Radio Mango sent waves in Canada and across the world by becoming the first Radio program in Konkani in North America and the Western hemisphere. It was on 29 September 2012 on FM 101.3 MHz and from that day onwards on every Saturday for six years Konkani programs continued to be aired. Ms Milena Marques-Zachariah originally from Goa and settled in Canada is the Producer and President of Radio Mango, Canada.
From Broadcast Media to Advertisement: Alan Sequeira and Wilson Dsouza were her earlier partners. Ms Milena Marques did her Post Graduation in Mass Communications from St Xaviers’ at Mumbai. Though it was a broadcast media-related course she never practised it and entered into the advertisement medium as an Advertisement writer. She met Abraham Zachariah, another writer at FCB ULKA Company in Mumbai. The Goan girl married the Malayalee boy and from then onwards there was no looking back. Ms Milena Marques is full of praises to her husband Abraham Zachariah as she proudly pronounces: “I and Abraham Zachariah were colleagues before we got married. He runs his own advertising and marketing company called Us Communications. He supports me 100% in all my endeavours. In fact, he is the wind beneath my wings”.
A brief lull and back again: Ms Milena Marques-Zachariah recalls: “In fact, three of us plunged into the venture on a partnership basis. We strived a lot to keep it afloat by organizing events for revenue generation. However, they were no match in comparison to the rising costs and the circumstances compelled us to call off the activities. But, now we are back again on air and this time on an individual and not for profit basis. The name Mango came into being keeping Mangaluru and Goa into consideration”.
From Kerala coast to Gujarat, Diu and Daman: It is generally believed that Konkani speaking people are found in Mangaluru, Udupi and Uttara Kannada districts in Karnataka and Goa. But, in reality, they are found all over the West coast starting from Kerala and extending until Gujarat, Diu and Daman. And elsewhere, they are to be found in most of the countries apart from the Gulf region where they are in big numbers.
Since the 60’s but never spoken in their own language! Ms Milena Marques-Zachariah comments: “Initially, we had the South Asian Diaspora from the Konkan coast in mind. The motto was for providing a voice and platform to the segment that has been part of the Canadian mosaic since the early ’60s but had never spoken in their own language before!”
Coast to Coast and all over the world: Ms Milena Marques-Zachariah says: “Thanks to our fans who always expect the best from us, we have always set high standards for ourselves. Growing from strength to strength, we have built a strong listenership from coast to coast in Canada and all over the world. Our excellent programming has made us favourites with Konkani lovers all over the globe from Australia to Zanzibar-even inspiring other Konkani programs”.
Community service with passion: “Radio Mango Konkani service is back on the air with the sole objective of community service with passion and not for profit basis. People have started donating from 100$, 500$ and 1,000$ thus helping the community service keep going. Earlier, we used to have a two hours program, now since it is on the podcast one hour has become a minimum. As it is in a magazine format, interviews with singers, musicians, songs and reviews are part of the program”, explained Ms Milena Marques-Zachariah.
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| Ms Milena Marques-Zachariah. |
Thousands of listeners all over the globe: When inquired about the reach, Ms Milena Marques-Zachariah informed: “It’s difficult to make out as the radio is on all social networking sites like WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and multiple media outlets. For being free and due to its wider reach, you can hear at any time of the day as it is on the podcast. Thousands of people from Goa, the Middle East and elsewhere across the globe continue to listen as it is the first Konkani radio station outside of Goa. The first one was in Perth in Australia catering to Goans alone and having more English programs. On the other hand, Radio Mango became the first exclusive Konkani Radio in North America and the Western hemisphere. The speciality of Radio Mango is about reaching both slangs of Konkani, like Goan and Manglurean. You have Konkani Radio in Newzeland and London catering more to English”.
No monetary expectations: Ms Milena Marques-Zachariah rules out any thoughts of monetary benefits from Radio Mango. She clarifies: “There is no monetary expectation for me and am doing it only as a service to the community. Earlier, people of the age of 50 and above used to wait every Saturday to get reconnected with Goa through Radio Mango. Language is the only tool to get connected with food, songs, music and culture. At the end of the day, I have the solace that the efforts have paid and people are listening”.
Take back the pride of speaking in Konkani: On the contribution of Radio Mango, Ms Milena Marques-Zachariah outlines: “Radios’ have a great deal of music to share and explore. People all over the globe listen in their own language. I learnt in English, Konkani and Portuguese, married a Malayalee and speak in Malayalam too. Some Goans prefer to speak in English due to the colonial hangover and for being under the illusion of feeling down class by speaking in Konkani. But I am happy to take back the pride of speaking in my mother tongue Konkani. All Hindus of Goa speak Konkani at home while most Goans prefer to converse in English”.
Konkani a dialect having no script of its own: Ms Milena Marques-Zachariah opines: “Konkani is a dialect and not a language having its own script. Ninety per cent of Goan Christians go for the Roman script to write in Konkani while the Marathi and Urdu speaking people use Devanagari. People in Karnataka deploy Kannada to communicate in Konkani. Irrespective of which part of the world you are the joy of listening, speaking and enjoying in your own mother tongue can have no comparison at all”, she signs off.
-Manohar Yadavatti
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