and puppetry artistes), Chamgars (cobblers), Maesths (stonecutters), Bhandari’s (stonecutters), Kharvis (fishermen), the Guravs of Goa, the Maratha Konkanis and Rajapuri Saraswat Brahmins.
Among the Muslims who use the language, are the Navayets of Bhatkal, Kufis of North Canara and Ratnagiri, and the Siddis. Siddis are originally of Ethiopian descent. They were brought as slaves or workers, and settled in the Konkan. They have African complexion and features.
You can go to any part of India (not to speak of parts of the world), and find most people ignorant about the existence of Konkanis. Yet in every field, this tiny community has produced outstanding stalwarts. Some of the best known Konkanis are, Sir Benegal Rama Rao, (Reserve Bank Chairman), his brother Sir Benegal Narsingha Rao (one of the author of the Constitution of India), Shyam Benegal (film producer), Karnad Sadashiva Rao (freedom fighter and Congress leader), Tonse Madhav Pai (banker, educator, and philanthropist), Tonse Anant Pai (former Railways Minister and banker), Vijay Mallya (entrepreneur), Air Marshal Katre, George Fernandes (trade union activist, politician, and current Defense Minister of India), Nath Pai (freedom fighter and politician). In the film-acting world are Guru Dutt, Leena Chandavarkar, Anant Nag, Shankar Nag, Isha Koppikar, Anuradha Paudwal, and Girish Karnad (playwright, actor, and film producer). Atma Ram, Devi Dutt and Dev Benegal are some of the Indian film producers/directors who are Konkanis. Well acclaimed Konkani musicians in Indian film music include Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhonsle, Suman Kalyanpur, Sushila Rani Patel (also in classical music), Ajit Kadkade and Krishna Kalle. Konkani stalwarts in classical music include Vishnudas Shirali, Chiddanand Nagarkar, Dinkar Kaikini, Kausalya Manjeshwar, H. Taranath Rao, Devendra Murdeshwar, V.G. Karnad, Ravi Bellare, Sashi Bellare, S.C.R Bhat, Lalith Rao, Murli Manohar Shukla, Jitendra Abhisheki, Nityanand Haldipur, Sadanand Naimpalli, Omkar Gulvady, Ramdas Kamath, Upendra Bhat and many more.