Hema Naik to preside over 25th All India Konkani Sammelan
Mangaluru: All India Konkani Parishad is hosting the 25th All India Konkani Sahitya Sammelan at the World Konkani Centre, Shaktinagar, Mangaluru, on Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th of November 2023. On both days, there will be sessions, literary presentations, panel discussions, and folk and cultural performances. Renowned Hindi poet and critic Udayan Vajpeyi will inaugurate the Sammelan and deliver the keynote address on the subject ‘Literature and Life’ at 10 a.m. on the fourth Saturday, said H. M. Pernal, working president of the reception committee, at a press conference on Thursday, November 2.
Senior Novelist and Konkani activist Hema Naik will preside over the Sammelan and deliver the presidential address. Renowned poet Prof. Mamta G. Sagar will grace as the chief guest to the valedictory ceremony and speak on the subject ‘Social Responsibility of Writers.’
Inaugural and valedictory speeches will be in Hindi and English, respectively, and on Saturday at 5.30 p.m., there will be a panel discussion in English on the subject ‘Challenges for Contemporary Writers’ chaired by Prof. Puroshottam Bilimale. Udayan Vajpeyi and Mamta G. Sagar will be the panellists in the session. Non-Konkani writers and literary enthusiasts from the region can attend this session.
As many as 600 delegates, Writers, Students and Konkani speakers from all over India will be participating in the Sammelan, particularly from Goa, Kerala, and Maharashtra, and it will be a golden opportunity for literary enthusiasts in Coastal Karnataka to interact with writers and scholars face-to-face. Food is arranged on both days for the participants, and registered delegates will be provided with accommodation.
Micahael D’Souza, President, Reception Committee; Nandagopal Shenoy, Vice President, Reception Committee; Titus Noronha, General Secretary, Reception Committee; Melvyn Rodrigues, Vice President, All India Konkani Parishad, and Chetan Acharya, Working President, All India Konkani Parishad, were present for the press meet.
About Hema Naik
Hema Naik started writing at a young age and quit the banking job for the sake of the Konkani movement. She writes in Konkani, Marathi, English, and Hindi. So far, she has published eight original works and more than 10 translated works. Apart from short stories, essays, and novels, she has written many radio plays and one-act plays. Being an editor and publisher, she has edited and published Konkani periodicals and produced a Konkani cinema for Doordarshan. She has been awarded with Sahitya Akademi Award, the Government of Goa Kala Academy Award, Katha Puraskar, the Dr. M. A. Award from Manipal, and many more. She led many feminist movements in Goa. She will serve as the President of the 25th All India Konkani Sammelan for two years.
