India Weekender 23 Sep

8
NEW ZEALAND
Friday, 23 September, 2022
Read online www.iwk.co.nz
AKKA celebrates Konkani
culture, language in Aotearoa
NAVDEEP KAUR MARWAH
India is an extremely
culturally diverse country
and assimilates so many
different cultures in itself.
While some cultures such as
Punjabi, Gujarati, Marathi and
Tamil are more prominent given
the larger geographical spread
and the numbers of people who
speak these languages, there
are also several lesser-known
cultures, such as the Konkani
Culture which runs all along the
western coastal strip of India.
Konkani people are an
Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic
community who trace their
history as far back as the
fourth millennium BC. With
their population concentrated
in South coastal Maharashtra,
Goa, Northern Karnataka,
Mangalore and North coastal
Kerala they share their name
with the coastline and the
language they speak.
The Konkani language is
spoken throughout the western
coastal belt of India – from
Maharashtra through Goa,
Karnataka and Kerala, though in
distinct regional flavours.
And since many Indians have
Of the women, for the women and by the women
NAVDEEP KAUR MARWAH
It is always a great feeling when
community members come together
for a cause. And the recent event
organised by Naaree Women’s group
was all about women from diverse
backgrounds coming together to raise
charity.
Organised by the group’s founders
Gargi Trivedi and Kashika Singh, the
Bingo Night in aid of Breast Cancer
Foundation NZ took place on Saturday
(September 17).
Talking about the overwhelming
response to the event, Gargi told Indian
Weekender, “ Our main reason to do
a fundraising event in aid of Breast
Cancer Foundation NZ is as we believe
migrated to New Zealand, there
is a small yet growing Konkani
population in Aotearoa.
In this twenty-first part of
our series on Indian cultural
associations in NZ, we feature
the Association of Konkani Kiwis
of Aotearoa (AKKA) – the only
association of Konkani-speaking
Kiwis that was established in
late 2018.
Interestingly, the idea to
have this association was
initiated way back in 2004.
Nitin Kundapur, AKKA’s Vice-
President, gives more details:
“It all started in 2004 in
Auckland where a small group
came together mainly for
supporting those who are fighting
breast cancer as well as admiring those
who have survived it. Every Naaree
who supported this cause is a celebrity
within herself.”
Adding to that, Kashika said, “Naaree
group brings confidence in ladies who
are twice shy in public but this platform
has seen so many budding confident
ladies coming out of their shell and
become extroverts. Absolutely amazed
at the overwhelming turnout ladies are
now hungry for more I guess.”
The evening at Columbus Coffee in
Grafton had ladies who have fought
breast cancer sharing their journeys.
There was also a nurse from the Breast
Cancer Foundation NZ who gave an
interactive talk.
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Ganesh Utsav.
That was the only time
when families gathered. Most
families are in Auckland, some
in Wellington, and a handful in
Christchurch. These gatherings
went on for a while, and in
2016 a need was felt to expand
the group and make it a formal
organisation. That led to the
formation of AKKA.”
There is only one main wing
of the organisation, and it has
a family-based membership
with a very nominal annual fee.
What started with 15 families
in 2016 is now over 40 families
registered with AKKA.
AKKA endeavours to keep
the Konkani spirit alive and
to pass it on to the younger
generation. “Our main aim is to
educate the younger generation
and encourage them to speak
and understand Konkani
and its roots.
"The future generation is
evolving fast, and knowledge
of one’s cultural background
is essential. India is diverse in
many ways, and we need to
provide all possible resources
to the coming generations,
so that ethnic fabric and
identity stay for years to
come,” says Kundapur.
Translating their vision into
action, AKKA organises regular
community gatherings on
key festivals such as Ganesh
Pooja, Choodi Pooja and Diwali.
“We also have our annual
sports meet and family picnics.
Programmes are mainly centred
around Konkani culture, sports
and recreation, performing arts,
etc. The forum is open to nonmembers,
and all are welcome/
encouraged to join,” reveals
Kundapur.
Kundapur further reveals that
they want more families to
join AKKA and to engage the
younger generation. “We plan
One of the event’s highlights
was a pink walk by the ladies in
attendance to support the cause
which had the ladies wearing pink to
support the cause.
Gargi reveals that they kept
their guest list limited due to
Covid-19 still in NZ.
For the uninitiated, Naaree Women’s
Group - a women’s Facebook Group, was
established during the lockdown in 2020
It was a memorable evening
with great food, bingo
and spot prizes.
Attendees, too, had a gala and shared
their experience of the fun-filled do.
Shital Sangani, one of the attendees,
said, “It was really a great experience
to be a part of this event, which had
a very core purpose of enlightening
all the Naaree on breast cancer
- its symptoms, how to do a selfcheck-up
and what are the facilities
available for someone struggling with
this. It was a very well-organised
event that Naaree should be proud
to pull off.”
to have more gatherings and
some fun theme-based events
– hiking trips, Bring a pet event
and more outdoor activities.
We also want to focus on social
media to discuss AKKA and its
work. We want more people to
attend for the effort, and the
expense put into events.”
Lastly, talking about
AKKA plans, Kundapur says
they have reached out to
some international Konkani
organisations and had a very
positive response from Tristate-
US, UK, Dubai, Mangalore-India
and Melbourne.
Moreover, plans to have
virtual Konkani culture classes
are also under way.
“We are also working on
having our online Konkani
School so that we can have a
virtual classroom each month
that will focus on Konkani
speaking, a few songs,
stories in Konkani for kids,”
signs off Kundapur.
Another guest, Roshni Shetty, said the
event brought a lot of awareness about
breast cancer. “Thanks, Naaree, for
organising the pink ribbon event and for
getting narees (women) together under
one roof and educating and bringing
awareness of breast cancer. I gained a
wealth of knowledge from guest speaker
Debra.”
Geetika Jalota Bhatnagar, another
attendee, revealed that she couldn’t
wait for more such events.
“Beautiful event - well planned,
coordinated and efficient meet and great
for a great cause. Kashika and Gargi
did an awesome job collaborating and
organising the event, which was a super
success. Pink walk, bingo, talks, and
mingling was superb way to socialise.
I look forward to attending more such
events.”