Indian expat group to hold cultural event in Qatar

Indian expat group to hold cultural event

A cultural programme will be staged by members of the Goan community on September 30 to mark World Goa Day celebrations.
Goans worldwide observes August 20 as World Goa Day to commemorate the inclusion of Konkani in the eighth schedule of the Indian constitution.
The local organisers, Goans Welfare Association (GWA) decided to postpone the event to September 30 owing to Ramadan. “Moreover, a large number of our community members were on vacation in India on August 20,” said GWA president Simon D’Silva.
At the September 30 event, two books on Konkani language and its people: Konkani Cholchitram and Into the Diaspora Wilderness will be formally launched.
Konkani Cholchitram is a book by Isidoro Dantas on Konkani films from 1950 to 2009. Selma Carvalho is the author of Into the Diaspora Wilderness.
On World Goa Day, Goans remind themselves of the need to work to preserve their culture, music, history, language, cuisine, and art for their children, the non-Goan community and for posterity, said D’Silva..
At the World Goa Day celebrations last year in Doha, an easy-to-learn Konkani language familiarisation book by Mathew Almeida was unveiled by Brazilian Ambassador to Qatar Anuar Nahes, recalled D’Silva.
Members of the community received copies from the ambassador, he said.
While urging the members of the country’s Goan community to teach Konkani to their children, GWA president said the forum has enough study material for those intending to learn the language and also to improve language skills.