\\*\\ konkani क्रिसमस विशेस \\*\\

ॐ
नाताळाचो शुभिच्छा ।
कोंकणीन्तु बरयता आनी तुम्मी सरवांक हांव नातालाचों सुभिच्छा दित्ता ।
देवू तुमका बरें कोरों।
आम्चीगेलांन्तुं आम्मी उल्लेयलॅरी आन॒नी बरय्लॅरी आम्मी कोंकणीक चड वाडोचाक जात्ता ।
जय हिंद ।

Best wishes for a happy Christmas

Especially Wishing all our Christian Konkani friends and all other konkanis and everyone else a wonderful Christmas and a very happy new year.

Our father in Konkani for you....

Our Lady of Peace

Pictures of Shree ShantaDurga - The Indian 'Our Lady of Peace'.

Shree Mahalakshmi Prasanna

Picture of Mool Murthi of Devi from Verna, Goa, taken to safety in Kerala by the Konkanis in 1565 AD

Hail MahaLakshmi Goddess of Prosperity. May you bless us all.

Prayers to Lakshmi, the Goddess of Fortune
These are Prayers to all of the qualities of the Goddess and the blessings that She gives.
The First is the Lakshmi-Stuti, from Vishnu Purana, 7.9.116-138,
The Second is the Sri Suktam.
This Stuti eulogy of Lakshmi, which was spoken by Lord Indra, is the source of all opulence. In this world, poverty never dwells among those who recite this stuti daily.
indra uvacha
namasye sarva-lokanam
jananim abja-sambhavam
Shriyam unnidra-padmaksim
vishnor vakshah-sthala-sthitam

Indra [the demigod king of heaven] said, "I offer my obeisances unto the lotus-born mother of all beings, unto Sri [the Goddess of fortune], having full-blown lotus-like eyes, and reposing in the bosom of Vishnu."
padmalayam padmakaram
padma patra-nibheksanam
vande padma-mukhim devim
padma-nabha-priyam aham

"I offer my obeisances unto the Goddess who is the abode of lotuses, who holds the lotus, whose eyes resemble the petals of a lotus, whose face is a lotus, and who is dear to the Lord who has a lotus navel."

tvam siddhis tvam svadha svaha
sudha tvam loka-pavani
sandhya ratrihi prabha bhutir
medha sraddha sarasvati

"You are siddhi, nectar, Svaha and Svadha, O purifier of the worlds. You are twilight, night, effulgence, opulence, intelligence, faith and Sarasvati."

yajna-vidya maha-vidya
guhya-vidya cha shobhane
atma-vidya cha devi tvam
vimukti-phala-dayini

"You are the knowledge of sacrifice, the worship of the universal form, and occult learning, O beauteous one. You are the knowledge of Brahman, O goddess, and the bestower of the fruit of liberation."

anvikshiki trayi varta
danda-nitis tvam eva cha
saumyasaumyair jagad rupais
tvayaitad devi puritam

"You are the science of dialectics, the three Vedas, Varta, the knowledge of chastisement. O goddess, this universe is filled with your gentle and terrifying forms."

ka tv anya tvam rte devi
sarva-yajna-mayam vapuhu
adhyaste deva-devasya
yogi cintyam gada-bhritaha

"O goddess, who except you can dwell in the person of that God of gods, who consists of all forbearance, the bearer of the mace, who is contemplated by the yogis?"

tvayi devi parityaktam
sakalam bhuvana-trayam
vinashta-prayam abhavat
tvaye danim samedhitam

"O goddess, the three worlds, having been abandoned by you, were on the verge of destruction--because of you, they have again recovered their position."

dara-putras tatha garam
suhrid-dhanya dhanadikam
bhavaty etan maha-bhage
nityam tvad-vikshanam nrinam

"O exalted one, men are endowed with wives, sons, houses, friends, grain and wealth due to your constant glance."

sharirarogyam aishvaryam
ari-paksa-ksayam sukham
devi-tvad-drishti-drishtanam
purushanam na durlabham

