Konkani literature
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Konkani literature is literature in the
Konkani language Konkani () is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Konkani people, primarily in the Konkan region, along the western coast of India. It is one of the 22 scheduled languages mentioned in the Indian Constitution, and the official language of ...
, mostly produced in three scripts:
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
,
Devanagari Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental writing system), based on the ...
and
Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...
. Konkani literature is eligible for the
Sahitya Akademi Award The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour in India, which the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 22 languages of the ...


History

While the earliest inscriptions in Konkani date from around the end of the first millennium, the first writer in the history of Konkani language known to us today is Shamaraja; who was also known as
Krishnadas Shama Krishnadas Shama, a Gaud Saraswat Brahmin and native of Quelossim in Goa, was the author of ''Krishna Charitrakatha.'' According to verses (''ovis'') 245-250 of this work, it was commenced on 25 April 1526, or Vaishakh Shukla of shake 1448 accor ...
as he was an ardent devotee of Lord
Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...
. He was born in the 15th century AD in the village of
Quelossim Quelossim is a village in Mormugao taluka, South Goa, India. This village was known as ''Kardalipura'' in ancient times and had a beautiful temple dedicated to the Mother-Goddess Shri Shantadurga and Shri Kavale Math which was shifted to Kaval ...
in Goa. As per the date mentioned in his ''Shrikrishnacharitrakatha'', he began writing his book on 13th of the
Vaishakha Vaisakha; hi, बैसाख, Baisākh; pa, ਵਿਸਾਖ/وساکھ , te, వైశాఖ, kn, ವೈಶಾಖ, Vaiśākha; ml, വൈശാഖം, Vaiśākham; mr, वैशाख, Vaiśākh; ta, வைகாசி, Vaikāci; ne, ...
month of the Hindu lunar calendar, which is 25 April 1526, according to the
Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years dif ...
. He authored ''Ramayana'', ''Mahabharata'', and ''Krishnacharitrakatha'' in
prose Prose is a form of written or spoken language that follows the natural flow of speech, uses a language's ordinary grammatical structures, or follows the conventions of formal academic writing. It differs from most traditional poetry, where the ...
style. The manuscripts have not been found, although transliterations in Roman script are found in
Braga Braga ( , ; cel-x-proto, Bracara) is a city and a municipality, capital of the northwestern Portuguese district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality has a resident population of 193,333 inhabitants (in ...
in Portugal. The script used by him for his work still remains a mystery. According to the orders of the
Goa Inquisition The Goa Inquisition ( pt, Inquisição de Goa) was an extension of the Portuguese Inquisition in Portuguese India. Its objective was to enforce Catholic Orthodoxy and allegiance to the Apostolic See of Rome (Pontifex). The inquisition primaril ...
, which commenced in 1560, it was an offence to remain in possession of books in local languages. All books, whatever their subject matter, written in Konkani, Marathi, or Sanskrit, were seized by the inquisition and burnt on the suspicion that they might deal with idolatry. It is probable that valuable non-religious literature dealing with art, literature, and sciences were destroyed indiscriminately as a consequence. For instance, even before the inquisition orders, in a letter dated 24 November 1548, Fr. Joao de Albuquerque proudly reports his achievement in this direction. Vishnudas Nama who also used pen names like Vaishampayana and Parameshvaraco Sharanagat Nama, authored ''Bhishmaparva'' and ''Adiparva'', transliterations of which are found in the public library of Braga in northern Portugal. Another copy of ''Ramayana'' does not bear any author's name, although the name of a certain "Sadashiva" has been mentioned. The
Jesuits , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...
established the first printing press in Asia in Goa in 1556. The first known printed book in Konkani was written by an English Jesuit priest, Fr. Thomas Stephens in 1622, and entitled '' Doutrina Christam em Lingoa Bramana Canarim'' (Old Portuguese for: ''Christian Doctrine in the Canarese Brahman Language''). The first book exclusively on Konkani grammar, '' Arte da Lingoa Canarim'', was printed in 1640 by Father Stephens in Portuguese. Similarly, a book named ''A Konkani Grammar'', was printed in the year 1882 in
Mangalore Mangalore (), officially known as Mangaluru, is a major port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bangalore, the state capital, 20 km north of Karnataka–Ke ...
by Angelo Francesco Saverio Maffei, and describes Canara Konkani grammar. The late nineteenth century saw the emergence of Konkani as a modern literary language, particularly through the pioneering work of the Goan writers Shenoi Goembab (1877–1946) and later
Ravindra Kelekar Ravindra Kelekar (7 March 1925 – 27 August 2010) was a noted Indian author who wrote primarily in the Konkani language, though he also wrote in Marathi and Hindi. A Gandhian a 2010ctivist, freedom fighter and a pioneer in the modern Konk ...
(1925–2010), who wrote some of the twentieth century's foremost Konkani literature. Alongside these writers, a wave of pulp fiction began around the 1930s, with writers including Caridade Damaciano Fernandes, Reginald Fernandes, and Eliot Ely.ManoharRai SarDessai, ''A History of Konkani Literature: From 1500 to 1992'' (New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi, 2000), pp. 227-28. The first Konkani novel to be translated into English was the 1977 '' Acchev'' by Pundalik Naik (1952–).


See also

* Goan literature


References

{{reflist Indian literature by language Konkani