Khabbar

North American Konkani Newsletter Volume XLII No. 1 January, February, March - 2019

From:

The Honorary Editor,

"Khabbar" P. O. Box 222 Lake Jackson, TX77566 - 0222 XLII-1 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

FIRST CLASS

TO:

Khabbar Follies In this section, Khabbar looks into the Konkani community and anything and everything that is Konkani from a Konkani point of view. The names will never be published but geographic location will be identified in general terms. There is no doubt in my mind thatKhabbar is a part & parcel of life of Konkanis in North America. In fact, Khabbar has developed a special relation with most of the Konkani families and here are some examples of those close encounters of a different kind….……

There is no doubt in my mind that Khabbar is the most Khabbarand the Annual Khabbar Mailing List from those two popular newsletter for Konkanis in North America, but I did big piles! And, moreover, the family called me to let me know not realize how important is was to few of the families. The about this saying Khabbar is the most important newsletter case in point was this family from NC who went on an that they will always want!! extended vacation. When they came back to collect their “Hold” mail, there were two big piles of mail. The first thing Editor’s Reply: That kind of a dedication from the readership this family did was to look out for the latest issue of really keeps the Khabbar staff motivated to be the best.

****** SUBSCRIPTION FORM: Dear Konkani family, It is time to renew your subscription for 2019.The numbers on the mailing label clearly indicate the year/s the dues for Khabbar has been received since 2017.Please, note that you have the FREE access to the eKhabbar, the electronic version of Khabbar, by visitingwww.ekhabbar.com. If you want hard copy, then only remit your subscription of $15.00/yr. Please, don't pay for future years! Fill the form below and send your subscription with a check payable to Khabbar, P. O. Box 222, Lake Jackson, TX77566-0222. (Canadian Konkanis please pay cash or MO in US$)

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Email ID: ______

…………………………………………………………………………………………………Children…………………………………………………………………………………………………… Name Boy/Girl d.o.b. Hobby/Interest

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Khabbar XLI No. 1 Page: 2 Quarterly Newsletter For Circulation to the Konkani Community in North America Volume XLII No. 1 January, February, March - 2019 Honorary Editor: Mr. VasanthBhat Mailing Address: P. O. Box 222 Lake Jackson, TX77566-0222 www.ekhabbar.com Tel: (979)-299-3210 Email: [email protected] Annual Subscription: $15.00 Make check payable to "Khabbar" & mail to P.O.Box 222, Lake Jackson, TX77566-0222 The Editorial Committee reserves the right to exclude, edit and correct all material received for publication and does not accept any responsibility for views expressed by authors of the publications. E D I T O R I A L Dear Konkani family, The North American Konkani got the right answer!!Let us see how Association (NAKA)under the able you will do with this quarter’s quiz. I hope all is well with you and your leadership of Ramesh M. Kamathhas family. been successful in organizing the next The progress of the ambitious project, Konkani Sammelan in 2020 in San Konkani Kendra, the Konkani This issue of Khabbar has been Jose, CA. Please, extend your support BhasAniSanskritiPratistanisgood. mailed to ALL families that have paid to the new Board. NAKA has Thanks to BastiGanapathiShenoy dues at least once since 2017. proposed a bold program to North who has volunteered his services to Families who have not paid since American Konkani community to help 2016 will not be receiving this issue. revive the ever popular Konkani KonkaniBhasAniSanskritiPratistan. The numbers on the mailing label Sammelans. Hope the community will Please, call him at (702)-341-6706 or clearly indicate the year/s the dues for support this program and help email: [email protected] if Khabbar has been received since 2017 NAKA.The Konkani Youth have interested to extend your help for this and if there is any error let me know. decided to hold annual Youth worthy cause. Indeed, the Kendra has Sammelans every year. This year it is become a center of attraction and I Even in these tough economic times, going to be in Chicago.Khabbarwill urge all North American Konkanis to the Advisory Committee of Khabbar publish all the developments and visit the Kendra to see in what way has decided that the annual dues will progress made by NAKA on an on- they can benefit from this. remain the same at $15.00 a year and going basis. for that you get: Khabbarwill always publish appeals  Four issues of the Khabbar, Khabbar will also publish progress for charity free of charge but cannot  Annual Mailing List and made by Konkani Charitable Fund collect money on behalf of any  Discounted advertisement rates. (KCF) on a regular basis. The team charity. Families are encouraged to KCF needs all our support to help our send the money directly to the This issue has not been mailed to folks anywhere in the world.Dr. concerned charities or thru KCF if families that have specifically Gopal Bhandarkar and his team are approved by KCF. Khabbar firmly indicated that they will access doing a fantastic job in making our believes in helping our people whether eKhabbar, the on-line version of community aware of KCF and hope it is in or here. Here’s the link to Khabbar, whichwill be on the web a you will help him to help our people. all the special appeals: quarter after mailing the hard copies. http://www.ekhabbar.com/special%20 The unofficial Khabbar appeals/special%20appeals.htm TheKhabbar Mailing List is a prized Correspondents in your area who send possession of our community. Please in the hoonKhabbars on a regular Hope struggle to rid terrorism from help me to keep it up-to-date. Send basis are doing an outstanding job. this world will materialize soon. Hope names and addresses of Konkani Remember, if it did not appear in Peace & Tranquility will prevail. families that are not in the list to P. O. Khabbar, then it did not happen in Box 222, Lake Jackson, TX 77566- North America! You can send the Happy Yugadi to you all. 0222, or email [email protected] news items via email and rest be assured that I’ll ([email protected]). Devu Boren Karo. “Khabbarize” them! On the Quiz front, it is the same story! Vasanth Only three, I mean, only five people Honorary Editor

Khabbar XLI No. 1 Page: 3 Letters to the Editor ...... Letters to the Editor will be considered for publication unless the writer requests otherwise. Letters may be edited for publication. Editor reserves the right not to publish anonymous letters. Initials only on request if the writer includes his or her name. ****** Dear Vasanth, Our uncle K. Venkataraya Pai from sent us this article. Thought Khabbar may be interested in Publishing the same.

Arkal Mohan Shenoy, San Diego, CA [email protected]

Hello Vasanthmaam,

I hope you are doing well!

I have written a brief article pertaining to the 2019 Konkani Young Adult Convention, attached to this e-mail. This article contains information on the highlights of the past convention, as well as plans for the current convention. I was wondering if you would be able to include it in the next edition of Khabbar; we have included our contact information so that any readers interested in attending can reach out to us directly.

Thanks so much for the help. After the next edition of Khabbar goes out, and once we have a more accurate headcount, I will contact you again with details regarding the headcount and a specific agenda that we will plan to follow.

