Panchadik2010

Konkani Association of California

panchadik 2010 (September – November)

Table of Contents

1. President’s Corner.……………………………………………………. 3

2. Kidz Korner.………………………………………………………………. 6

3. Konkani – origin and history…..….……………………………. 16

4. Hoon Khabbar……………………………………………………………. 20

5. Do you know our Amchis?...…………………………………….. 23

6. Konkani Bytes……………………………………………………………. 27

1. President's Corner

Namaskaru,

It gives us immense pleasure to inform that our final event - “Diwali” in 2010 was a grand success. We had over 350 people attend this event in San Jose. The entire KAOCA committee thanks the patrons who helped make this event a huge success. The event started at 4 pm with snacks, which included Masala Puri and Shira. The Entertainment program started at 5 pm and had a variety of programs including a couple of skits. The dinner followed at 8:15 pm and the menu included Valval, Ambe Upkari, Veg Kurma and Chicken Curry. The evening ended on a high note after the DJ music.

It is time now for us – the 2010 KAOCA committee to move on and reflect back on the nostalgic journey which started late in 2009. On a personal note, when Sulatha and I were approached to head the committee for 2010, I was not very sure. However, my wife the charmer she is, talked me into it. “Yes we can” was her slogan and that triggered enough adrenaline rush in me to stand up and take the mantle. That is one side of the story. The other is the fabulous committee that made all of this happen. I cannot thank them enough for the dedication, support, commitment and creative infusion they put in to take KAOCA to the next stage.

When we met as a committee we decided to do something different, something unique and thus our mission - “Bringing generations together” was born. We wanted to connect together generations of today and tomorrow and create a vibrant and a lively community. On similar lines our entertainment theme was “Something for Everyone”. We had also decided to cook authentic Konkani food for the community. To realize our core mission, we wanted to hear the Pulse of the community, so we conducted a survey. The survey results reflected the community’s voice, which was to add new events for this year namely the Musical Concert and Disco Dandiya. In addition, we wanted to create a financial model that benefits the community at large by not only revisiting the membership fees and other misc costs like Insurance. Our other goal included transferring at least as much money to the next committee as we received from the previous one.

 2010 highlights:

 Event Pricing model that encouraged healthy participation from the community - our events were attended by a large number of Konkani patrons.  Dynamic Web presence – Created a reusable and dynamic web presence for KAOCA. KAOCA is also on Facebook.  Enagaged in food drive activity.  2 additional events – Musical Concert and Disco Dandiya, which propelled KAOCA into Limelight.

 Streamlined Insurance cost (General Liability and Directors and Officers) for KAOCA, which resulted in savings of 1k.  KAOCA assets were stored in committee members home at zero cost.  KAOCA is green. Contact directory to be published online for community members.

 Event highlights:

 Ugadi: Attendees: 400+. Exciting entertainment program which included a Sitar recital by Tim White. Authentic Konkani food included Buns, Shevayi, Narayankatar, gajabaje, jain curry, avanase ambe sasam and Garayi.  Talent Day: included several events such as Card Game (Turup), chess, Carrom, Table Tennis, Wii, Basketball hoops and cooking contest. In addition, we had an art and poetry showcase and a food drive for Second Harvest food bank.  Picnic: The day-long event with fun activities and food was attended by over 150 Konkanis. The kids enjoyed the inflatable jumps and the popcorn. The food served was an Indianized version of the Chipotle bowl. The afternoon activities included games for both adults and kids. The evening ended on a high note with raffle, bingo and Bhel Puri.  Concert: KAOCA this year with a joint venture with Kannada Koota (KKNC) organized a classical music concert by Grammy Award Winner Pt Vishwa Mohan Bhatt and Suben Chatterjee.  Dandiya: This event was open to public. Attended and liked by over 200 people.  Diwali: Attendees: 375+. Exciting entertainment program, which included couple of skits and variety of programs. Food that included Masala Puri, Shira, Valval, Ambe Upkari, Veg Kurma and Chicken Curry and Date Kheer.

 How was your money spent?

On a final note, we want to thank the community at large for helping us realize our mission. We would also extent our sincere thanks and appreciation to the seniors in the community who offered us advice, all the countless hours put by the volunteers who willingly helped us, the community families that participated in the entertainment programs and who can forget the hardwork put by our committee ladies in the food area to cook

Copyright © 2010 Konkani Association of California (KAOCA) 4 All rights reserved. authentic Konkani food. KAOCA 2010 committee members went above and beyond their obligations in serving the community. Hats off to you!

