Mangaluru, July 11: Renowned senior Konkani poet Arundhati V. Rao from Mangaluru and Annie de Colvale from Goa have been selected for the National Charoli Honour 2026, announced Raymond D’Cunha Taccode, President of the 5th National Konkani Charoli Literary Conference, to be held in Mangaluru.
Addressing a press conference at the Press Club, Raymond Dcunha said that poets from Delhi, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Karwar, Kerala, and Dubai have registered to participate in the one-day 5th National Konkani Charoli Literary Conference on July 19.
As, a large number of delegates are expected to arrive a day earlier, the Poets’ Meet (Kavi Goshti) will commence at 8a.m. and will be inaugurated by Gourish Varnekar of Canacona, Goa, a renowned theatre trainer, poet, and Konkani teacher.
The inaugural session of the conference will be held at 10am, with M.P. Noronha, District Government Pleader and Public Prosecutor, Mangaluru, inaugurating the event. Industrialist Vincent Coutinho will be the chief guest.
The Poets’ Meet will continue after the inaugural session. In the afternoon, students and poets will participate in an Open House, engaging in free discussions on literature and poetry.
The valedictory address will be delivered by Yogita Varnekar, a publisher from Goa and a Konkani mother-tongue teacher. Srinivas Nayak Indaje and Elias Fernandes will attend as guests.
Raymond Dcunha also noted that the second and fourth editions of the conference were held in Panaji, Goa, while the first and third editions were hosted in Mangaluru.
The organising committee includes Gourish Varnekar (Madgaon, Goa) as Organising Convener, along with committee members Vijay Pai (Kerala), Sandesh Bandekar (Karwar, Karnataka), Annie Fernandes (Thivim, Goa), Anagha Kamat (Panaji, Goa), Gopalakrishna Prabhu (Delhi), and Janet Vaas (Bengaluru, Karnataka).
Present at the press conference were Raymond D’Cunha Taccode, President of the 5th National Konkani Charoli Literary Conference; Riana D’Cunha, Secretary of the Organising Committee; Elias Fernandes, Media Advisor; and Stany Tauro, Executive Committee Member.