For the past decade the GSB (Gowd Saraswath Brahmin) community has been in a stage of siege and decline. The community (which has Konkani as its mother tongue) is tiny - just about 400,000 - and scattered all over pockets of western and southern India. So there is no single geography cluster where the community is concentrated - which makes unifying the community - and sustaining its language and unique traditions - very difficult.
Historically, any community which is less than a million strong and is not geographically concentrated tends to gradually lose its identity and gets absorbed into the local dominant mainstream - so there is a real threat of that "Indian homogenisation" happening to the GSBs within this century. Moreover, the turbulence witnessed at the spiritual leadership level in the last decade did not help matters - it sowed dis-harmony, and many GSBs lived up to their (dis)repute of being "Kokkes" or those who cannot bear to see others within the community prosper.
Which is why the recently concluded 16 day Punar Prathistha of the Sri Venkatramana temple in Mangalore was a water-shed event for the community. It was extremely well-organised - and the unity and the spirit shown by the community was remarkable. Many of the youth were also involved, and it was wonderful to see some of the youth taking the initiative to do live web-cast of the event for all the 16 days on the GSB community portal - enabling many GSBs from all over the world to participate in the function, and hence witnessing the possible revival of the community feeling.
I for one am now quite happy and optimistic - I feel the negativity that had engulfed the community will disappear, and the community will start displaying the vibrancy, pride and spirit that had always characterised the GSB community. And it gives me the hope that the GSB community will continue to survive and prosper for many more centuries to come.
Historically, any community which is less than a million strong and is not geographically concentrated tends to gradually lose its identity and gets absorbed into the local dominant mainstream - so there is a real threat of that "Indian homogenisation" happening to the GSBs within this century. Moreover, the turbulence witnessed at the spiritual leadership level in the last decade did not help matters - it sowed dis-harmony, and many GSBs lived up to their (dis)repute of being "Kokkes" or those who cannot bear to see others within the community prosper.
Which is why the recently concluded 16 day Punar Prathistha of the Sri Venkatramana temple in Mangalore was a water-shed event for the community. It was extremely well-organised - and the unity and the spirit shown by the community was remarkable. Many of the youth were also involved, and it was wonderful to see some of the youth taking the initiative to do live web-cast of the event for all the 16 days on the GSB community portal - enabling many GSBs from all over the world to participate in the function, and hence witnessing the possible revival of the community feeling.
I for one am now quite happy and optimistic - I feel the negativity that had engulfed the community will disappear, and the community will start displaying the vibrancy, pride and spirit that had always characterised the GSB community. And it gives me the hope that the GSB community will continue to survive and prosper for many more centuries to come.
1 comment:
Wow !!. I loved to read and want to desperately and firmly believe that the mentioned unification and preservation of community and its values culture music and traditions continues.
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