"O goddess, freedom from bodily ailments, riches, destruction of enemies, and happiness are not difficult to attain for persons who view your glances."

tvam mata sarva-bhutanam
deva-devo harih pita
tvayaitad vishnuma chadya
jagad vyaptam-characharam

"You are the mother of all creatures, as that God of gods, Hari, is their father. And this universe, consisting of moving and nonmoving entities, is presently permeated by you, as well as Vishnu."

ma nah kosham tatha goshtham
ma griham ma paricchadam
ma sariram kalatram cha
tyajethaha sarva-pavani

"O purifier of all, if you forsake us, neither our treasures, nor our cows, nor our houses, nor our possessions, nor our bodies, nor our wives, are secure."

ma putram ma suhrid-vargam
ma pashun ma vibhushanam
tyajetha mama devasya
vishnor vaksah-sthalalaye

"O you whose abode is the chest of Vishnu, if you forsake me, neither sons, nor friends, nor animals, nor ornaments can be mine."

sattvena satya-shaucabhyam
chatha shiladibhir gunaih
tyajante te narah sadyaha
sansyakto ye tvayamale

"O spotless one, men who are forsaken by you are also forsaken by goodness, truth, purity, good character and other virtues."

tvayavico kitah sadyaha
shiladyair akhilair gunaih
kulaishvaryaish cha muhyante
purusha nirguna api

"And those who are glanced upon by you, although devoid of any good qualities, are infatuated by all good qualities, such as good character, lineage, wealth, etc."

sa shlaghyah sa guni dhanyaha
sa kulinaha sa biddhinam
sa shurah sa cha vikranto
yas tvaya devi vikshitaha

"O goddess, he who is glanced upon by you, is praiseworthy, accomplished, fortunate, intelligent, high-born, heroic and possessed of power."

sadyo vaingunyam ayanti
shiladyah sakala gunaha
paranmukhi jaga-dhatri
yasya tvam vishnu-vallabhe

"O nurse of the universe, O beloved of Vishnu, all virtues, character, etc., immediately abandon him from whom you turn away."

na te varnayitum shakta
gunan jihvapi vedhasaha
prasida devi padmakshi
masmams tyakshih kadachana

"Even the tongue of Brahma is incapable of describing your qualities. O lotus-eyed one, be auspicious unto me. Please do not abandon me."
[Thus ends the Lakshmi-stuti]
Sri [the Goddess of Fortune] said: "I shall never turn my face from one who praises me every morning and evening with this hymn."

Konkani speakers parking only

Hey this sign is being sold on ebay from Miami Florida...

Cool N'est ce pas!!!

Wishing you all a very Happy Diwali

Old Map of Konkan - Bellin

Here Bellin , in the latter half of the 18th century made some brilliant maps of the western Indian coast. Of course he made maps of loads of places in the world too.

The Konkan Coast - A Tourist's delight: Goa, Mumbai, the Canara coast and kerala

The Konkan coast is the narrow strip of Land to the west of the western Ghats, reclaimed by Lord Parshuram by asking Lord Varuna, God of the seas to receed to allow the Konkanis to settle.

Why Mythology is an integral part ofour culture, on a scientific note, the Konkan was perhaps inhabited by aboriginal tribes who migrated into India many thousands of years ago. The Aryans from central asia settled in the 2nd century BC. While the aboriginal peoples were aryanised the aryans themselves were enculturated in the aboriginal traditions.

The worship of Shiva, the worship of Santeri or Shantadurga forms an amalgamation of the aryan and the pre aryan traditions of the Konkan.

The Land was separated from the ghats and the Desh or inland by the mighty Western Ghats.

The whole of the western coast of India is now connected by the Konkan railway. From Thane in North Maharashtra to Kerala, the Konkan coast is extremely beautiful. The states of Goa and Kerala are major tourist destinations for Indians as well as foreign tourists.

A map of the western Indian coast in the 1880s is shown above. Then Goa was under portuguese rule, India was under the British and large princely states such as Hyderabad and Mysore had Maharajas and Nizams who earned millions.