Our term serving the community for this year has ended and the baton has been passed in the able hands of Mohan and Rekha Kamath. We are confident that KAOCA will have another stellar year under their leadership. We wish them well.

Together we can – Together we will – Make a difference – and make a better community.

Warm Regards, Sulatha and Ananth

2. KIDZ KORNER

Hello Amchi Kidz!

Welcome to our third and final edition of Kidz Korner for 2010!

For the Month of November, we start out with a poem to Goddess Saraswati who is the river goddess. Did you know that our ancestors lived on the banks of the river Saraswati which disappeared around 4000 years ago? We also have some fun articles for you in this issue! Have you wondered what it would be like to learn Tae Kwon Do? Read on to find out more! Next, we have an essay on Inspiration. Then, a lovely story called the Princess and the Blue Jay. Our last article is on Diwali, the festival of lights.

Finally, we end with some coooool videos!

Enjoy and wish you all a Happy New Year!

Divya Rao & Ronak Mundkur Kidz Korner Editors

Prayer to Goddess Saraswati

By Divya Rao

Saraswati, the goddess of learning Has a veena in Her hand, She’s my favorite goddess In all of the land.

Every morning I wake up, I pray to Her I do, Please help me in my lessons And studies in my school too.

She is the river goddess So beautiful, so fair, so pure She knows everything there is to know In all the world it’s true.

Sitting on Her lotus throne, And a swan nearby always, The river flowing around Her Shining form with grace.

Oh Goddess, please bless us We are all children of Yours We wish to learn from You The mysteries of the universe!

Tae Kwon Do, Doing the Impossible

By Nivya V. Kamath

Hello! My name is Nivya, and I am thirteen years old. I live in Cupertino, CA where I attend Lawson Middle school. My Tae Kwon Do, TKD, school is located in a nearby city, Sunnyvale. I started attending TKD in 2003, when I was five years old. My Mom introduced me to TKD in the school near our house. Little did I know that this sport would thereafter, for good, change my life forever. In the beginning, I was only going there since my parents were interested in putting me through the mixed martial arts training. However over the course of time, I had grown to learn the essence of this art and appreciate it. It teaches us beyond fighting; the life skills and values that help us lead the right way of life. Dharma is what we call it.

Tae Kwon Do, which translates into, “Foot, fist, and mind”, originated in Korea thousands of years ago. The masters of our TKD association are Kwan Jang Nim Ernie Reyes and Kwan Jang Nim Tony Thompson. They were students of Grand Master Choi, and after the death of their teacher, continued the tradition of teaching these fine arts to the world even today.

Being a 2nd Degree Black Belt and for the last eight years of doing this sport, I have learnt many fighting techniques such as: sparring, forms, weapons, board breaking, kicks, hand movements, and grappling. Sparring is a type of fighting in TKD that cultivates the kicks and hand movements all at one time. Some traditional techniques that we learn in TKD are Forms. Forms are combinations composed of various techniques. Once a student graduates into intermediate training, they are taught forms that include all of the techniques they learned to see if they have mastered them correctly. In TKD, we not only fight with our hands and feet but also with weapons such as: Bo staffs, Nunchucks, and Kamas. Board breaking is when you use one technique, through kicks or hand movements, to break a solid piece of wood. Basic techniques are kicks and hand movements that are used widely in many variations in combat. Surprisingly, not all fighting takes place on your feet. Grappling is a type of fighting that takes place when lying on the ground. This is a dangerous type of fighting because if the technique is not executed properly, you and your partner can be severely injured.

Fighting is only one part of TKD. The second part is learning the life skills and giving value. Perseverance, respect, focus, self-discipline, self- esteem, responsibility, bravery, courage, teamwork, determination, hard work, and mastery are only some of the life skills we learned. Two key life skills that I have acquired through my martial training are: teamwork and mastery. Teamwork has helped me break out of my outer shell and become very outgoing. I find it easier to cooperate and communicate better in groups. Mastery has helped me to never settle less than my capability and to always strive harder towards success. We not only learned life skills but we also learned to apply them in our daily life as much as we can. I also learnt giving values and helping others without expecting anything in return. TKD had helped me to be a changed person. It strengthened my body, mind and spirit and helped shape my character.

