Preserving a language

KOCHI: To translate the 7000-odd verses of Sri Ramcharitamanas into Konkani is no easy task for even experienced scholars in the field. It would be difficult to believe that a person with no formal college education achieved it. But that is what K A Anantha Bhat, a resident of Mattancherry, has done, armed with just a Sanskrit Kovid and a Gita Visharad. Deserving more merit is the fact that the work was completed in less than a year and 5 months. In the course of the translation of the Ramacharitamanas, Bhat has managed to keep the metrical aspects of the original in the translation, a feat in itself.

Working on the book, he says, was more like an act of worship; he considers himself only as an instrument of the Lord. Ananthat Bhat has lived all his life in Kochi, but managed to keep the Konkani language and tradition alive in his home and in his work.

“After I finished school, my family was not in a financial position to provide for my studies, and I had to go to work. I started on the translation only after my retirement from the Union Bank.” But Bhat’s efforts were rewarded, for the Kendra Sahitya Akademi awarded him the Translation Prize 2006 for the work.

Several other national organisations and groups also facilitated him; the Konkani Bhasha Prachar Sabha award and the Konkani Kala Sahitya award being some of the other awards he received.

However, Bhat wishes to be known more for his contributions to the field of broadcast literature, which was extremely popular during the days when there was no television. In a span of 20 years, from 1966 onwards, Bhat has composed more than 200 songs, stories, talks, musical features and more which were broadcast on the All India Radio. There being no Konkani station in Kerala, the programmes were all aired in Karnataka, Goa etc. “When my marriage was fixed, back in the nineteensixties, I had no chance of seeing the bride before the wedding. I wrote a romantic piece to the girl in my imagination and it was broadcast over the radio on the day of the wedding.” Bhat has several such instances to relate, where radio programmes have coincided with events in his life. Besides these, Bhat has also published collections of poems, songs and translations in Konkani and released albums of Konkani songs whose lyrics were written by him. In a way, thus Bhat can be said to be one of the few who are responsible for preserving the essence as well as syntax of the Konkani language. Now celebrating his 70th birthday, Bhat remembers that he was the first to record for Konkani in the radio.

Bhat is distressed at the current state of the Konkani language, which he says, will lose its real flavour unless the new generation did their bit. “The world today has no time even to spend a minute on such works, let alone appreciate them,” he says.

ashaprakash@epmltd.com