Thanks again for everything,

Regards,

Priya Sorab University of Cincinnati College of Medicine MD Candidate, 2021

Aspiring Entrepreneurs, Inspiring Outcomes Upaya Social Ventures builds businesses that create dignified jobs for the poorest of the poor in India. Upaya is a non-profit organization that believes in providing a "hand up" and not a "hand-out" to alleviate extreme poverty. To date, the organization has supported the development of five businesses that have created over 16,000 jobs. Please visit www.upayasv.orgto learn more, or please feel free to contact Executive Director and Co-Founder SachiShenoy at [email protected]

Khabbar XLI No. 1 Page: 4 HoonKhabbar Congratulations: grandparents are Govind grandparents are Chandrakant & The Fast Company is a monthly &Prabha Kamath from Austin, Sheila Mahale, of High Bridge, American business magazine TX. Great grandmother, Premila NJ and proud paternal grand published in print and online that Kamath, is here from Pune India Parents Dr. Jaimini & Manjana focuses on technology, business, specially to visit Nyra. Patel. A brother to big sister and design. In 2019 they ranked Aarya. businesses making the most SELMA, a 7 lbs & 4 oz. and 19- profound impact on both industry 3/4” baby girl to Vindya Bhat& Relocation: and culture showcases a variety Sridharan Raman on December The NAYAK family, Narayan & 26, 2018 at 6:30 am at Mt. Sinai of ways to thrive in today’s Nirmala relocated from West hospital in New York, NY. volatile world. Out of these 50 Lafayette, CA to 708 Eppleton Selma is a little sister to big companies listed, JioSaavn was Lane, #402, Foster City, CA sister, Daana. The proud maternal listed at the 28th Rank. 94404. Their email ID: JioSaavn, the music-streaming grandparents are Vasanth & [email protected]. company, which was formed in Poornima Bhat of Lake Jackson, October 2018 when streaming TX and the proud paternal The RAO family, Ramadas & startup Saavn merged with telco grandparents are Parimala & P. Meenakshi, have recently giant Reliance’s JioMusic S. Raman of Atlanta, GA. relocated from Gaithersburg, MD service, offers more than 40 to , , India million tracks in 15 regional ARJUN, a baby boy was born to languages for 38 million monthly Ashvin Kamath & Anjali Kumbla Newlyweds: active users. It’s now wooing the of Atlanta, GA on February 10, Jaidev & Meena Rao of Los telco’s 272 million high-speed 2019. The proud paternal Angeles, CA celebrated the mobile customers. Part of the grandparents are Ramadas & marriage of their son, Chi. AMAR pitch: JioSaavn offers highly Udaya Kamath from Apple with Sow. ERA, d/o Ravinder& flexible plans–users can choose Valley, CA, and the maternal Indira Devi Kajal of Gurgaon, from various tiers and sign up for grandparents are Lakshmikantha India on Jan. 14th, 2019 in a month or a year. Inspired by & Anju Kumbla of Birmingham, Gurgaon. Netflix, the company also creates AL. Also excited are proud original content with independent paternal great grandparents Umesh &AparnaKeni of Calgary, artists via its own music label, Raghu & Ramabai Pai of Mission Canada celebrated the marriage of which it promotes on the Viejo, CA. Arjun is the first their daughter Sow. KOMAL with platform. Already, the company grandchild on both sides. Chi. SIDDHESH, s/o Shripad has had several top-three hits on &Pramila Phadnis, , India at "Mackenzie", Victoria Stampede, the iTunes India charts–a rare SAI, a baby boy to Ajay & Calgary on March 1, 2019 at 2 accomplishment for songs that Meera (Parbhakar) Ullal of PM. don’t come from a Bollywood Redondo Beach, CA, on . movie soundtrack. February 13th, 2019. The proud Vinodh Bhat of Port paternal grandparents are Vivek Obituary: Washington, NY is one of the & Jyoti Ullal of Simi Valley, CA Dr. BOLA RAGHAVENDRA Founders of Saavn. and the maternal grandparents are KAMATH (84) of Sound Beach, https://www.fastcompany.com/mo Satish & Poonita Parbhakar of NY passed away peacefully on st-innovative-companies/2019 Cupertino, CA. Sai is the first Thursday, February 28th, 2019 at grandchild on both sides. 1:00 am, in a rehab near his New Arrival: residence in Long Island. NYRA, a baby girl to Namita AYAN, a baby boy, born on Khabbar sends heartfelt Kamath & Nilax Patel of March 11, 2019 at NYU Longone condolences to his wife, Sumathi Placentia, CA on Dec 23rd, 2018. Medical Center in New York, and family. Paternal grandmother is NY to Mihir & Rekha Mahale of Renukaben Patel and maternal New York, NY. Proud maternal

Khabbar XLI No. 1 Page: 5 Konakni Happenings Dallas Fort Worth Konkani Samaj: DFW Konkani Samaj held a Holiday party to all Konkanis in nearby cities. Our Holiday party was on Dec 29th, 2018at Minerva Banquet Hall in Plano, TX. The fun theme based party had delicious food (including pomfret and kane), fun games, Karaoke singing and group dances.

KASC Diwali 2018 Our 2018 KASC Diwali function was an extremely fun celebration that was filled with talent and Amchi delicacies. The event was held in the evening at the Bhakta Cultural Center, Norwalk on Oct 27th between 4 - 10 pm. All attendees were welcomed with snacks: Rulav, Phova chutney, Panak, coffee, banana chips and Chivado made by Deepa Aunty.

The first activity that was conducted is the art competition for kids, in which contestants were timed for an hour to finish their artwork. The art competition was split into two groups, the younger kids and older kids. The winners of the two age divisions that were voted for art were Varsha Baliga (younger group) and Daksh Prabhu (older group). Surprisingly all others shared equal votes to ring in the second place. Just as every previous year, KASC hosted the mithai competition which was judged by the mystery judges. The winner for best mithai was Nankhatai by Shreya Pai and the winner for best mithai display was Badam Puri by Bharat Uncle.

After the snacks, cultural entertainment started with speech on Diwali by Varsha. The KASC Diwali event was compered by Priya Aunty, Deepa Aunty and Rajesh Uncle. The kids who participated were Maya and her younger brother, Siddharth who sang a film song each, Daksh performed a solo dance set to a movie medley, Veda and Varsha danced together to a Bollywood medley. The highlight of the evening was the Kodial special dance called Vagha Vesu performed by Atul, Mayank, Daksh along with their father and Srinivas uncle. The moms left no effort to show their talents by performing dance to a Bollywood medley. The participants were Sangeeta Aunty, Divya Aunty, Deepa Aunty, Gayatri Aunty and Latha Aunty. There was also a melodious flute performance of a Bollywood medley by our talented Vivek Mam.

The one activity that brought the entire crowd to participate was a game directed by Rajesh Uncle. The game was to identify popular people and KASC members by looking at their childhood pictures. Konkani Vidwan got all the kids to test their Konkani vocabulary. The competition was directed by Rajesh Uncle and was split into two groups, older kids and younger kids after a series of Konkani words the victor of the younger age division was Veda Baliga and the older division was Archini. The final activity was the raffle. Each child picked a ticket and whoever had the number on the ticket picked won a raffle prize. Several people won the prizes which included kids and adults. This was the last event of the evening.