If you do anything in your life, do it passionately with all your heart and soul. Strive for mastery. Never settle for less. Always persevere and you will persist. Practice, Practice, Practice until you attain MASTERY!

Inspiration

An essay by Manali Souda

Sometimes you have no choice.

Do you know? You do something incredibly stupid, something for which you get caught and punished within an inch of your life -- and if asked why, all you can do is shake your head, over and over, trapped and helpless. Over and over again, "I don't know, I don't know, I don't know."

That's what being an artist is like.

It's not -- that being an artist is like being caged. Not like you have completely no choice over your actions, words, thoughts. Just that when you do, when you decide to do something -- you're lost. Stuck, trapped with no choice of escape or flight. Your course of action is locked in, hard and unforgiving. All you can do is follow the consequences.

That is what is called inspiration.

It's not freeing, it doesn't come and strike you like magic. Inspiration -- that takes time. It takes work. There's no simple way to get it, no escape route than you can take and say that you're home free.

No, inspiration is hard. You can't write about something that you don't feel, something that's foreign to you. As Jack Kerouac said, "Something that you feel will find its own form." Once you have something, you can do it.

But that leads us back to having no choice. Because having inspiration -- being inspired to do something -- doesn't mean that it'll turn out to be the way you want. It never does. Never. You work and you work and in the end it comes out as being completely different from the image you had in your mind, the way you planned it.

That's how inspiration is. It takes its own way. You don't really have a say in what it does.

The work makes the artist, not the other way around.

The worst part? You can't do anything about it. There's no way to stop being an artist. There's no way to stop being however you are, in yourself and presented to the outside world. You cannot stop inspiration any more than you can stop a freight train. You cannot stop inspiration anymore than you can stop the ocean tide. There is no way to stop.

At times it's hard. Because you don't understand. Because you don't get it. Because nothing you're doing makes any sense to you and everyone wants you to shut up and sit down and work and that's what you want to do too, except that you can't. Gripped by a strange urgency, held in the fist of fear, you work and work and work.

And that's what inspiration is.

The world's greatest artists died unhappy. Van Gogh. Lully. Dickinson. None of them lived happy lives, and none of them died happy deaths. But they gave to the world. It might be that way for you too. It might be that no matter what you do, none of it will matter until far later, when there are only faint whispers of your memory on the wind.

And that's what it is.

If you take that risk -- then all I can do is wish you good luck, my friend.

Inspiration is a strange mistress, and a powerful one. I do hope that you make it out alive.

THE PRINCESS AND THE BLUE JAY By K. Sunayana Pai (III grade)

Long ago, there was a beautiful princess. But she was very sad because her voice was rather harsh and deep. She used to sit in her garden and listen to the birds singing. She envied them for they had such sweet voices. The bulbul’s voice was so melodious that it made the world seem beautiful. But, to the princess, the blue jay had the sweetest voice of all. She was surprised to see such a dull brown bird could have such a beautiful voice. “I’m like the peacock” she thought sadly, “beautiful but with a horrible voice.” At the time of this story, the princess was sadder than usual. She was in love with a prince who was blind. He could not see her face, but could hear her voice. He wasn’t impressed. One fine day, when she was weeping bitterly at her fate, the little blue jay came up to her and said, “Why do you weep princess?” The princess said, “I wish I had your voice little jay. Then the prince will hear me and love me.” The little jay couldn’t believe that anyone would want what they had. It didn’t seem very special to him. He said “Princess, I shall give you my voice. But just don’t weep any more.” He told the princess to go at night to a lotus pond and pick one of the flowers. Then she was to recite a little rhyme which had magical powers. The princess was very happy. At night she went to the lotus pond covering herself with bright blue silk shawl. She picked a flower and recited her magic rhyme. She suddenly burst into a song and her voice was as sweet as the jay’s. “Wonderful” croaked the jay, who was sitting on the tree watching the princess. “Wonderful.” He flew down to the pond to be near the princess. The princess thanked him over and over again. “I am so happy” she said. “I can’t tell you how happy I am.” Then the princess noticed that the bird was trembling with cold. She took off her bright blue silk shawl and threw it over him. “Take this,” she said. Then she looked closely at him. “How beautiful you look in blue!” she exclaimed. “I wish you could always look like that.” She recited her magic rhyme and the bird began to turn blue. Every time when he spread his wings to fly, the sun touched his wings, and they sparkled in the light. The jay was happy not to be dull brown anymore. He did not mind that he lost his lovely voice. And of course the prince married the princess and they lived happily ever after.

