7 Eminent People receive ‘Sandesha Awards’ at a Glittering Ceremony
Mangaluru: Seven persons who were the recipient of the ’26th Annual Sandesha Awards” were honored with the Awards during a glittering and glamorous ceremony held on Friday, 3 January 207 at the Sandesha Foundation for Culture and Education open-air premises. The recipients of the awards were – Eminent writer Dr Kamala Hampana conferred with ‘Sandesha Literature Award’; John Devaraj- ‘Sandesha Special Recognition Award’; Film actor and producer-Prakash Rai conferred with ‘Sandesha Media Award’; ‘Sandesha Art Award’ on folk singer Yuvaraj K; ‘Konkani Music Award’ conferred on Anil Patrao; and duo namely Renita Lobo and Shamita Rao of ‘Mother Teresa Memorial Education Trust ‘conferred with “Sandesha Education Award’ .Na D’Souza, Dr Na Damodar Shetty, Mrs Sara Abubakkar Mrs Chandrakala Nandavar, Eric Ozario and Richard Louis were the Juries of Sandesha Awards and selected with guidance under Fr Victor Vijay Lobo, Director, Sandesha Foundation.
Following invocation of God’s blessings through a prayer song/dance, the welcome address was delivered by Fr Victor Vijay Lobo. Then came the prestigious moment of the evening honoring the seven recipients with the 26th Annual Sandesha Awards. After receiving their respective awards, the awardees expressed their thoughts and feelings- Receiving the Sandesha Award for Literature, Dr Kamala Hampana said, “It is indeed a privilege and honour to receive this prestigious award. I still remember the day that I had visited the famous religious site Dharmastala during Sahitya Sammelana back in 1964-65 when I was 26 years old, and receiving this Sandesha Award today at the age of 82, coming down all the way to Mangaluru is just an great honour.”
Expressing his thoughts, Anil Patrao said, “I humbly and very gratefully dedicate this award to my beloved parents and too late Patrick Carlo, who was my mentor and Guru I can’t forget to thank the large Christian community who had supported and encouraged me in Konkani music career, thereby helping me to reach greater heights”. Awardee Prakash Rai said, ” I am so overwhelmed to receive this special award from a special community- I feel very much blessed. My humble request is that next time also thinks of conferring awards on selected farmers who are doing yeomen contribution to our nation and they are the backbone of India”.
Awardee Shamita Rao said, “Our sincere gratitude and thanks to Sandesha Foundation and the juries for selecting us for this prestigious Award. It has been a long but successful journey for me and Renita Lobo, where we achieved our goal through hard work, dedication and determination- and we are glad that Sandesha recognized our efforts. Being our 18th year of the journey when we started LKG and UKG and then continued further till 10th, but we didn’t want to lose our students so we started PUC too. It was quite challenging for us being young women, to handle all the work and take care of the students, but to tell you frankly, the students have been very cooperative, supportive and have our motivating force. Since our aim was to bridge the gap between rural and urban education, we are confident that we did it”.
Awardee John Devraj said, “Frankly speaking, Jesus Christ and comedian Charlie Chaplin, both have always been an inspiration for me in my life to achieve my goals and make my dreams come true. I am thankful to the Sandesha committee and the juries for recognizing my achievements and conferring this award on me. I feel proud and truly blessed. “Performing a folk song for the audience, awardee K Yuvraj expressing his feelings said that his responsibility has increased after receiving the Sandesha Award and that he always prefer to sing folk songs since he admires folk singers for they don’t sing for any benefit, name or fame.”
Addressing the gathering, president of Kannada Sahitya Parishat Manu Baligar said, “I am extremely happy to be here to witness the glittering ceremony of Sandesha Awards which has been very well organized. I truly believe that Sandesha is an institution of unity where students of all religions and languages come in and get trained in the field of art and culture. Kudos to the management for nurturing these youth in the right direction to embrace art and culture. I have also learnt that Sandesha works relentlessly with like-minded people to achieve their goal of fostering a value-based society wherein all people live as brothers and sisters, where it acts a bridge builder among the different sections of the society and a catalyst for social change and social betterment. Congratulation to all the awardees, you have all achieved greatly in your lives”
Bishop of Ballari diocese Fr Henry D Souza delivering his presidential address said, “On the outset let me congratulate these seven eminent personalities for being conferred with the Sandesha Awards for their achievements in their respective fields. Today’s seven achievers will be the role models for a young generation to follow in their footsteps, as they look forward to inspiration in their dreams. We need to appreciate what Sandesha has been doing in promoting art and culture by training the youth in these fields, and in collaboration with various government and non-government organization have been conducting inter-religious, inter-faith and inter-cultural dialogue, which is of great importance in the present society”.