After the raffle, everyone went to the dining hall for dinner and ate a delicious dinner cooked by the KASC food committee: Deepa Aunty, Sangeeta Aunty, my mom Reshma, Gowri Pachi, Latha Aunty, Pavitra Aunty, Gayatri Aunty, and Divya Aunty. The menu consisted of Rice, Dalitoy, Kuvale puli koddel, Beans upkari, Chana ghashi, Potato curry, Roti, Madagne, Spiced butter milk and papad. After dinner for the next thirty to forty minutes, adults helped with cleanup while kids played in the performance room. Following this at around 9:30 to 10:00 everyone said their goodbyes and the Diwali function ended. By: Om Shanbag (Age 11 yrs) KASC MAHASHIVRATRI BHAJAN 2019 The KASC Mahashivaratri Bhajan was held on Saturday, February 16, 2019 at the Recreation Hall of Moneta Gardens Housing Complex in Torrance, CA. There was a sizable attendance of KASC family members. After snacks and refreshment drinks, the bhajan began with participation from the youngest members of KASC as well as adult members. There was a brief recital of two bhajan tunes on bansuri by Vivek Ullal. The bhajan concluded with aarti in which all members participated. The bhajan was followed by a delicious pot-luck dinner, cooked by our talented Konkani cooks. Thanks to all participants, cooks and volunteers who setup the room for the bhajan. Special thanks to Gurpur Srinivas and Gayatri Pai for obtaining us the venue.

Khabbar XLI No. 1 Page: 6 Sridhar Rao, No More Konkani community of Southern California mourns the loss of beloved Sridhar Rao, founding Father of KASC who peacefully passed away December 18, 2018 with a brief illness. He worked very hard to pursue his vision of bringing the Konkani community together to share their common bond in ancestry, culture, and significance of Hindu ceremonies. He was looked upon for guidance in carrying the torch by the new leaders of the community. He was a banker by profession in India and continued that profession as an officer with Union Bank until he retired. He had many hobbies and talents such as his love of participating in bhajans, acting in Konkani Sammelan dramas, and giving speeches. He also loved connecting with nature by gardening and sharing the bounties with the community whenever possible. He was a man of integrity and also a kind and loving person to all and hence was loved and respected by all. Words fail to express the magnitude of his loss. We shall all miss him.

He is survived by wife Nandini, daughter Anjana and Son Ajeeth. We extend our heartfelt condolences to the family.

Sridhar Rao(1934-2018) Konkani Sammelan – 2020 in San Jose, CA – An Update Namaskaru, We are excited to present some new updates for the 2020 Konkani Sammelan, San Jose, CA.

First, we are proud to announce our theme. San Jose, Hod Gammath Amgel Utsav, Coast to Coast

Second, we are happy to introduce our complete core committee: Ranjana and Ashok Kulkarni- Vice Presidents & Awards Committee Chairs Ranjitha and Naresh Kamath- General Secretaries Abirami and Ramesh Kamath- Logistics Committee Chairs Leelavathi and Muralidhar Kamath- Finance Committee Chairs Sulatha and Ananth Prabhu - Food Committee Chairs Archana and Milind Gokarn - Fundraising Committee Chairs Mangala and Venugopal Pai - Publicity & Marketing Chairs Chetana and Vasanath Shenoy – Entertainment Chairs Seema and Vinay Hemmady - Audio Visual Chairs Sanjana and Ramachandra Shenoy - Stage Management Chairs Rekha and Mohan Kamath - Workshops & Seminars Chairs Seema and Madhu Shenoy - Web & Registration Chairs Uma and Dinkar Hoskote - Souvenir Chairs Kshama and Kedar Shirali - Creative Chairs Shambhavi and Tajan Kenkre - Hospitality Chairs

Khabbar XLI No. 1 Page: 7 Dr. Meena and Prakash Pai - Medical Symposium Chairs Shloka Kini - Youth Committee Chair

Please don’t hesitate to contact the committee at [email protected]

Third, we have created a local competition among the Konkani Association of California (KAOCA) to design a logo to complement our Sammelan theme. We have received many enthusiastic responses, from which a winner will be picked by a panel of judges.

Once again, we kindly request you to block your calendar from July 2nd to July 4th to attend and make Sammelan 2020 a success. Devu Baren Koro, Aruna & Ram Acharya Presidents, Konkani Sammelan 2020 HAAS : Mission Accomplished

Dear Friends, Our shipment of clothes for the flood victims in has reached its destination and they have already distributed them to the needy.

You all donated the clothes back in September. I sorted them and packed them into 12 large boxes (see attached picture). We had sarees, ladies outfits, men's clothing and children's clothing as well. Our own Satish and Jyoti Baliga talked to his brother Vinod, who happens to be the CEO of B.I.G Logistics. One phone call and he took over the whole process. Boxes were picked up from our home, crated(see attached picture) and shipped from the Houston ship channel. Due to some delays on the way the ship arrived few weeks later than anticipated. Our contacts in Cochin ( as it is called now) were able to clear customs without any problems as both parties are non-profit organizations. Kashi Muttt in Cochin has adopted 400 families affected by the floods, so they were grateful to have received our shipment.

Big Texas size THANK YOU goes to all of you who donated, to Suresh and Usha and Jyoti Baliga for offering the drop off locations and last but not the least to Vinod for the smooth sailing. Sincerely, Shobha HAAS Management Committee www.ourhaas.com

Khabbar XLI No. 1 Page: 8 2019 Konkani Youth Adult Convention The June 2018 Konkani Young Adult Convention held in NYC was a major success. Around 40 attendees from across America attended the event. This was an opportunity for youth to bond over a shared Konkani heritage, reconnect with friends and relatives from various states, and meet new friends. Activities included exploring Manhattan and Chelsea Park. With funding from NAKA, we were able to enjoy great group dinners, during which we were able to network, further discuss our common Konkani heritage as well as opportunities on how to get involved in similar events in the future.

Konkani Young Adult Convention attendees enjoying lunch at Chelsea Market in New York City

The bonds and friendships made during this time were long-lasting; in the months following the convention, attendees kept in touch via social media, often discussing topics such as Konkani culture and cuisine. In the months that have passed since the convention, the Facebook group has grown considerably in size. We have also created a Konkani Young Professionals Network to facilitate professional networking and mentoring opportunities. We aim to connect young aspirants to practicing professionals in many fields including medicine, law and engineering! Given how successful the 2018 convention was, we are looking to build on our momentum with another Konkani Young Adult Convention, this time in Chicago, IL, between Friday, June 21st through Sunday, June 23rd for youth 18 and older. Over 40 young amchis have already indicated interest, and registration remains open for those who may wish to attend. We have planned a host of activities, including a Konkani trivia game, a walking tour of Grant Park and exploring the Shedd Aquarium. We believe this convention will be an exciting opportunity for Konkani youth to connect with each other, raise awareness of their heritage, and explore a new city. Furthermore, we hope that this convention will be a platform for the expansion of our Professionals Network, facilitating professional networking - as well as a platform to encourage attendance at the 2020 Sammelan in California. If you would like to register or get more information, please contact any of the organizers: Priya Sorab Ro Golikeri Pratik Keni

[email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

Priya is a second year medical student at the Ro grew up in Houston with a large and close Konkani Pratik Keni is an Analytics Consultant at University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. community which he enjoyed being part of. His family Seatec Consulting in Atlanta, GA. Born and She was born and raised in Michigan and attended the KISS (Konkanis in Southern States) picnic raised in Seattle, he graduated from the graduated from the University of Michigan, every year and he has attended almost every Konkani University of Washington (UW) Seattle Ann Arbor in 2017. She was a co-chair for the convention. He went to college in San Antonio and currently with a B.S. in Mathematical Sciences (’13) 2018 Youth Convention as well. lives in Chicago. He enjoys spending time outdoors and from Emory University with an M.S. in whenever he can with his dog and trying new places to eat. Business Analytics (’18)

KHABBAR FROM KULAR By: - Vishwa Konkani Sardar BASTI VAMAN SHENOY

Ullal Srinivas Mallya Award Ceremony: Maker of Modern Mangaluru Ullal Srinivas Mallya Awards Ceremony organized by Mangaluru City Corporation was held on 12th Jan 2019 at Town Hall and Dr. B.M. Hegde Former Principal K.M.C. College was felicitated with the Ullal Srinivas Mallya Award for his glorious services to the committee at large.