Diwali, the Festival of Lights

By Ronak Mundkur

Prince Rama was the heir to King Dasharata of Ayodhya. Rama’s step mother, Queen Kaikaie wanted her son, Prince Duriodhan to take the throne. So, when King Dasharata asked her to wish for anything she wanted, Queen Kaikaie requested him to exile Prince Rama for 14 years. King Dasharata and Prince Duriodhan were both very upset by her wish. Prince Duriodhan said he would never take the throne. Prince Rama said it was important to obey his step mother’s wish. Together with his wife Sita and his brother Lakshman, Prince Rama went into Vanvas (exile) for fourteen years. Prince Dasharatha promised to hold the throne till Prince Rama’s return from exile.

While in exile, Sita was kidnapped by Ravana, the demon king of Lanka, to take revenge on Prince Rama for having rudely treated his demon sister, Surpanaka.

Prince Rama sought help from King Sugriva the monkey king of Southern India and Hanuman to rescue Sita. Prince Rama fought against the mighty ten headed demon King Ravana and his powerful army.

Prince Rama finally killed Ravana to win the war. He rescued Sita and victoriously returned to Ayodhya!

To celebrate the end of evil and darkness, the people of Ayodya lit up the town with oil lamps and welcomed Lord Rama home, together with prayers to Goddess Lakshmi and Goddess Tulsi.

That was about 4000 years ago. This joyous moment in Hindu history is celebrated every year, to this day with pride by the great people of India. They get up early in the morning, clean their homes, take an oil bath and wear new clothes. They decorate their homes by hanging colorful paper lanterns (Akash Ghood) and with decorative geometric drawings (rangoli) at their doorways.

They light fire crackers, eat Neam leaf chutney, representing bitterness in life and sweets, representing goodness in life. They share gifts with family and friends.

On behalf of the KAOCA Kidz Korner, here is wishing you all a very Happy Diwali and the year filled with good health, happiness and prosperity! May the spirit of Lord Rama live within each of us to fight evil and darkness and replace it with hope, happiness and light!

Kool Videos

Have you been enjoying the cool videos in the last two kidz korners? Here are some more!

Polar Bear vs. Walrus http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbtpcGi2DWY

Killer Whale vs. Sea Lions (surprise ending!) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWsN63PRCW8

Quiksilver Tony Hawk and friends European Skateboarding Tour http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJIyQgmXfD0 x games 2009 bmx park gold http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFdQ4H9JUqs

Iceland Volcano Eruption April 2010 - Live Footage http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWB0TrrjtAU

Bye friends…..Go Green, Have Fun, Stay Safe!

3. Konkani A look at the origin and history of the language

Based on excerpts from Wikipedia and the article “The Origins of the Konkani Language” by Dr. Krishnanand Kamat

Konkani, our mother tongue, is considered as an Indo-Aryan language belonging to the Indo-European family of languages spoken widely in the western coastal region of India known as the Konkan coast.

This coast consists of the Konkan division of Maharashtra, the state of Goa, and the Uttara Kannada (formerly North Canara), Shimoga, Udupi and Dakshina Kannada (formerly South Canara) districts of Karnataka, together with Kasaragod district in Kerala. Each region has a different dialect, pronunciation style, vocabulary, tone and sometimes, significant differences in grammar. Map of southwest India and A very large number of Konkanis live outside India, spread of Konkani language either as expatriates or citizens of other countries (NRIs).

Origins

The word Konkani is said to have originated from the word Kukkana (which gave birth to the modern word Konkan as well) referring to a narrow strip of land between the Sahyadri mountain range and the Arabian Sea. This word has been derived from the language that was spoken by groups of proto-Australoid people who inhabited the land before the advent of so called, the Indo-Aryans and the Indo-Scythian. It is believed that several waves of Indo-Aryan speakers have occurred in the history of Goa. Around 2400 BC the first wave of Indo-aryans might have occurred, and the second wave in the period 1000-700 BC came and settled in Goa. Most of them spoke Indo-Aryan Prakrit vernacular languages, akin to Vedic Sanskrit. When the Aryans travelled through North India, they came in contact with the local languages such as Maithili, Magadhi and Ardha Magadhi. Konkani was thus born as a confluence of the Indo-Aryan languages while accepting many words from the proto-Australoid dialects. Thus when they reached Goa, it appears along with Sanskrit they had taken Konkani also. Since Konkani was their contact language through which they communicated with others, they came to be known as Konkanis.

