Mangalore Cultural Association (MCA), Doha – Qatar, hosted the second season of the Konkani Elocution Contest (Bhashan Spordho) and Konkani Quiz Contest (InQUIZitive). The goal of these competitions is to encourage the skills related to the art of public speaking, to enrich the knowledge and and to encourage the use of our mother tongue Konkani. Like all other events organized by the organization, this initiative was also received with great zeal and enthusiasm. A tremendous response was received to the registrations of both the contests.

The categories and topics for the elocution were announced as follows:

The participants for the bhashan spordho were:

An elimination round for the quiz contest was conducted on August 23, 2019 to determine the final 4 teams to be battling against each other for the stage rounds. Six teams combatted through the elimination round which was a written quiz test set by the quiz master Gladson Almeida. The six teams were:

·         Team Daffodils; Roshni Jasveera Mendonca and Sonal Dwelyn Mendonca

·         Team Rising Star; Agnel Ullas Dsouza and Rayshel Dsouza

·         Team Wakrah Friends; Eva Wilma Pinto and Prathima Rodrigues

·         Team Adkulo Budkulo; Hema Fernandes and Clement Fernandes

·         Team J Square; Jeevan Ferrao and Jason Dais

·         Team Starters; George Menezes and Prival Dsouza

The teams that made it to the stage rounds were:

·         Team Starters; George Menezes and Prival Dsouza

·         Team Adkulo Budkulo; Hema Fernandes and Clement Fernandes

·         Team Wakrah Friends; Eva Wilma Pinto and Prathima Rodrigues

·         Team J Square; Jeevan Ferrao and Jason Dais

The evening of Friday, August 30, 2019 began with MCA geeth. Sandeep Noronha, the emcee for the evening invited President, Ms. Veena Rebimbus Pais to welcome the gathering. Ms. Jovita Pereira D’Souza then briefed the audiences of the rules of the bhashan spordho.

Sandeep Noronha then introduced the panel of judges who are experts in the Konkani language and in the field of public speaking. President Ms. Veena Rebimbus Pais presented the judges with their marking sheets.

The esteemed panel of judges comprised of Mr. Alfred Cyril Sequeira, Ms. Merlyn D’Souza, Ms. Freeda Lobo and Ms. Reena Castelino.

The judging criteria was:

a.         CONTENT

                    i.      Greeting & Introduction of the subject

                  ii.      Exposition of the main theme (Conciseness & Clarity of message, Originality/Points of interest, Incorporation of Personal references, Quotations & Biblical References)

                iii.      Moral & Practical Application

                 iv.      Conclusion

b.         SPEAKING PRESENTATION

i.        Memorization (evaluated by pauses and amount of referring to index cards)

ii.      Verbal Clarity (Annunciation and pronunciation of words, voice strength and projection)

Presentation/Speaking Style (Mannerisms, Audience contact and voice modulation, Ability to keep the audience engaged by their speaking style)

It was a treat to see the budding children speak in the mother tongue with fluency, grace and confidence. The competition was nerve racking. Beautiful speeches were rendered by the participants mesmerizing the audiences’ and making the judgement tough for the judges.

As announced a Pick and Speak competition was held with on the spot registrations. Participants had to take a leap of faith and randomly pick up topics on the spot and speak on those for 1 – 2 minutes without any preparation time. Seven participants came forward and brilliantly thought on their feet and spoke on the intriguing topics. The participants were:

·         Savious Crasta

·         Gladson Alemida

·         Jeevan Ferrao

·         Hema Fernandes

·         Prival Dsouza

·         Clement Fernandes

·         Ajai Rodrigues

The participants beautifully rendered the impromptu speeches. It was delightful to see such enthusiasm and participation spirit.

The stage was then set for the exciting quiz competition. This consisted of four rounds, namely Pick your answer, Rapid Fire, Audio-Visual and Buzzer rounds. It was truly nail-biting experience for the participants and audiences. During the quiz there were a few questions shot to the audience as well.

Participation certificates were presented to the participants. Ms. Carol D’Souza proposed the vote of thanks.

Bhashan Spordho Winners:

InQUIZitive Winners:

The organizers received positive comments and were encouraged to hold such competition often. With the success of the Konkan Bhashan Spordho and InQUIZitive, MCA has added yet another beautiful feather to its cap.

MCA’s monti Fest celebrations with variety of Cultural Programs and Novem jevann will be held on 19^th September 2019, Thursday at the Ashoka Hall of Indian Cultural Centre, Doha Qatar. All are invited.