Mangaluru: For some, it is a journey across borders to sing in their mother tongue; for others, an opportunity to discover a new language. Bringing together people across faiths, cultures and linguistic backgrounds, Mangaluru’s first World Konkani Music Mega Convention is making music a universal language that transcends boundaries.With teams travelling from Oman, Kuwait, Qatar and Australia, the convention, organised by Mandd Sobhann titled ‘Konko’nni Niro’nto’ri-So’msar So’raso’ri’ is attempting to set a Guinness World Record for the longest singing marathon.Among the overseas participants is the 20-member Muscat–Chim Taram team from Oman, which travelled to Mangaluru specifically for the event. Brought together by MCCP Muscat under its president Lancy Lobo, the team is led by ‘podorn’ Stanley Fernandes.“It is not just a performance. It is an opportunity to represent the Konkani community from Oman and make the world more aware of our beautiful mother tongue,” Vivette Shirly Lasrado, coordinator of the team said.A total27 members of Kuwait-based Wings of Glory choir, predominantly an English choir, spent seven months preparing for their one-hour Konkani performance on Nov 9. Coordinator Lester D’Mello said they clocked over 100 hours of practice, learning the songs, pronunciation and tunes. The choir brought together people of Mangalurean origin, participants from across Goa and members with no prior knowledge of Konkani. Assistant coordinator Sheryl Jesus, whose mother tongue is Portuguese, hails from Daman and Diu. The Kuwait team has Shawn Rodrigues as its music director and Linette Dsouza as its assistant music director.She said she repeatedly listened to the songs to learn their pronunciation and memorise the lyrics, with teammates helping her along the way. “For me, this is really like learning a brand-new language,” she said.Meanwhile, Australia’s Team Australia-Che Amig brought together 19 performers from Australia, India and the US for a one-hour performance on Nov 3, presenting 16 Konkani songs.The spirit of inclusion was equally evident among local participants. Huda, a Muslim Dakhni-speaking student, was part of Heavenly Harmonies, a group of college friends that included five non-Konkani speakers. Introduced to Konkani songs during her pre-university days at St Aloysius, she said she never felt excluded. “They made sure I was one of them. I never felt different. It felt like a family,” she said.Konkani language transcends religion: Konkani Academy chiefKarnataka Konkani Sahitya Academy chairperson Joachim Stany Alvares said the convention was a significant achievement for the language, as it brought together Konkani-speaking people belonging to Hindu, Muslim and Christian communities through music. He also described the participation of 6,789 singers as a remarkable achievement. Alvares said the effort would remain a memorable milestone in the promotion of Konkani language and culture, and congratulated Mandd Sobhann for organising the event in such a good way.