Root and early script

Depending on their geographical dispersion you can categorize two distinct groups. Punjabi, Rajasthani, Gujarati, and Hindi evolved from Prakrit of Magadha and Sindhi Maithili; Assamese, Bengali originated from Shouraseni Prakrit. Konkani belongs to the second group, and hence some scholars regard Bengali or Assamese as the mother of Konkani language. However, in reality the three are siblings of the same (now nonexistent) intermediary parent language. The arguments on the matter continue to generate a lot of response among linguists. The most important point to note here is that

Konkani was first seen in the Konkan area. Early adopters used the Brahmi script, but eventually due to the local influence, Nagari (a.k.a. Devanagari) was used for the benefit of much larger audience.

Influences

One of the earliest influences was from the many Sumerians who settled in Goa and Konkan. The Sumerians had trade contacts with India dating from 2100 BC. The great exodus of non-semitic Sumerian led them to Goa by sea route. The Sumerian cuneiform inscriptions have been found in Goa.

The Proto-Australoids, also known as Shabars, who are believed to have come from the west, once formed the aboriginal population of Goa and Konkan. Gaudes, Kunbis, Mahars of Konkan today are supposed to be the modern representatives of Proto- Australoids. Many Konkani words related to agriculture find their roots in Proto- Australoid dialects, e.g.: kumeri, mer, zonn, khazzan.

The later settlers of Goa viz. the Mediterraneans also exerted an impact on this language. Some of their people can be collectively called the Dravidians. Words like tandul, narikel or naall, dholl, madval and others have Dravidian origin.

Though it belongs to Indo-Aryan group, Kannada, a member of Dravidian family, influenced Konkani. The Kadambas who ruled Goa for a long period had their roots in Karnataka thus Konkani was not used for official purposes generally and did not receive royal patronage for some time. Another reason Kannada influence on Konkani is proximity of original Konkani speaking territory to Karnataka. Old Konkani documents show considerable Kannada influence on grammar as well as the vocabulary.

Goa being a major centre for trade was visited by Arabs, Turks since early times. Thus, many Arabic and Persian words infiltrated into Konkani language.

The Portuguese conquest of Goa led to the influence of Portuguese in Konkani, especially in the dialects spoken by the Christians.

Migration and fragmentation

The arrival of the Portuguese led to major changes in Konkani. The conversion of Konkanis to Christianity and the religious policies of the Portuguese caused a large

Copyright © 2010 Konkani Association of California (KAOCA) 17 All rights reserved. number of Konkanis to flee to neighboring territories. The isolation of Hindu and Christian Konkanis added to the fragmentation of Konkani into multiple dialects. The language spread to Canara (coastal Karnataka), Kokan-patta (coastal Konkan division of Maharashtra) and Kerala during the last 500 years due to migration of Konkanis. Although a few Konkanis may have been present in the neighboring areas and there may have been migrations due to economic reasons in the past, the main cause of migration was the Portuguese control over Goa. It was spread to these areas by Hindu Konkani and Christian Konkani speakers in three waves of migration. The first migration occurred during the early years of Portuguese rule and the Inquisition of 1560s. The second wave of migration was during the 1571 C.E. war with the Sultan of Bijapur. The third wave of migration happened during the wars of 1683–1740 A.D. with the Marathas. While the first wave was of Hindus, the second and third waves were mainly those of Christians. These migrant communities grew in relative isolation and each developed its own dialect. Since these communities had to interact with others in local languages on a daily basis, Konkani dialects show strong local influences in terms of script, vocabulary and also style. Other Konkani communities came into being with their own dialects of Konkani. The Konkani Muslim communities of Ratnagiri and Bhatkal came about due to a mixture of intermarriage of Arab seafarers and locals as well as conversions of Hindus to Islam. Another migrant community that picked up Konkani was the Siddis who were sailor-warriors from Ethiopia.

