Konkani is spoken in four States—Goa and the coastal regions of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala. There are 40 lakh speakers, of which about 16 lakhs are in Goa. There are five scripts used for writing Konkani—Malayalam, Kannada, Devnagari, Roman and Arabic. Recently, the Konkani community from Kerala decided to switch the script from Malayalam to Devnagari. With such diversity, an apparent challenge that one may encounter in Konkani literature is of transliteration.
When it comes to Children’s Literature, there are multi-aspect challenges. A major factor is the outlook of parents. A thought that often dictates when it comes to buying a children’s book is, ‘If we are paying Rs. 100 for a book, we might as well get in return at least 10 stories. We can’t be paying this much for a book with one single story.’ The price factor depends upon the approach and intent of the publishers. In Konkani literature, there are two evident categories of publishers: activist publishers who are committed to ensure a wider outreach of Konkani language. The books brought out by such publishers are priced low. The other category of publishers aims at profit-making. Their books are often priced high and thus, the access is restricted and so is the outreach.
Publishing, especially Children’s Literature, is mostly looked at as a pass-time and part-time activity (however, there is also a small section dedicatedly involved in some interesting work).
To look at the content, there is an evident trend of Panchatantra school of thought in children’s books and stories and the influence continues to persist. Although there have been many litterateurs, rich writings and poetry in Konkani, the number reduces strikingly, when it comes to Children’s Literature. Balkavi is one such prominent name. It was he who pioneered writing for children. He wrote keeping children in mind in the name of Balkavi and as Manoharrai Sardesai for adults, and was adored by Konkani readers. He writes,
Doobte hue Sooraj ne laal hokar kaha—
Mere diye din ka aapne kya kiya?
(The setting sun, flame red, asked—
What did you do, with the day that I gave you?)
This was not originally written for children, but now it has been published for children. Many of Sardesai’s poems are for people across age-groups. The couplet has led me to mull over, ‘Why is it, that every time, even if it is essentially the same thing, it HAS to be written differently for children and for adults?’ In language, expression, metaphors or in the author’s thought or intent, there is a deliberate distinction maintained. This is one of the crucial issues in Children’s Literature. Don’t we all, adults and children, live in the same world? Then why this discrimination?
Barring the couple of exceptions that I mentioned above, for various reasons, the popular and acclaimed writers have kept away from writing for children. Secondly, those who did attempt, could barely go beyond non-sensical rhymes:
Ud ud kawwa
Ud ud ud…
Pud pud machhli
Pud pud pud
(Fly…fly, O Crow…
fly, fly, fly…
Swim… swim, O Fish…
swim, swim, swim)
While I agree that non-sensical rhymes have their own role to play in Children’s Literature, there is also a need for it to delve into a richer, more complex and diverse world of children’s lives and thinking.
Konkani Bhasha Parishad (KBP) has been active in publishing literature for children. It is unfortunate however, that their efforts and enthusiasm have not been reciprocated when approaching government agencies for publication and dissemination support.
However, there is an active effort to publish quality Children’s Literature; there are writing workshops and ones for illustrations being organized. Some other organizations have also been organizing workshops for government departments. These spaces offer and encourage an exchange of thoughts and ideas on Children’s Literature, although there is much more scope for this discourse to further evolve.
Chetan Acharya is a Konkani writer and former president of the Konkani Bhasha Mandal.