Amchigela - an endonym for Konkani

Most communities have an endonym (A name they use for themselves) and an ectonym 9 a aname used by other to call the particular community) . Many places have these too.

Amongst konkanis specially saraswats the word amchigela/Amchigele is an endonym. Konknno is perhaps an ectonym. I have put in the emblem of the amchigele UAE samaj as an example :)

Amchi means 'ours' and gela means language. Therefore all konkanis call themselves 'people speaking our language' or amchigela/amchigelo!!! Konkani itself is also known as amchigela or our tongue!!!

Bharat is an endonym whereas Indos, India, Inde are all ecotnyms.

Cymru is an Endonym and Wales is an ectonym.

Eire an Endonym and Ireland an ectonym.

Goem is an endonym whereas Goa is an ectonym.

Mumbai is an endonym whereas Bombay was an ectonym for many'
Some of the aimiable names for other indian communities include... All ectonyms... Gujju for gujrati, Mallu for Malayali, Bong for Bengali.

So next time you meat an amchi -i.e. Konkani chap, ask him/her do you speak amchigela? :)

Dalitoy - a fantastic accompaniment to steamed rice- Konkani style lentil curry.

Dalitoy and Xit (Sheath)- Rice and Dal
The perfect couple.

Most Konkanis would have dalitoy xit as their basic meal with accompaniments such as a cocount based curry.

Dal is lentil, usually toor dal and certainly toor or tori dali for dalitoy and toy or rather tauy is from the sanskrit word for water i.e. toyam. Therefore dalitoy is basically a thin dal soup. Most saraswats, especially gowd saraswats or dorkas (Because they follow the vaishnavite tradition or the dwarka tradition) would never eat patal or dilute dalitoy. They would rather enjoy a daat dalitoy or thick dalitoy= DDT !!!

Tori dal, Tuvar Dal- Soak in water for at tleast 2 hours.
Oil 2 tablespoons
Kadi pata/ curry leaves fresh a few.
Hing/ asofoetida powder 2 pinches.
Mustard seeds
Green chilies a few
Red chilies a few
Salt to taste

Method

Boil the tori dal. Some prefer to pressure cook it until it is a good mash.
Add the green chilies after they are split into half.
Add the salt.
Some people also add a bit of turmeric powder for some colour (Or the Dalitoy looks anemic!)
Heat the oil in a small vessel, add the mustard seeds, the asofoetida, the redchillies and the kadi patta to the hot oil.
Temper the boiling dal with this sputtering oil and spice mix (the tempering is Called Phann in Konkani)
Add salt to taste
Stir well and serve with Hot steamed rice.

Many Konkanis like to eat this with a spoonfull of warm ghee. Well - ghee is full of saturates so I wouldnt recommend it though it does add to the flavour.

Great Konkani Book - Konkani MahaBharat Adi Parv- Krishnadas Shama

These were the days when the portuguese had landed on the sacred shores of the Konkan Kashi or Goa. They were keen to caputire the land for the King of Portugal and capture the souls for their God. Many so called saints and priests came from portuguese shores to convert the Hindus to the new faith of Christianity. To convert Hindus they had to first understand their language and their mythology and literature. It was in their interest to do so.

The Portuguese Jesuits set about writing down the literature of the Konkani Hindus. This book is a modern transliteration by Dr P Naik of the Thomas Stevens Konkani Kendra in Goa. Krishnadas Shama was a konkani saraswat brahmin from Kushasthali, saxti(Salcette), Goa who was well versed with Konkani Hindu folklore. He was proficient in Konkani, Marathi and Sanskrit and perhaps even Kannada. He gave an oration of the Mahabharat Adi Parv in Chaste Saraswat Konkani and this was written down by the Jesuits in Roman script. This happened just before the Hindu Holocaust in Goa in the middle of the 16th century.

The transliterated konkani mahabharat was filed away in the libraries in portugal when some Goans discovered them. Dr Naik, himself a jesuit priest transliterated this in the common devnagri script used by many Konkanis today and the TSKK published the same.

