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 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 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 non-members, 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 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.
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