Kavita Fest: Konkani Kavita Festival was held on 13th Jan 2019 at World Konkani Centre by the , Mangaluru in association with & Cultural Foundation, World Konkani Centre. Konkani College and High School Students from , Goa, Karnataka and Kerala participated. Great Konkani Poet Mrs. Anvesha Singhbal, Goa, Chief Guest, distributed the prizes to the winners in the Konkani Poetry Competitions. Mr. H.M.Pernal Konkani writer was honoured at the Festival. Mr. , founder President Kavita Trust welcomed the guests and Mr. Basti Vaman Shenoy Founder President World Konkani Centre presided.

Khabbar XLI No. 1 Page: 9

10th Anniversary of World Konkani Centre: The 10th Anniversary of World Konkani Centre was held on 17-01-2019. C.A. Giridhar Kamath, convener KSHAMATA Training Programme addressed the gathering. Mr. Basti Vaman Shenoy founder President presided.

All India Saraswath Sammelan : All India Saraswath Sammelan was held at Mumbai on 19th & 20th Jan 2019. H.H.Swamjis of Sri Chitrapur Muth, Shri Kaivalya Muth and Shri Kashi Muth Samsthan were present and blessed the gathering. Mr. Srinivas Dempo (Dempo Group of Companies, Dempo House, Goa) Mr. T.V.Mohandas Pai (Chairman Manipal Global Education), Mr. Gawtham Eknath Thakur (Chairman and M.D, Saraswath Cooperative Bank Ltd Mumbai) addressed the gathering. Mr. Basti Vaman Shenoy Founder President World Konkani Centre was honoured.

World Konkani Centre had put a Stall to get DNA Blood Samples of Saraswaths from Kashmir, Punjab, Gujarath, Rajastan, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa and Kerala for the purpose of the Study and Documentation of “THE KONKANI PEOPLE OF KARNATAKA; A STUDY OF THEIR ORIGIN, MIGRATION AND SETTLEMENT PATTERNS”

Khabbar Editor in World Konkani Centre: Mr. Vasanth Bhat, Honorary Editor, Khabbar Magazine, North America visited World Konkani Centre on 1-02-2019 and had discussion on the present activities of World Konkani Centre, Vishwa Konkani Students Scholarship Fund, Kshamata and Kshamata UGetin programmes.

KSHAMATA UGetin Day : KSHAMATA UGetin- “Youth Conclave” day was held on 8th Feb 2019 at T.V.Raman Pai Convention Hall. 600 students from various colleges trained under the programme were present. Mr. Ullas Kamath (Jt. Managing Director, Jyothi Laboratories, Mumbai) and Chief promoter was present on the day and addressed the students. The final year students trained under Kshamata UGetin expressed their gratitude to Mr. Kamath and World Konkani Centre for the great benefits got from the training programmes.

‘PRERNA’ : PRERNA- a confluence of Ideas and Motivation programme was held on 9th Feb 2019 at T.V.Raman Pai Convention Hall, Mangaluru by the Vishwa Konkani Alumni Association Scholars. Chief Mentor Mr. T.V.Mohandas Pai (Startup Evangelist and Social Mentor) gave Inspirational speech, Mr. Ullas Kamath(Corporate Executive), Mr. Ananth Talaulicar, Mumbai (Corporate Executive), Mr. Vasanth Kamath (Startup Entrepreneur), Mr. Srinivas Dempo, Goa (Industrialist), Mr. Prashanth Nayak (Corporate Executive), Mr. Mohan Shenoi (Corporate Executive), Dr. Usha Prabha Nayak (Educationalist), addressed the Scholars and narrated their experiences in building and managing corporate businesses. Mr. Basti Vaman Shenoy, Founder President World Konkani Centre, Mr. Ramdas Kamath U, President, Mr. Pradeep G. Pai, Secretary of Vishwa Konkani Students Scholarship Fund, Mrs. Deepa Pai, Mr. Sundeep Bambolakr, Jt. Managing Director , INDOCO REMEDIES LIMITED, Mumbai, Mr. Sundeep Shenoy, Mr. B.R.Bhat, Treasurer, World Konkani Centre, Mrs. Geetha C.Kini, Convener Vishwa Konkani Stree Shakti Mission, were present.

KODIAL TERU : ‘Kodial Teru’ of Sri Venkatraman Temple was held on 12-02-2019 with all pomp and gaiety. H.H. Swamiji of Sri Kashi Muth Samsthan Sri Samyameendra Thirtha Swamiji was present.

Sri Sri Sudheendra Thirtha Swamiji Punyathiti: First Punyathiti (Death Anniversary) of Sri Sudheendra Thirtha Swamiji of Sri Kashi Muth Samsthan was held on 14-02- 2019 at S.V.S. Temple Bantwal in the presence of the Office bearers of All GSB Temples Association Trustees, Veda Murthis and GSB Samaj Leaders coming from Bhatkal to Kasragod and they all offered their tributes to the Late H.H.Swamiji.

KONKANI PARISANVAD : Two days Seminar on Silver Jubilee of Inclusion of Konkani in the 8th Schedule of Indian Constitution. Parisanvad on Recognition of Konkani as a National language and effects was held in Multipurpose Hall, Directorate of Art & Culture,

Khabbar XLI No. 1 Page: 10 Government of Goa, Panaji, on 18th and 19th Feb 2019. The events were held under the auspices of Sahitya Akademy New . Konkani writers, heads of Konkani Associations from all states were present.

Dr. Gopal Bhandarkar Visit to World Konkani Centre: Dr. Gopal A. Bhandarkar, President Konkani Charitable Fund, USA visited World Konkani Centre on 20th February 2019 and addressed the Scholars of Vishwa Konkani Students Scholarship Fund (VKSSF). He appreciated the work carried on by World Konkani Centre under VKSSF and offered all help and encouragement to Konkani youths from American Konkani people through Charities.

INTERNATIONAL MOTHER LANGUAGE DAY Celebration : International Mother Language Day was celebrated on 21-02-2019 at World Konkani Centre with the theme ‘Konkani Education in Karnataka’ at the World Konkani Centre.Founder President World Konkani Centre Sri Basti Vaman Shenoy presided. Chairman of the Konkani Text Book Revision Committee Karnataka state Prof. Dr. Kasturi Mohan Pai gave the back ground of the event and briefed the members on 1000 years history of written Konkani and the present status of Konkani teaching in schools. Dr. B. Devdas Pai coordinator, PG studies in Konkani in elaborated on collegiate study of Konkani. Heads of 18 educational Institutions from Dakshina , , Uttara Kannada District teaching Konkani in their Institutions, Konkani teachers and leaders of various Konkani organizations were present and exchanged ideas and means of quantitative and qualitative improvements needed for the future growth of Konkani as an academic subject at various levels.

