Pics: Anush Pandith

Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SB)

Mangaluru, Mar 19: 'Konkani Thesar', a Konkani Thesaurus by Fr Prashanth Madtha, a renowned Konkani and Kannada writer was released at Rasquinha Hall, St Aloysius College, on Sunday, March 18.

After the release of the book, Fr Antony Joseph said, “Fr Prashanth Madtha himself is a treasure of Konkani world. He has translated my literary and research works into Konkani. It is not easy to publish a dictionary or a research book. Fr Madtha has spent almost 7 hours for this task every day. Because of his dedication, commitment and patience, he has succeeded in completing the book. On this occasion I congratulate and expect many more books come from him."

Fr Stany D Souza addressing the gathering said, "Fr Prashanth Madtha is one of the jewels of Konkani language. He has tried to construct a bridge between Konkani and Kannada through his writings. He has shared his knowledge in both the languages which is very essential. Being a soft-hearted person, he took every task as a challenge and has completed it successfully. There is no doubt that the book ‘Thesar’ will become a treasure for coming generation. These types of works should be supported and must be continued by the next generation."

Fr Antony Joseph, Rector, St Joseph College, Bengaluru, Fr Stany D Souza SJ , Provincial Head, Jesuits, Karnataka province, Fr Daniel Fernandes, Principal, St Joseph's Commerce College, Bengaluru, Fr Praveen Martis, Principal, St Aloysius College, Mangaluru, Fr Dionysius Vaz, Rector, St Aloysius Educational Institutions, Mangaluru, Dr Anil Pinto, St Joseph College, Bengaluru were present on the dais.

CGS Taccode compered the event.

‘Konkani Thesar’ is a thesaurus comprising Konkani synonyms and antonyms, plus idioms and sayings, edited by Fr Prashant Madtha, former principal of St Aloysius College.

‘Konkani Thesar’, a Konkani Thesaurus, is first of its kind containing thousands of synonyms and antonyms for about 5000 Konkani words. This is the third dictionary by Fr Prashant Madtha, a Jesuit priest. His first dictionary was, ‘Ten Thousand idioms of Konkani’, followed by ‘Padanidhi’, a massive volume of 800 pages containing synonyms and antonyms of Kannada and the latest one, ‘Konkani Thesar’, contains about 600 pages. Fr Prashant is the only person to edit two thesauruses in two languages.

In 2008, his massive volume of Kannada synonyms and antonyms, ‘Padanidhi’, first-of-its-kind in Kannada was published, which brought him laurels. The English weekly in 2008, acclaimed him as one of the 50 pioneers of change in India, naming him the ‘wordsmith’ and also earned him titles like ‘Roget of Kannada’ (Peter Mark Roget of Thesaurus fame) and the second ‘Fr Ferdinand Kittel of Kannada’. The method followed in Konkani Thesaurus in not in alphabetical order but conceptually arranged.

Fr Prashant is a columnist, a prolific writer in three languages. He has authored five books in Kannada, 4 in Konkani, one in English titled, ‘On Eagle’s Wings’, recounting the 125 history of St Aloysius College. When he was the principal of St Aloysius College, he introduced Konkani as the subject in the college, the first and the only institution in Karnataka which taught Konkani where exams were conducted by the Mangalore University.