MARGAO
The Fr Freddy J Da Costa Memorial ‘Gulab’ awards were conferred on noted personalities at a programme held at Ravindra Bhavan, Margao, on Sunday.
The Gulab ‘Personality of the Year 2025’ award was conferred on MLA and advocate Carlos Alvares Ferreira, while the Gulab ‘Romi Konkani Writer 2025’ award was presented to distinguished Romi Konkani writer Alvaro Gomes.
The ‘GULAB Gõykaranchem Daiz 2025’ award was presented to Fr George Quadros, SDB, popularly known as the ‘Paddy Man of Goa’, for his pioneering efforts to revive paddy cultivation through mechanised farming.
Veteran tiatr actress Fatima D’Souza was conferred the Fr Freddy J Da Costa Memorial ‘GULAB Tiatrist 2025’ Award in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the Konkani tiatr stage spanning more than five decades.
The ‘Felicio Cardoso Memorial Journalism Award 2025’ was conferred on Paul Fernandes, Goa’s renowned ‘Green Journalist’, in recognition of his decades-long contribution to environmental journalism.
Speaking on the occasion, MLA Michael Lobo complimented Fausta Da Costa and his team for keeping Konkani alive through Gulab magazine. “Konkani language is our identity and culture, and we have to protect the language,” Lobo said.
He announced financial support of Rs 30,000 per month to Gulab towards the printing of the magazine.
In his address, MLA Carlos stressed the need to protect the Konkani language, saying Goa would lose its identity if Konkani was lost. He also appealed to the Goan diaspora to return to their homeland one day.
In his address, Fr George Quadros said he and his team were working to bring fallow agricultural fields back under cultivation. “Something is happening in the villages. The farming community is coming together as one unit. We need to work together to bring fallow land back under cultivation,” he added.