Vishwa Konkani Stree Shakti Mission 5th Batch Inauguration: Inauguration of Vishwa Konkani Stree Shakti Mission 5th Batch held at World Konkani Centre held on 23-02-2019. Mrs. Venna Subhash Shanbhog, Social worker, Inaugurated the workshop. President World Konkani Centre Mr. Basti Vaman Shenoy Presided. Mrs. Geetha C.Kini, Convener Vishwa Konkani Stree Shakti Mission welcomed and gave brief note about the Mission.

MAHA SHIVARATHRI : Maha Shivarathri was celebrated throughout India on 4th March 2019 with fastings, Pooja, Prayers and visits to Sri Mahalingeshwara Temples.

Hangyo brand is one among the top 10 Most Loved Ice Cream Brands in India Hangyo is a very famous brand of ice cream available in various parts of India. Hangyo is made by an eponymous subsidiary of Karnataka based dairy products major, Srikrishna Milk and Milk Products. It began as a small unit in Yellapur district of Karnataka in 1989 and rapidly expanded operations across the state.

High quality milk and excellent flavours made Hangyo a popular brand of ice cream in Karnataka as well as neigbouring Tamil Nadu, Goa, Maharastra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Kerala. “Share a Smile”

Hangyo ice cream is now made at various locations across India. It is one of the fastest growing indigenous ice cream brands and the only one from southern India to have struck big.

Khabbar XLI No. 1 Page: 11

By: Venkatraya Pai

A good read to all Negative influence of wretched Britishers and Portuguese in India. Are you a Konkani? If you are staying or travelling abroad, it is most likely that you have come across this question at least once: "Are you Hindi?" Probably they mean to ask "Are you an Indian?" or "Are you a Hindu?" or "Do you speak Hindi?" Yes, some languages denote nationality too - like The French or The German. But not Hindi. I have come across this question many times in my life: "Are you a Konkani?" Alas, most of the time, the intention behind the question is identification or generalization. Konkani is a language. It, in fact, is one among 17 languages are present in an Indian Currency note. Konkani is my mother tongue. But, no, you cannot generalize people who speak a language. There is a huge mistake in generalization.

For, infamous people like Dawood Ibrahim, Zakir Naik and Vijay Mallya are Konkanis. Yes, Indian film personalities like Late Guru Dutt (Vasanth Kumar Shivashankar Padukone), Deepika Padukone, Ganelia D'Souza, Amrita Rao, Urmila Matondkar, Illeana D'Cruz, Girish Karnad, Shyam Benegal, Anant Nag are Konkanis. Or Politicians like Late Abdul Rehman Antulay, Suresh Prabhu, Manohar Parrikar, Late George Fernades or journalists like Fareed Zakaria, Rajdeep Sardesai and M.V. Kamath are Konakanis. Or singers like Lata Mangeshkar or activists like Medha Patkar. In sports, you can find famous Konkanis like Sachin Tendulkar, Prakash Padukone, Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar, Sanjay Manjrekar. A significant number of Konkani speakers are found in Kenya, Uganda, Pakistan, the Persian Gulf, and Portugal. Obviously, you cannot generalize any individual based on language, caste, creed, religion and even nationality.

How many of you know that Konkani is one of the oldest languages in Asia which dates back to pre-classical Sanskrit? Ancient Hindus (I am using the word Hindus to describe people lived between Caspian Sea and Indonesian Islands before the birth of aggressive Semitic religions) were using the language "Prakruta" (meaning original, natural and artless) which progressively developed into Vedic Sanskrit (Pre-classical Sanskrit). Later Panini, an ancient Sanskrit philologist and grammarian, laid out in the grammar of Classical Sanskrit. The script used to write was Devanāgarī was developed from Brāhmī alphabet. Konkani is also part of Prakruta language and used the Devanāgarī script. Hence Konkani existed in Devanāgarī Lipi.

Konkani has been used as mother tongue for the last (at least) 4000 years by broadly two divisions of people. 1. Communities following Vedic culture like Goud Saraswat Brahmin (GSB), Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmins (CSB), Rajapur Saraswat Brahmins (RSB), Daivadnya (Daivajna) Brahmins, Chitpavan Brahmins (Konkanastha), Vaishya Vani, etc 2. There were lot of other communities which were not strictly following Vedic culture. They followed a mix of indigenous and Vedic culture. They were , Kudumbi, , Komarapant, Bhandary, Siddhi Hindu, Gaude, Velip, Gabit, Kumbar, etc. There are nearly 30 communities in this list.

Later during brutal Portuguese inquisition, the classical Konkani was destroyed by those lunatic invaders - especially by religious fanatics and evangelists. The barbarian pirate Chief (who was later canonized by Pope as 'Saint' for his saintly act of brutally massacring of innocents) destroyed any books written in Sanskrit or Konkani that they could find in Goa. They introduced many alien words from alien culture and used Roman script. Hence people started using two scripts for Konkani then - Roman and .

The original Konkanis, who faced terrible situation like that of Jews in Nazi regime, have lost everything - wealth, land, temples, institutions and took plight to Karnataka and Kerala. Later those settlers in the south states started using Kannada and Scripts for writing Konkani. So most of them do not know the script of Konkani. We know no language will survive without flourishing economy of users.

And then, during invasion of Tipu Sultan, lots of Konkanis were forced to convert into Islam. The Muslims started using 'Perso-Arabic' which is known as ‘Bhatkali’, descended from inhabitants of the city of Bhatkal, in the south of Karnataka.

Khabbar XLI No. 1 Page: 12 Thus Konkani became mother tongue for Christians and Muslims too. Among Christians various communities like Catholics, Charodi, Syrian and Siddi use Konkani. Among Muslims communities like Navyat, Jama-ati, Dalji and Siddi are using Konkani.

In short, Konkani is now written in five scripts: Devanagari, Roman, Kannada, Malayalam, and Perso-Arabic. My friend Shri. Payyannur Ramesh Pai, reputed linguistic scholar and renowned writer in Konkani, told me that during his service as a banker in the Middle East, he had met people from Pakistan who speak Konkani even now. Recently, I had an opportunity to attend a Konkani language seminar - unfortunately I did not understand few words used by those Konkani speakers who were from outside Kerala.

This is the biggest challenge and tragedy with this Language. In Kerala, native Konkani speakers use 70% Malayalam words. Most of them do not understand the actual Konkani words and phrases.

There are nearly 50 GSB temples in Kerala. Among those who speak Konkani as mother tongue in Kerala, GSBs are the second largest community (first being Kudumbis - the statistics is unverified).

GSBs claim that the language and temple culture (which is different from typical Kerala temples) make them unique. I have been to few GSB temples - but I have NOT seen any sign boards or display boards in any GSB temples written in Konkani Devanagari script!