The preface thanks the jesuit priests who saved this piece of literature! Shouldnt they be blamed for the almost complete annhilation of the Hindu Konkani culture, temples, literature from Goa??? Wouldn't this be a living tradition if it were not for the portuguese and Jesuits iconoclasts who destroyed all the Goan temples in the province of Saxti (salcette).

There also a mention of Konkani being only an oral language before the Jesuits began to write it in the roman script . Unfortunately the then konkani literature, temples and culture was almost completely annhilated in the 1540s to 1560s to make sure that the Hindu religion never recovers and all the people were forcibly converted to catholicism.

However the mentioned book is a beautiful read for all the lovers of Konkani and makes one comprehend and lament the insurrmountable loss , the Konkani literature, culture and religion has has to suffer under the portuguese and jesuits.

Hindus and Catholics live peacefully in Goa today with a great deal of understanding. We have learnt our lessons from the past (At least we hope so).

Hindus form a majority in Goa today. Hindu temples are booming. Beautiful churches have also been built (some unfortunately on the graves of previous temples). These portuguese religious fanatics who wanted Goa to be cleansed of the Hindu faith are unfortunately not here to see that the Hindus have built a temple in Lisbon.

Do read the book.

Solavya Shekdantle Konknni Mhabharat Adi Parv

Published by the TSKK

Goa- 1990

By a kind donation of Rs 20,000 by the Kuwait Konkani Kendra.

Batata Humman- A potato Curry Konkani style Recipe

Use Small New potatoes or dice potatoes into one inch cubes.
Fresh Coconut- grated
Tamarind paste
Red chili- Kashmiri and regular
Hing (Asofoetida)
Oil to temper.
Salt

The grated coconut, red chilies and tamarind paste may br ground to a pulp using a food processor.
Boil this paste.
Cook the potatoes until properly done (Boil or microwave)
Add the potatoes to the coconut chili tamarind paste
Heat 2 tablespoons of oil and add the asoefoetida(Only a pinch)
Let it heat for 2 minutes and add this hot oil to the potato curry.
Add salt and allow to simmer for a few minutes

Batata humman

Ganapati

The Gowd Saraswat Brahmin Ganeshutsav in Mumbai is a mega event for the konkani community in Mumbai.





The huge pandal has a humungous murti of Ganpati and there are million Pujas and archanas going on. There is also a stall wherein Batata wadas, Biscut ambado , bajos and other modern stuff such as spring rolls are sold. Many come for the food :)

Konkani Books

Some good Konkani Books in Konkani

Konkani Chalval- Paulo Moraes

Konkani Sanstha

2003

St Aloysius College

Mangalore

575003

Printers-Brilliant printers pvt ltd. Bangalore

This One by Paulo Moraes is about the History of Konkani , its usage and its ups and downs; Its very very good.

Mahakavi Kalidas Vicharit Raghuvansh Maha Kavyam- Konkani Bhavanuvad

P Vaman Prabhu

March 1997

Codeword Process and Printers

Falnir, Mangalore

Phone 428218;421418

The Raghuvansh Katha in Konkani is perhaps only for the academics. P Vaman Prabhu tries a lot to makes the verses rhyme and perhaps the 'fun' is missing.

Nevertheless A good attempt.

Hey Its no bad thing to have in your konkani library you konkani fanatics :)

Devaki Krishna ; Madonna and child

Konkani people do not see much difference between Gods and religions. This is all very academic to them. It is their faith which makes them see the Devaki Krishna in Madonna and Christ.

Dev Borem Korum
May God Bless

Goa A Daughter's story - Maria Aurora Couto

I must recommend this fantastic book for all people who are interested in Konkani History and Heritage.

Ms Maria Aurora Couto (In Picture) has written this beautifully and this book is a good keepsake. A pleasure to read , well researched and very informative

Goa A daughter's Story - Maria Aurora Couto

ISBN 0-14-303343-3

Penguin Books India

I thank Frederick Norohna for the Image of Ms Couto. He own's the copyright.

