EDITORIAL
Eric Ozario leaves a lasting legacy through Konkani activism
Goa lost a friend in not-so-distant Mangaluru on the weekend, with the passing of Eric Ozario, the 76-year-old institution builder and long-time campaigner who has been described as Konkani’s cultural icon there. He has also been labelled a ‘champion of Konkani music’ and is widely known as the architect of Kalangann, the cultural centre and performance space established by Ozario›s Mandd Sobhann, dedicated to the preservation, promotion and innovation of the Konkani language, music and performing arts.
More than a paean of praise to an individual, this can be read as the celebration of a life well lived — one that built links across geographically (and culturally) diverse regions, and showed how a small culture and language can be taken ahead. Ozario had his friends and collaborators in Goa since at least the mid-1980s, probably earlier too. He worked with people of all backgrounds, even though in recent times he, like some others in his region, increasingly felt that Konkani written in the Kannada script too should be accepted with equality and respect, rather than being pushed aside in the drive for script uniformity. A life such as his offers enduring lessons on the power of cultural activism and the importance of safeguarding linguistic and artistic traditions in a rapidly globalising world. Given his youth amidst the heady social ferment and student activism of the 1970s, it was not surprising that, like some individuals of that generation, Ozario strove hard to make an impact and left behind an impressive legacy.
Behind the overpowering slew of numbers and figures, it›s easy to overlook Eric Alexander Ozario’s real legacy. By way of numbers: his group performed over 200 shows in India and abroad, he composed music for over a thousand poems and songs, and performed in 800 programmes. He produced 26 cassettes/CDs, was behind some 35 artistic experiments, and organised a range of events. These included the First World Baila Show, a Mando Fest, Porob and Sant events, the Baila International, Punov, Manddo Utsav, Konkani Mahotsav, Konkani Nirantari, the Global Konkani Music Awards, the First World Konkani Cultural Festival, the Global Konkani Cinema Awards and five successful seasons of the singing reality show ‘Soad’. He played a role in the popular Konkani film ‘Osmitay’ (2023). He nurtured young talent, was president of the Karnataka Konkani Sahitya Academy (2005-08), and brought some 145 Konkani organisations together to create the Global Konkani organisation. He worked to bring different Konkani groups together — like the Kudumi (Kunbi), Siddi, Kharvi, etc — and consistently demanded fair remuneration for artistes.
Ozario demonstrated how sustained commitment, institution-building, and creativity can elevate a minority language (in Karnataka) like Konkani onto international stages. Ozario’s vision for Mandd Sobhann and Kalangann showed that cultural pride must be nurtured collectively, with institutions serving as custodians of memory and creativity. He built the Kalangann campus with community support and functioned as the ‘Gurkar’ of Mandd Sobhann. That term could be translated as ‘headman’ or ‘steward’. It could also mean chief organiser, caretaker or responsible person. Some equate this with the spelling ‘gorkar’. Mandd Sobhann, set up in 1986, takes its name from the traditional community gathering place and aims to be a centre for harmony, beauty and grandeur. Ozario’s blending of grassroots activism with global outreach leaves behind lessons that even local identities can thrive when they engage confidently with wider circuits of music and art. Above all, his life underscores that cultural work is not peripheral but central to community resilience, dignity and continuity across generations.