Script

Konkani is written in a number of scripts. Brahmi was originally used but fell into disuse. A script called as Kandevi or Goykandi was used in Goa since the times of the Kadambas, which lost its popularity after 17th century. Kandevi script is very different from the Halekannada script, with strikingly similar features. The earliest documents written in this script is found in a petition addressed by Ravala Śeṭī; most probably a Gaunkar of Caraim in the islands of Goa, to the king of Portugal. This 15th century document bears signature in Konkani. Unlike Halekannada, Goykanadi or Kandevi letters were usually written with a distinctive horizontal bar, like the Nagari scripts. Today, Devanagari is the official script for Konkani in Goa. Roman script is also popular in Goa. The Kannada script is used amongst the Konkani population of Karnataka. Malayalam script is used by the Konkani community, centred around the cities of Cochin and Kozhikode in Kerala state. Konkani Muslims in coastal Maharashtra and Bhatkal taluka of Karnataka use Arabic script to write Konkani.

Konkani today

If one has to see the diversity of today's Konkani language, one should travel the Indian west coast. In Bombay, they speak in Marathi accent whereas in Konkan, they stretch the words. The Konkanis from Goa use Portuguese words. In Karwar and Ankola, they emphasize the syllables, and in Kumta-Honavar, they use consonants in abundance. The Konkani spoken by Nawayatis of Bhatkal is very melodious with smearing of Persian. People of South Kanara do not distinguish between nouns of Kannada and Konkani, and have developed a very business practical language. The Konkani of Kerala has a touch of Malayalam to it, and the Konkanis of north Karnataka add Kannada verbs to Konkani grammar.

“Nice to know” facts

• When poet Jnaneshwar wanted to create his masterpiece Jnaneshwari, he had to take up study of Konkani, which was very prevalent (1209 A.D.) • On 4 February 1987, the Goa Legislative Assembly passed the Official Language Bill making Konkani the Official Language of Goa • Konkani was included in the Eight Schedule of the Constitution of India, as per the Seventy-First Amendment on 31 August 1992, adding it to the list of National Languages. •

Carving at the footstep of Gomateshwara, the pilgrimage center of Shravanabelagola. The letters are in Devanagari script, but the language has been a dispute of scholars. Is it Marathi or Konkani?

4. Hoon Khabbar

New Arrivals

Elliana Maya Kamath was born on September 22, 2010, weighing 8 pounds 4 ounces and height 19.5". Proud parents are Harish & Nicole Kamath and doting grandfather is H.Ganesh Kamath. The KAOCA community welcomes Baby Elliana and congratulates the Kamath family!

Relocations  Vasanth and Chethana Shenoy along with their children Nina and Nikhil will be relocating within the bay area to 6255 Main Branch Road San Ramon, CA 94582. The KAOCA community congratulates the Shenoy family and wishes them the very best in their new home!

Music

 Shweta and Raksha Shenoy winners of KLOK Funtakshari competition Popular desi radio station recently organized funtaksari competition in which Shweta and Raksha Shenoy won the second and third prize respectively. For the first time in the history of KLOK radio station, participants were asked to come to the radio station to play the funtakshari competition, and was broadcasted live. Competition was held on Fridays, 9 to 10 PM for three consecutive weeks. Total of 12 people participated in the competition and 50% of the people were eliminated at the end of each episode. Shweta and Raksha made it to the final round. Competition was very tough and there was tie between teams. Tie breaker was adopted to decide the ultimate winners. They got opportunity to meet with KLOK RJs - Vinay, Shree, Naveen and

Ritu, and had dinner with them! When asked about the

experience, Shweta and Raksha said - "It was lots of fun! We got an opportunity to meet with the RJs, see the radio station, and understand how radio station works! It was really a memorable experience" The KAOCA community congratulates Shweta and Raksha on this remarkable achievement!

New Ventures  Ajay Kamat, son of Arun and Sujata Kamat of Sunnyvale, has founded a start-up Micromobs. Micomobs is a social networking site with some unique features. Micromobs is a group messaging service and is the easiest way to manage and communicate with multiple groups. Micromobs presents your group messages as a stream of content which means you can chose which messages to respond to and which messages to skim over or ignore. This means your group messages will no longer clutter your inbox, and you won't need to go to different websites to interact with your various social groups. Micromobs solves numerous problems inherent in other social networks. 1. It brings real-time messaging to all of your groups (in one place) 2. Modernizes group communication (who wants to use old applications!?) 3. Allows groups to create private or public micro messaging mobs 4. Makes it dead simple to communicate with your groups. Tryout this

exciting new site at www.micromobs.com, a simple way to communicate with multiple groups. The KAOCA community congratulates Ajay on his new venture and wishes him success!