I have also noticed that during the announcements in Konkani temples in Kerala, the announcers use a whopping 70-90% Malayalam words. Even temple priests do not speak full-fledged Konkani!

When I speak Konkani, many of my new generation relatives and friends (whose mother tongue is supposed to be Konkani) ask me meaning of some words - so, naturally, I will be compelled to use English, Hindi or Malayalam.

Same is the case in Karnataka too. And, if we go to Goa, we cannot understand many Konkani words. There is a growing domination of Roman vocabulary and dialects. They also mix up Marathi or Hindi words.

Yes, Konkani is an endangered language which may be dying fast. Even the champions of the languages do not use Konkani words. Endangered languages, much like endangered species of plants or animals, are on the brink of extinction. UNESCO says that a language is endangered when parents are no longer teaching it to their children and it is no longer being used in everyday life.

All languages have its own beauty. But mainly, a language is a tool to express or to communicate.

At home, even now, we speak Konkani only. I asked my kids to speak in Konkani till the age of 3. My reason was primarily not love to mother tongue, but science. If you learn genetics and DNA memory, you will know that the chances of children developing learning disability are more if you don't use your parent's mother tongue...

I am not a linguistic fanatic. But I know that mother tongue is important due to cultural, emotional and attachment values that we have.

As a human being it makes me sad to see that a language with such a vast rich cultural historical prominence is dying here. There are at least six million (sixty lakhs) people in India whose mother tongue is Konkani.

The government of Kerala has tried to support Konkani language as it is the third largest linguistic minority in the state. I heard that the government even printed few text books in Konkani. Unfortunately, there were no takers for Konkani. However, people are okay with learning Tamil, Hindi, Sanskrit, Arabic, Urdu and Bengali in the state.

Many people provide "free suggestions" as to how to improve the usage of mother tongue and uplifting the language. Though lot of people do their level best to save and promote this language, they are facing a lot of practical difficulties.

Khabbar XLI No. 1 Page: 13 There are systemic practical solutions, which needs dedication, determination and devotion. It needs lot of time and efforts. We can easily develop lot of innovative ideas to promote the language. I have discussed with few influential people about it. But there was no positive response.

We can't blame any. When we are immersed in zillions of daily cores of life, where is time for this? If two people join, there will be petty politics and conflicts of interests and ego pops up in the mind rather than the attitude to serve. So, let's all watch this great language die peacefully.....

According to UNESCO, as many as half of the world’s 7,000 languages are expected to be extinct by the end of this century; it is estimated that one language dies out every 14 days.

Konkani will be extinct sooner than we expect. ( http://www.udaypai.in )

Shri T. V. Mohandas Pai - Indeed, a Proud Moment for all Konkanis Hon’ble PM Shri Narendra Modiji greeting Shri T V Mohandas Pai at the ‘Three Billion Meal” commemoration of Akshay Patra Foundation At Vrindavan, UP on Tuesday Feb 12, 2019. He served food to underprivileged schoolchildren. He also unveiled a ceremonial plaque to mark the serving of "3rd billionth meal" by Akshaya Patra Foundation at Vrindavan Chandrodaya Mandir campus in the holy city.

Funded by International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), Akshaya Patra is a Bengaluru-based not-for-profit organisation that works with the government on mid-day meal schemes. It has a state-of-the-art kitchen in Vrindavan and PM Modi served food to children near the facility.

Khabbar XLI No. 1 Page: 14 DR. GOPAL BHANDARKAR’S VISIT TO WORLD KONKANI CENTRE “I want to see the day when my motherland India becomes largest economy in the world.India is currently 6th largest economy in the world. Soon it will be at par with USA and I want to witness when it becomes the largest economy in the world. Because it laid the foundation to make me what I am today." said Dr. Gopal A. Bhandarkar, President of Konkani Charitable Fund, USA during his visit to World Konkani Centre on 20th February 2019. He was addressing a group of Engineering Students undergoing soft skills training programme under KSHAMATA as a part of the Vishwa Konkani Student Scholarship Fund.

"Back in 1967 I paid a fee of Rs. 270/- to undergo my Medical Education in India. Today when I look back, I realise the rest of the cost was borne by Government of India and Government of Maharashtra. I am indebted to this land for this education. Due to which I could go to USA to pursue higher education and went on to become head of a community hospital in my region." Dr. Gopal A. Bhandarkar is a well-known anesthetist. He first joined Brookhaven Memorial Hospital in 1971. Today Dr. Bhandarkar's contributions to the Medical Center extend beyond medicine. "America is a great country, it rewards excellence. Though I was a coloured person, they chose me as their head only because of my qualities." He said.

"I always wanted to give back to my country and my community and I am fortunate to be associate with more than 30 charities in India which are working for Education, Elderly Care and Specially Abled and Challenged people through Konkani Charitable Foundation." Dr. Bhandarkar is currently the president of Konkani Charitable Fund which raises annually more than USD 250,000 and reach out to the Charities in India, large number of them active in Coastal Karnataka. Dr. Bhandarkar's work in uniting Konkani People under North American Konkani Association, along with other leaders such as Shri Vasanth Bhat is laudable. He has successfully organised North American Konkani Convention in 2012 in Edison, USA.

Earlier Shri Pradeep G. Pai, secretary, Vishwa Konkani Student Scholarship Fund, welcomed Dr. Bhandarkar and thanked him for his support to World Konkani Centre in all its endeavors especially to the Vishwa Konkani Student Scholarship Fund. Shri Basti Vaman Shenoy, President of World Konkani Centre delivered presidential address. He requested Dr. Bhandarkar to accept the gratitude of World Konkani Centre on behalf of all Konkani people of America. Shri Prabhakar Prabhu, Secretary, World Konkani Centre and Shri Gurudath Bantwalkar, Director and Prof. Bharathi Shevagur, facilitator KSHAMATA were present on the occasion apart from 40 engineering scholars of Vishwa Konkani Student Scholarship Fund undergoing KSHAMATA training programme.

Khabbar XLI No. 1 Page: 15 DharmaWiki - A portal of Knowledge from the source, Vedas, Upanishads, etc. https://dharmawiki.org: "Dharmawiki, is a unified knowledge resource platform to present traditional viewpoints of Sanatana Dharma available in the rich and diverse research heritage of Bharatavarsha." Do visit https://dharmawiki.org for understanding #Hindu dharma, it's scriptures, it's darshana from Indian scholars untainted by left or west bias. *Website Launch of Dharmawiki happened on 6 Jan 2018 by Dr. Subramaniam Swamy* Dr. Rajaram Baliga Honored Wake Forest University honors B. Rajaram Baliga, D.B.A., for 28 years of being a masterful teacher, a wise advisor to countless firms across the globe and an insightful scholar in strategy and international business; for being a caring mentor to colleagues and students alike; for being honored as the John B McKinnon Professor of Management as well as a visiting professor in Germany, India and France; for his authorship of over 45 research articles, cases and books; for his service as area coordinator to his management colleagues; for his coaching of countless winning teams participating in student competitions; and for his impressive receipt of over 17 annual teaching awards from Wake Forest University students and alumni Wake Forest University.

