PANAJI: Sahitya Akademi award-winning Goan poet, Shankar Ramani’s birth centenary year was celebrated across the state between, June 24-26.
Prof Harilal Menon, Goa University’s vice-chancellor inaugurated an exhibition showcasing the life and works of Ramani and released a souvenir on June 24.
Speaking on this occasion, Prof Menon expressed the need to create an endowment to fund a chair in Ramani’s name at the Goa University. Committee members, poet Madhav Borcar, Bhushan Bhave, Arun Sakhardande, Director of Art and Culture, Sagun Velip and the Ramani Family members were present.
The Day 2 saw the inauguration of the two-day national seminar organised by the Sahitya Akademi in the memory of Ramani. Krishna Kimbuhane and Bhushan Bhave laid the grounds for the seminar and Aruna Dhere inaugurated and shed light on various aspects of Ramani’s poetry.
There were two sessions on Marathi poetry and one session on Ramani’s poems and their link to Goan poetry traditions. On the same evening, a book ‘Shankar Ramani Hanchi Konkani Kavita’ edited by poet Madhav Borcar, was released at the hands of Jnanapeeth Awardee writer Damodar Mauzo.
The day concluded with ‘Prajaktache Sur’ a musical rendering of Shankar Ramani’s poems composed and presented by Pratik Gaikwad and his team.
The last two days of the seminar also saw sessions on Ramani’s Konkani poetry, a session on philosophy and musicality of Ramani’s poetry and a national, Shankar Ramani poetry appreciation competition.
The last day saw the release of two books, “Ramani” edited by Anuja Joshi and ‘Ekatyache Gane’ edited by Paresh Prabhu. The curtains came down with “Ramaniya Geete”, a musical rendering of Shankar Ramani’s poems composed by Shilpa Duble and her team, states a press release.