5. Do you know our Amchis?

This section of our Panchadik contains a series of questions we pose to a KAOCA family and their responses. The idea, among other things, is to use this as a medium to best get to know our community members and realize our mission of bringing the generations together.

In this edition, we have two families who have shared their thoughts and experiences with us.

1. Drs. Narayan and Nirmala Nayak

Panchadik: Can you briefly tell us about your journey from India to the US? Narayan: As I flew to USA on a December day, Boston was the first city in view and it was covered completely with snow. Soon, I landed at New York JFK airport followed by a flight on a helicopter to nearby Newark Airport over the Statue of Liberty. A cab ride led me to United Hospitals to begin my residency training. It was amazing how everything worked like clockwork! For Nirmala who came to USA a year later, a break in her journey in London to see her brother was refreshing & prepared her for the cold weather here. Though the glimpse of snow on landing was exciting, weathering cold weather was a different matter.

Panchadik: Can you briefly share your experiences of living in the US? Nayaks: In absence of any help in child rearing, we had to make-do with help from other Indians who shared our views. Adaptation to local community of like-minded families of physicians amongst the neighbors helped us along the way. Work and responsibilities at the hospital involved more than we were used to in India, and adapting to those needs was the only way in. Best part of those training days was that most American physician-mentors were quite pleased with our work.

Panchadik: What are the 3 important things you would include in your things-to-do-list? Nayaks: 1. Spend most possible time with family & friends as possible when free from work 2. To travel places before physical disabilities/illnesses overtake us and to take steps to be as independent as one could, as we age. 3. Promote emergence of a branch of medicine called “Emergency Medicine” in India

Panchadik: Tell us about something you would happily do again. Nayaks: Bring up two wonderful kids, again!

Panchadik: Tell us about someone you really admire. Nayaks: Volunteers. Scores of folks here that we come across on a daily basis who volunteer their time to various causes including for the homeless, not-for-profit organizations, public institutions, city municipalities etc. We won’t name them though we all know them in person including in KAOCA, NAKA, KCF( Konkani Charity Foundation) etc. Kudos to them!

Panchadik: Tell us about your favorite holiday destination Nayaks: Banff, British Columbia in Canada is our favorite summer location for its pristine beauty of glaciers, lakes and the landscape. Costa Rica with its brightest flora and fauna is our favorite for winter location!

Panchadik: If you have to verbalize a slogan for your life - something you live by, like a principle - what would it be? Nayaks: Simplify your life. Take preventive steps wherever and whenever you can, to forestall ills and odds in life.

Panchadik: If you could give the Konkani community in Bay Area one piece of advice, what would it be? Nayaks: Konkanis here have seen an upsurge in the number of professionals in various fields and more are on the way as we speak. If ethnic, academic and professional linkages of these folks could be pooled in a harmonious manner with those in India, they could affiliate with emerging superpower of India with a view to enrich this country of our adoption and to benefit in a win-win manner!

2. Hundi and Veena Kamath

Panchadik: Can you briefly tell us about your journey from India to the US? Hundi: Nothing dramatic like the boat people or refugees….Came as a student to Stanford and stayed like thousands of others. First air trip of my life and it was from Mangalore-Bombay-New York-San Francisco. I traveled with my sister in law, 8 year old niece and one year old nephew. They were also migrating to the U.S. to join my brother who was in New York at the time. I did not even know we had to fasten the seatbelts and had to be told!

Veena: I was looking forward to coming to the US to join my husband who was in Stanford at the time. I landed in Los Angeles and spent a few days there with family, took my first driving lesson and of course visited Disneyland!

Panchadik: Can you briefly share your experiences of living in the US? Hundi: The usual immigrant experience – get a degree, find a job, flight for the green card, find a better job, buy a house, get married, raise a family, try to make money and have a better quality of life and ensure well being of the family.

Veena: Of course, the initial adjustment period was there. Making new friends and adjusting in a new place in a land so faraway from home, etc. Thinking back, I think I have had a great time here in the Bay Area. Great family, great friends, great neighbors and a great community...... What more can I ask for?

Panchadik: What are the 3 important things you would include in your things-to-do-list? Hundi and Veena: 1. Try to lead a healthy lifestyle. Ensure well being of the family financially and otherwise 2. Travel and see 4 or 5 places that we haven’t been to (Australia, Africa etc.) 3. Be an active volunteer in the community

Panchadik: Tell us about something you would happily do again. Hundi and Veena: We are happy with our family, friends, and life here in the Bay Area and wouldn't change a thing.

