Chairman of Aarian Captial and Manipal Global Education T.V. Mohandas Pai on Thursday said the World Konkani Centre will lend a helping hand to the youth from the community and empower them to be torchbearers who foster the rich legacy of the community for the next generations.
He was speaking virtually at the two-day decennial celebrations of T.V. Raman Pai and T. Vimala Pai Hostel on the centre’s Shaktinagar campus here. Mr. Pai said that a number of programmes initiated by the Centre would ensure the community not only works for its nation, but also the State and the town where it has established its presence.
Mr. Pai said that the Konkani-speaking community was globally small, with estimates putting it at 20 lakh. With the number of those speaking the language on the wane, the role of World Konkani Centre in fostering the language was all the more important. The Vishwa Konkani Student Scholarship Fund was initiated to help every deserving student to get quality education and empowering them has brought the desired results.
The Vishwa Konkani Student Scholarship Fund Alumni Association was set up to train future generations of leaders from Konkani speaking community.
The World Konkani Centre will also act as a rallying point for the Kharvi, Kudubi and Siddi communities who share Konkani lineage, Mr. Pai said.
Inaugurating the decennial celebrations, Ullas Kamath, Joint MD, Jyothi Laboratories, said that the hostel helped realise Mr. Pai’s vision for an empowered Konkani community by 2030. He urged the Konkani youth to make optimal use of various training provided to them at World Konkani Centre. The fact that the hostel is also serving as a training centre for other underprivileged youth is worth emulating, he said.
On the occasion, Mr. Pai was inducted into the Hall of Fame at the World Konkani Centre by Mr. Kamath and others.
Konkani Language and Cultural Foundation president Basti Vaman Shenoy, vice-president Kudpi Jagadish Shenoy, Alumni Association patron Sandeep Shenoy and others were present.