Konkani Calendar April 2019 May 2019 June 2019 4th Amavasya 4th Amavasya 2nd Amavasya 5th Ugadi – New Year Day 7th Akshaya Thritiye 14th Mithuna Sankranthi 6th OKA Yugadi 14th Vrishabha Sankranthi 15th Mithuna Sankranthi 13th Mesha Sankranthi 17th Narasimha Jayanthi 16th Poornami 13th HAAS Yugadi 18th Vaishaka Poornami 20th Sankashti Fasting 14th SWAS Yugadi 21st Sankashti Fasting 21st Sankashti 15th Yekadashi 22nd Sankashti 22nd HAAS Musical Night 18th Narasimha Jayanthi/Poornami 29th Yekadashi 28th Yekadashi 20th AMKA Yugadi 22nd Sankashti 30th Yekadashi Khabbar thanks My Astrologer-version 1.0 by Mr. MuralidharShenoy, Durham, NC and VedamoorthyRaghuchandraBhat of Waukesha, WI

My Sincere Thanks To …….. Some readers go out of their way to help Khabbar. Monetary means is one of them. The Advisory Committee of Khabbar has decided on publishing the names of the families that has contributed $50.00 or more to Khabbar. This quarter, the following have extended their help and thanks to you .....

Names Amount, $ Gopi & Sheila Pai, Germantown, TN 50.00 Vivek & Jyoti Ullal, Simi Valley, CA 50.00 Ramesh & Pratibha Kamath, San Carlos, CA 50.00 Shivadev & Jayalata Ubhayakar, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 65.00 Vasant & Kirti Acharya, River Forest, IL 51.00 Ashok & Suman Bhat, Tampa, FL 51.00 Nandini S. Mallya, Wanaque, NJ 50.00 Nirmala S. Bangalore, Mequon, WI 51.00 Krishna & Vasanthi Mallia, Rockford, IL 51.00 Laxmidas & Bharati Sawkar, Woodbury, MN 51.00 Laxminarayan & Urmila Kamath, Metairie, LA 81.00 Muralidhar & Sudha Shenoy, Durham, NC 50.00 Arkal Mohan & Vasanthi Shenoy, Del Mar, CA 65.00 Ratnakar & Jayanthi Pai, Farmington Hills, MI 51.00 Sudha R. Kini, Katy, TX 50.00

Khabbar XLI No. 1 Page: 16 Statement of Accounts Description Credit, $ Debit, $ Balance Carried over since Khabbar Vol. XLI No. 4 4,610.00 Money Received: Subscriptions (74) and donations 1,912.00 Interest 3.00 Sub Total: 1,915.00 Money Spent (Khabbar Vol. XLI No. 4): Printing- Khabbar(270) - 20 pages 392.28 Printing KhabbarMailing List (200 + 45) 550.87 Mailing - First Class Mail-Khabbar (241) 171.11 Mailing – First Class Khabbar Mailing List (176+45) 203.32 Mailing Canada Khabbar (6) 6.90 Mailing – Canada Khabbar Mailing List 8.05 Overseas (20) 60.00 Mail Fines, computer paper& labels, envelopes, service fees, etc. 407.47 Sub Total: 1,800.00 Final Balance: 4,725.00 Money spent on this issue was not available during press time.

Kwiz The last quarter’s quiz: Explain the logic below to find the answer to the last line: Answer: 0 5 - 4 = 23 Square of first number minus square root of the second! 8 - 1 = 63 The following gave the right answers: 6 - 16 = 32 Govind Kamath, Austin, TX 9 - 9 = 78 Shivadev Ubhayakar, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 3 - 9 = 6 Anil Rao, Friendswood, TX Gurudath Kamath, Katy, TX 3 - 81 = ? Srirammohan Beltangady, Gainesville, VA

This Kwarter’s Kwiz By “Vasanthmaam” Continuing with the Konkani tradition of quizzing, here's the brainteaser for this quarter. If you can solve this correctly, send it to Khabbar address to have your name published in the next issue if your subscription is current.

This Konkani merchant can place 8 large boxes or 10 small boxes into a carton for shipping. In one shipment, he sent a total of 96 boxes. If there are more large boxes than small boxes, how many cartons did he ship?

Khabbar XLI No. 1 Page: 17 NAKA, the North American Konkani Association Quarterly Update

Namaskaru, I would like to update you on the achievements of the NAKA Corpus Fund since we started this campaign. A total of 32 families have pledged support for it. As of today, we have received donations totaling $109,000. Waiting for another 10 families who have pledged but have yet to send in their donations. As announced in my earlier communications, we have opened a Fidelity Account and deposited the money into that account. Based on the investment advice from the financial consultant we have decided to invest in highly diversified and very low cost VTI (Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF) and SPY (SPDR S&P 500 ETF).On the auspicious Maha Shivratri day we started with a small purchase of the two ETF. Over the next four weeks we will periodically invest in these two funds. The updates will be published in Khabbar on quarterly basis. We still have a long way to go. Your onetime donation to the NAKA Corpus Fund will help to partially offset all future Konkani Sammelan. We will only use 80% of the gains every four years and leave the remaining 20% as principle to offset inflation costs. We request your participation and support for this initiative. This will only work if we show our strength in numbers. Read more about this on our website https://mynaka.org/Endowment Other updates. 1) NAKA Website: https://www.mynaka.org The NAKA (mynaka.org) website is updated and live. Our vision is to grow this as a central hub to foster interactions with services for all generations of our community. We will have services to share experiences through blogs, share Konkani recipes, provide Konkani matrimonial services, and even host a Konkani language learning portal where community members can create and upload short Konkani language videos. Mynaka.org will also support any other services deemed valuable by our community. 2) Konkani Sammelan 2020 We are very excited to announce to the North American Konkani community that we have finalized the venue for Konkani Sammelan 2020. It will be held in San Jose at the McEnery Convention center from July 2nd to July 4th 2020. Ram and Aruna Acharya have graciously accepted to be the President and first lady for the Konkani Sammelan 2020. We would like to request you to block these dates in your calendar so you can attend the event and make it a grand success. There will be lots of communications starting in coming months. Requesting for your participation in the various activities during the Sammelan. Please stay tuned. 3) Konkani Young Adult Convention Like to take this opportunity to announce the 2019 Konkani Young Adult Convention. This is an initiative taken up by our youth to hold such meetup once every year and NAKA is proud to support them as necessary.

In 2019, I look forward to continued progress on what we have embarked on.