Panchadik: Tell us about someone you really admire. Hundi and Veena: We both admire our dads. They both achieved and accomplished a heck of a lot despite their humble backgrounds and limited education.

Panchadik: Tell us about your favorite holiday destination Hundi: Right now, it is home sweet home! (Too much business travel)

Veena: It's really hard for me to pick one place, but some of my favorite places are Egypt, Cambodia and of course India. Egypt for its awesome architectural wonder, Cambodia for Angkor Wat. Every trip to India we visit a new place that we have not been to. There is so much more to see and of course we love visiting family.

Panchadik: If you have to verbalize a slogan for your life - something you live by, like a principle - what would it be? Hundi and Veena: I try my best, I do it my way, I know it isn’t good enough, but I only have the best of intentions.

Panchadik: If you could give the Konkani community in Bay Area one piece of advice, what would it be? Hundi and Veena: Find ways to keep 2nd/3rd generations engaged and part of Konkani community.

6. Konkani Bytes

Some interesting news bytes and web-links-

 An interesting website catering to all konkanis bringing news, views, stories, performances and much more. And their title says it all - “Sarawat talents Served St(r)eaming Hot!” Web-link: http://www.radioidli.net

 Would you like to listen to an audio blog in chaste south kanara (mangalore area) Konkani? Then visit this blog of Mr. Lokaabhiram. It will surely tickle your funny bone. Web-link: http://lokaabhiraam.blogspot.com

 Read this collection of Amchigele Gyaadis (proverbs) Web-link: http://resh-konkanisayings.blogspot.com

 An interesting post sent by a community member: If you’ve always wondered what being an 'AMCHIGELE' meant, then here is the fruit of some research done. (While most of the following postulates are generic to all Amchigeles, some are in the context of amchigeles in Karnataka)

• He/She is always bothered about the neighbor’s issues and starts spreading it to the other houses too. (Panchadik)

• An amchigele guy goes with a gal on his motorbike and happens to go past the temple square by mistake. When he reaches home he is grilled on who the girl is and what he was doing with her near a Temple

• Temple is always the first priority and all other work is only done at the last minute.

• A lot of the family members are from one of the Canara Schools in Mangalore...

• All Therus in Dakshina Kannada have to be attended by law.

• All sentences in Konkani begin and end with "KASA VARSHIK RE!!!"

• Bibbey upkari is a solid form of Amruth.... You have attained Nirvana once it is consumed.

• Dali thoye is eaten with additional sound effects.

• You have to have a Sharada Calendar in your house.. Or else you will not know when the Kodial theru is!!!

• Your second cousins wife's sister's son is having a moonji. You have to make it even if it means changing three buses...you reach just in time for lunch, which means you have attended the program.

• All exercise books should be bought from School Book Company to show your loyalty to your caste..

• The more you eat the more healthy you will be.....food has to have its quota of excess Ghee. Cholesterol is unheard of.

• If an amchigele has some work and if someone asks him "Khai vath re??" He comes back running. Legend says that one should not ask such a disastrous question before any work is going to get done.

• All servings are either less or more than 3 spoons

• One hasn't taste the bajji from that car street Balli shop and also hingashtak

• Panchadik during the waiting process before the thera jevana is mandatory... And panchadik is panchadified about some person X who is no relation of the speaker, still, speaker gets tensed and has double the share of food.

• All children studying are first asked whether they study in KREC or MIT...other colleges don't exist.

• Every Sunday at least one person in the family has to go to Tajmahal. All the effort is to just have a cup of coffee

• Keerlu is eaten slowly...every bite is tender so that one can taste every part of the piece. Come on it’s a seasonal delicacy!!!

Amchigele Terms:

Keerlu = Tender Bamboo Bibbe Upkari = Tender Cashew dry dish Theru = Car during Car Festival with coconut seasoning Kodial = Mangalore Dali Thoye = lentil curry Jevan = Lunch or Dinner Panchadik = Gup shup = loose talk Kasa Varshik re = What? Anybody’s Moonji = upanayana = confirmation as a Death anniversary? Brahmin ceremony Khai vath re = Where are you Going? Hingashtak = A drink with assafoetida Bajji = fried vegetable with chickpea flour

The 2010 Committee wishes everyone a Very Happy and Prosperous New Year 2011