MLA J R Lobo also speaking during the occasion said, “We need to compliment Sandesha for launching the Sandesha Awards which is in its 26 th years, where they appreciate and recognize outstanding and value-based contributions made by various personalities through Literature, Journalism, Arts, Media, Cinema and Television. And their Special Recognition Award honors meritorious service rendered to the needy in the society. Truly Sandesha Foundation has reached greater heights and at present stands tall in the state. We all need to support and encourage Sandesha in their efforts and activities in training the youth in arts and culture, which is very much needed presently”
Roy Castelino-President of Karnataka Konkani Sahitya Academy proposed the vote of thanks, while Mallika Shetty, a lecturer at Milagres College-Mangaluru compered the programme very professionally. The other dignitaries on the dais who graced the occasion were- Bishop of Mangaluru diocese Aloysius Paul D’Souza, Chief Whip of Legislative Council Ivan D’Souza, president of Sandesha Awards jury Na D Souza, Director of Sandesha Fr Victor Lobo and Sandesha Trustee Fr Ivan Pinto. The formal award ceremony ended with a mesmerizing and entertaining cultural dances performed by Sandesha Kala Kendra and Padua College-Mangaluru students.
About the Awardees:
Dr Kamala Hampana- Sandesha Literature Award, 2017
Dr Kamala Hampana was born in 28 October 1935 in Devanahalli to Rangalakshamma and Rangadhama Nayak. Married to Mr Hampa Nagarajayya, she has made a huge contribution to Kannada literature as a researcher, critic, biographer, Radio playwright, novelist, and a writer of children’s literature, modern vachanas, and women’s literature.
Prakash Rai – Sandesha Media Award, 2017.
Prakash Rai is a well-acclaimed film actor of national fame. Born in a Tulu family, he has become a multilingual film actor who has performed in languages such as Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Marathi, Malayalam and English. A versatile actor, he can be a hero, a villain or even a supporting actor. He has received a national award for his film ‘Kanjeevaram’. He has presented some good films in Kannada like ‘Nanoo Nanna Kanasu, ‘Oggarane’, ‘Idolle Ramayana’.
According to Prakash Rai, ‘Life sometimes can take turns, slight, U or may-be 360 degrees. We don’t know which turn is that but definitely, there is something that ignites within to GIVE BACK to LIFE, Prakash Raj Foundation believes in giving back to life philosophy. All this is not momentous, rather a journey, comprised of experience from knowing downtrodden to riches, destitute to destined, closures to new openings. Prakash Rai still believes journey has just begun, so on this journey, befriending LIFE is a necessity to co-exist. Much has been taken; it’s time to give back, let’s GIVE BACK to LIFE’.
Yuvaraj K.- Sandesha Art Award, 2017
Born in 1956, Yuvaraj has served for the past three decades as a lecturer and principal in Shivamogga. A popular folk singer, he has a huge collection of folk songs from different parts of Karnataka, which have been published as music albums. A man gifted with a unique folk voice, he has to his credit above 1500 performance within and outside the state of Karnataka.
Anil Patrao- Konkani Music Award, 2017
Anil began his music journey at the young age of 4 itself playing the harmonium. By the age 12, he began his public performances. As a choir master of Derebail church, he has trained many in music. A composer of over 200 songs, he has presented several musical evenings in collaboration with his brother John Patrao under the banner ‘Patrao Nite’.
John Devaraj- Sandesha Special Recognition Award, 2017
A civil engineer by profession, Devaraj is a versatile personality who sees the Divine in various forms. A sculptor, architect, puppeteer, actor, dramatist, cameraman, cine artist, art director, film producer, and an advisor to several organizations, he is an institution by himself. His achievements include a unique mural in New York made of soil and water gathered from sixty different nations of the world, a 25 feet tall anti-fascist memorial in Austria, a huge picture of 370 x 280 ft for the children of Pakistan, and 22 feet tall terracotta statue in Lalbagh, Bengaluru
Mother Teresa Memorial Education Trust- Sandesha Education Award, 2017
Two bold 22-year-old women from Mangaluru, Ms Renita Lobo and Ms Shamita Rao, ventured into a challenging task of starting a school in a deeply remote village of Shakaranarayana, 30 kilometres away from Kundapur in order to spread the light of knowledge among the illiterate people of the area. Started with LKG/UKG, the institution now is providing education up to the intermediate. The courageous and selfless service of these ladies has received a wide acclaim from the general public.