Devu Baren Koro, Ramesh Kamath [email protected] http://www.mynaka.org

All the financial dealing of NAKA has been transparent and here’s the statement for this quarter: NAKA - Statement Of Accounts Date Description Credit, $ Debit, $ 11/30/18 Balance from last report 148,445.86 2/28/19 Interest for the quarter 3.25 Final Balance: 148,449.11 Signed: Damodar Baliga, Treasurer, NAKA

Khabbar XLI No. 1 Page: 18 Konkani Charitable Fund, Inc. 43 Spray Court Bayport, NY 11705 (631) 472-1418 www.Konkanicf.org Email: [email protected] Registered Charity under 501 (3)(c) EIN # 90-0482868 APPEAL March 8, 2019

President: The Konkani Charitable Fund’s Finance Report is given for each year at our Dr. Gopal Bhandarkar website www.konkanicf.org. Many of you are too busy to go to our website & read the report that is why we have decided to give you a concise report of Secretary/Treasurer: previous year, in the first quarter of each year. Mrs. Veena Kamath Finance Report for 2018 Total Donations received from generous people like you in 2018 $250,018 Directors: 2017 $ 255,137 Dr. Gajanan Shanbhag 2016 $ 285.705 Dr. Surendra Shenoy 2015 $ 252,749 Mr. Ravi Shenoy We screen charitable organizations in India, supporting Konkani Causes. We make Dr. Vijaykumar Rao sure that they are approved by Govt of India & have necessary certificates to Mrs. Aruna Acharya Dr. Vasudev Shenoy operate as legitimate charitable organizations. We have at present 23 such charities. They are listed at our website. The donation amount is determined by two factors. Some donors request us to send money to the charity of their choice. Founder/Director: Others leave it to KCF Board of directors’ discretion. Here is the amount sent to Mr. Ramesh Kamath each charity in 2018: 1) Abhaya Ashraya, Old Age Hoe, Mangalore $ 10,001 2 ) Anand ashrama Old Age Home, Puttur $ 23,350 Emeritus Directors: Mr. Ravi Baliga 3 ) A.S.R.P. Memorial Fund Student Scholarships. Mangalore $ 69.501 Mr. Ashok Bhatt 4 ) Canara High School Student Scholarships Mangalore $ 36,150 Dr. Ganesh Bhat 5) Chetana Education for Physically & Mentally Challenged children $ 27,500 Mr. Ananth Prabhu 6 ) Chitrapur Saraswat Education Society Mumbai $ 1,000 Prof. Vinayak Kudva 7 ) G.S.B Medical Trust Free Medical Clinic for impoverished, Mumbai $ 10,000

8 ) G.S.B. Scholarship League , Wadala Mumbai $ 10,000 9 ) G.S.Sevak Samaj Charitable Foundation Bangalore. $ 5,000 10 ) G.S.B.Sabha Scholarships to Students Matunga , Mumbai $ 16,000 11) G.S.B Sabha Charitable Trust Scholarships Dahisar- Borivali $ 15,000

12) Kanara Saraswat Association Scholarships Mumbai $ 1,000 13 ) Lobo School for Blind, Mangalore $ 13,000 14) Education Trust Scholarships Kumta $ 16,200 15 ) Mangala Seva Samiti Orphanage Mangalore $ 9,000

16) Ramkrishna Mutt Student Scholarships Mangalore $ 5,000 17 ) Sandeepan School Khambadakone, South Karnataka $ 5,000 18) Saraswathi Vidya Mandir Student Scholarship Kochi Kerala $ 8,000 19 ) Siddivinayaka Residential School Scholarships Hattangadi $ 9,500 20) Samyukta Gowd Saraswat Sabha Scholarships & Old Age Homes $ 7,000 21 ) Shrivali Trust Scholarships , Shirali $ 25,000 22 ) Tamahar School for Physically & Mentaly challenged Children $15, 000 23 ) World Konkani Center Scholarships for Students, Mangalore $ 20,000 24 ) Ramkrishna Seva Samaj in Puttur did not receive any donation as their FCRA certificate had expired. They are in a process to renew it. Total Expenses for year 2018 were (Postage, Mailing & Supplies, Liability Ins, Website Maintenance, Secretarial Help & Bank Fees) $ 3,601 Please note that 8 Directors will reimburse the KCF for expenses, thus the actual expenses will be none. We are some of the handful of all the charities in USA who

Khabbar XLI No. 1 Page: 19 have Zero Expenses. Some of the other reasons for donating to The Konkani Charitable Fund 1 ) Largest charity dedicated to Konkani causes in USA 2 ) Approved by IRS as Charitable organization ( 501 (c ) 3 Charity ) 3 ) You have a choice to donate your money to any charity from our list. Each Charity on our list is approved by Govt of India & has all necessary certificates to receive Funds from overseas. We thank you for your generosity & continued support for KCF The most important thing life is not how much you have but how much you gave! Contact KCF at [email protected] to become a part of KCF family and a beacon of hope. P.S. Please send in your checks to KONKANI CHARITABLE FUND 43 Spray Court, Bayport, NY 11705.or Donate via Pay Pal at our Website. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call (631) 472-1418. Devu Baren Koro KCF Board of Directors. Website: www.konkanicf.org

Klassified Please patronize the Khabbar advertisers. Khabbar reaches over 1,700 families in North America. The advertisement rates are: Matrimonial (5 Lines) 1/4 Page 1/2 Page Full Page Subscribers $15.00 $25.00 $45.00 $85.00 Non-Subscribers $25.00 $45.00 $85.00 $160.00 Non Konkani $50.00 $90.00 $170.00 $320.00 The Advisory Committee of Khabbar has unanimously decided NOT to accept any ads. wherein the advertisers prefer to stay anonymous by using Khabbar reference. WANTED: Any Hoon Khabbar, sunshine news, your or your child's promotion or achievement, articles of interest, etc. are always in need to be published in Khabbar. Share your news with fellow Konkanis. Send your contribution to: Khabbar, P. O. Box 222, Lake Jackson, TX77566-0222. Email: [email protected]

KONKANI CHARITIES The American Konkani Association (A. K. A.) is helping FREE DOWNLOAD eligible Konkani youth by granting College Loan Free PDF download of Journey of a Konkani family, a book Scholarships. Send your generous contributions to: American published by Ajjalkani Books, is now available from Dropbox Konkani Association, 1153 Tamarack Pl., Munster, IN46321 at www.journeyofakonkanifamily.com

KONKANI CHARITIES The Saraswat Foundation is helping poor deserving Bhanaps in India. Send your donations to: Saraswat Foundation Shri LaxmiVenkateshayaNamah 178 Norman Drive, Morrisville, PA19067 RAGHUCHANDRA BHAT, Konkani Priest Puja Services as per Vedic rituals, MATRIMONIAL ASSISTANCE SudarshanaHoma&PavamanaHoma, Hindu weddings, The soirika magazine edition (http://www.soirika.com) has Upanayanam, Naming ceremony, etc., Chandi Path, been named as SAMBHANDU and will be done by: Bhagavath Katha, etc., ShanthiPaatha/Homa, Housewarming, Sambhandhu, C/o Bangalore Sri Kashi Math, # 14, Religious class – stotra’ssamskith etc., Sri Kashi Math Road, Malleshwaram, Bangalore 560 055 Shradha/AparaSamskara (last rituals), Astrological consultation by phone and in person Abhisheka-Vayustuti, Shiva, Vishnu, GaneshaNavagraha MATRIMONIAL ASSISTANCE Satyanarayan Puja & other services As a service to Konkani community, Sri. B. Srinivas Kamath Puja/Homaservices offered at the patron’s/priest residence. will offer free matrimonial assistance. Contact:B.S. Kamath, 2031 Mount Vernon Drive, Waukesha, WI 53186 Block #5, 1st Floor, Deepak Building, HariShanker Joshi (262)-717-9370 (H); (262)-424-6641 (Cell) Road, Dahisar East, Mumbai-400068 www.puja123.com Email : [email protected] Tel: 011-91-22-2828-3392

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