Mangaluru: Senior journalist and multilingual writer Raymond D’Cunha Taccode has been unanimously elected as the new president of the Konkani Bhasha Mandal Karnataka (Regd). Advocate Liston D’Souza has been elected as the secretary.
(From left to right: Raymond Dcunha, Liston Dsouza)
Raymond D’Cunha Taccode is a senior journalist and a multilingual author. He has worked as both sub-editor and editor for several Konkani publications and has published 17 books in Kannada and Konkani. He has now been elected unanimously as the new state president of the Konkani Bhasha Mandal Karnataka — an organization representing Konkani speakers of all religions in Karnataka.
A graduate in law and journalism, D’Cunha has been a journalist since 1985. He began his career as a promoter of the Konkani mother tongue through 'Rakno' Weekly. Later, he served for 12 years as sub-editor of 'Mithr' Konkani newspaper, offering his services free of charge. He was also the editor of the Amcho Sandesh Catholic newsletter and successfully made it profitable. He later worked as a reporter for the Kannada publication Janavahini, and was part of Daijiworld during its early days. He then founded the Pingara Weekly newspaper, which he has been running as its sole Christian editor for the past 20 years.
He has also authored four plays and seventeen books.
During the financial crisis of MCC Bank, he worked as a board director and led a team to bring it back to profitability. As a public relations officer, he contributed to the reconstruction of Don Bosco Hall. He also served for three years as president of Christopher Association Men’s Hostel, where he renovated the hostel building to ensure comfort for the residents.
As a student, he actively participated in the Opityaagi Virodhi Movement, which took place before the formation of the Catholic Sabha.
Today, he has been rightfully chosen as the state-level president for the Konkani-speaking community. He is also a senior member of the Dakshina Kannada Working Journalists’ Association.
Other Office Bearers Elected:
Secretary: Advocate Liston D’Souza, architect behind the Don Bosco Hall renovation and member of the Konkani Natak Sabha.
Treasurer: Lion K. Vasanth Rao, Vice President of the Dakshina Kannada Scouts and Guides and a retired bank union official.
Vice President: Meenakshi Pai, active office bearer in the GSB Women’s Mandal.
Joint Secretary: Prasad Shenoy, a young entrepreneur.
All were elected unopposed.
Senior member of the Konkani Bhasha Mandal Karnataka (KBMK) executive committee, Geetha C Kini, served as the election officer and officially announced the newly elected office bearers.
Executive members Juliet Fernandes, Lawrence Pinto, Jossy Pinto, Suresh Shenoy, Adolph D’Souza, Zeena Fernandes, Aravind Shan Bhag, Shanti Veronica were present.