Konkani Academy Condoles B V Baliga's Demise - Rich Tributes Paid

A condolence meeting to pay respects to the late B V Baliga, Konkani author-poet and erstwhile president of the Karnataka Konkani Sahitya Academy was held in the Academy hall.

Academy president Eric Ozario, in his introductory remarks, spoke highly about the unassuming and selfless nature and way of working. Baliga was like a bridge between different denominations of Konkani-speaking communities, he said.

Noted vocalist and Akashwani artiste Vasanti R Nayak fondly and emotionally recalled the years she spent with the late Baliga not only as a close relative but as a mentor in vocal practice and poetic pursuits. Former Konkani Bhasha Mandal president Paul Moras also reminisced his close association with the departed in Konkani-related activities and stressed on the need to perpetuate his memory in a tangible and meaningful way.

The late Baliga's son, B S Baliga, expressed his gratitude to the Academy and the gathering for doing something worthy by organizing a condolence meeting, while also providing examples of how his illustrious father stayed away from self-interest and self-publicity.

In his concluding remarks, Ozario offered the Academy's initiative in getting the late Baliga's poems out in printed format. Besides, a meeting of his admirers would soon be convened to chalk out ways and means to implement a suitable project in his memory, Ozario added.

The meeting was attended by Konkani activists, writers and admirers of the late B V Baliga.