Saving our souls..... Really????

When the portuguese came to Goa they thought they were bringing culture and the 'true' religion of chrisitianity to the natives.

Hinduism was banned. Hindu practices and rituals were forbidden. All forms of Hindu worship were denied.

Hindu temples were razed and laws were passed so that only christians could own land.

Many Hindus converted. Sometimes whole villages coverted to christianity en masse. Most thought this was a phase which would end soon and they would be able to go back to their routine and old ways again. Many Hindus fled the islands of Goa onto the mainland with their deities into the forests of Antruz, now called Ponda which was then under the rule of the Hindu Sonde rayas.

The people who stayed on had their Shendys (Ritual tufts of hair signifying their Hindu heritage)cut, their Janve's (Sacred thread worn over their left shoulder) taken off. Perhaps understanding the strict shuddhi (Purity) laws these people were forced to eat beef and pork thereby making sure they would never be accepted back into the Hindu fold. The orthodox Hindus who wanted to preserve their faith went into a cocoon mode and continued their worship in private on the mainland. There are acoounts of christians sitting with Hindus for wedding meals and therefore the whole wedding party losing their shuddhi. Pork and beef were also thrown by the portuguese in all the wells. There was therefore no option but to drink this water for the few who were left behind. Many were reconciled to the new situation and accepted christianity.

Hinduism was however in the core of these neo-converts and inspite of the Inquisition to stop these practices Christians of Goan origin still practice a chrisitianity which has an abundance of Hindu customs.

Over a period of time the Hindus rebuilt their temples outside the portuguese territories. These became thriving centres of the old religion. Many christians continue to worship at their ancestral temples and give offerings to their family deities.

Hindus form almost 65% of the population of Goa. Goan Hindus have also migrated all along the western coast of India and even beyond India's shore and continue to uphold their age old traditions.

Christians and Hindus have lived together for many generations. Christianity has become a way of life and a source of spiritual sustenance for many. Hinduism has continued to thrive. Hinduism's tradition of syncretism continues and many Hindus now accept the divinity in Christ as part of the overall divinity. Hindus and Christians worshipping together in temples and churches in not uncommon.

The shuddhi laws have almost completely disappeared and it is no longer taboo to co-dine with christians. Indeed inter religious marriages are getting more common. It is this spirit of co-existence which keeps India moving.

Inspite of hiccups of intolerance by and large Hindus, Christians and Muslims peacefully share their state of Goa and their country India.

Ivory carving of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden - Goa (AD-1850)

Ivory Plaque - Garden of Eden- Goa- 1850- Liverpool City Museum-England

Goan Konkani artists were adept over millenia in the use of ivory, wood and stone in carving Hindu figures and Hindu mythical lore . After their coversion they continued to carve their new christian mythical lore incorporating their skill. Note the perfectly carved Indian Elephant in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve are carved by Goans in this Ivory plaque currently in the Liverpool City Museum.
Also note the presence of the tortoise and the mongoose all features of an Indian Jungle. The apple trees also look more like mango trees.

Shree Shantadurga the Mother Goddess ....

Shree Shantadurga Vijayatam

The Goddess Shree Shantadurga, Santeri, Saibini the ancient mother Goddess of all the Konkani people.

The first tribes that settled in Goa many millenia ago prayed to the great Mother Earth Goddess in the form of anthills. The tribes of people who settled later also incorporated the worship of the mother Goddess in Her various forms. The aryans who followed incorporated her with the great Shakti and looked upon Her as the peaceful form of Goddess Durga. Anthills were the site of small grottos for the Saibini or Mai Santeri.

After Christianisation of the Old conquests of Goa for the lay Goan the saibini or the mother-goddess was still venerated. Only her form changed to the Mother of Christ or Mother Mary. The distinction between the Catholic Saibini and Hindu Saibini is only a matter of debate for the poles of the religious spectrum. The vast majority of Hindus and Catholics look upon her as Saibini.

Shree Shantadurga Vijayatam