MARGAO
Glowing tributes were paid to lyricist and writer, late Shridhar Kamat, with speakers describing him as a thorough secularist, for whom the unity of all Goans, including Hindus, Catholics and Muslims was important than anything else.
People from all walks of life on Thursday attend the program “Antarichya Swara Re Shridhara Re” organised by Ravindra bhavan, Margao in memory of Shridhar Kamat, who was its founder vice-Chairman. Organized in collaboration with Konkani Bhasha Mandal and Dakshinayan Abhiyan, the program was attended by leading Mumbai-based music director Ashok Patki, who has composed several songs of late Shridhar Kamat, which have also won awards at the national and state level, besides Eric Ozario, from Mangalore, who has composed and sung Shridhar’s songs.
Shridhar’s friends paid glowing tributes to him with city-based businessman and thinker Datta Naik saying that Shridhar Kamat was a thorough Secular man. “When the controversy over the MoI broke out after Konkani stalwarts took the help of RSS leaders to oppose English, Shridhar was opposed to the move. I and Shridhar had given a formula to the then Chief Minister Digambar Kamat to resolve the MoI row, but political compulsions came in the way of a solution. For Shridhar, unity of all people of Goa was more important than even Konkani”, he said.
Datta said that Shridhar, who was heading the Fomento Green as its CEO, was convinced that only capping the Sonsodo site on the lines of Gorai-Mumbai, was a lasting solution to the waste imbroglio, but felt that there was no political will to resolve the issue.
A cultural program based on the songs written by Shridhar Kamat were sung by singer and composer Sidhanath Buyao, Sai Panandikar, Ketan Bhat and others. Students of Manovikas school presented dance performance based on a song written by Shridhar Kamat.
