Saraswats form an intellectual community: Shyam Benegal

NT NETWORK
Posted on 2008-10-14
PANAJI - The celebrated film-maker, Mr Shyam Benegal on Monday said that Saraswats, the worshipers of the pen, formed an intellectual community which was constantly in a state of diaspora.
Mr Benegal, who earlier released the book ‘The Saraswats’, a compilation of facts and documents on the community collected from various sources and edited by the well-known Konkani writer, Chandrakant Keni, at a special city function, said that he began to understand the community after reading a related book by the Sanskrit scholar, Rahul Sankrityayan.
“I found out that Saraswats were spread around the country and the globe, and their understanding was not restricted to Konkani language,” he added.
The book, released by the V M Salgaocar Foundation on the 24th death anniversary of the leading Goan Industrialist, late V M Salgaocar, traces the roots of various Saraswat sects in the community. Mr Keni and the trustees of the Foundation, Mr Shivanand Salgaocar and Mr Dattaraj Salgaocar were also present on the occasion.
Speaking further, Mr Benegal said that he belonged to the Chitrapur sect of Saraswats, one of the smallest, poorest and ‘powerless’ sects, which had no lands, and functioned as teachers or clerks.
The noted film-maker also fondly remembered his film ‘Trikaal’ shot in Goa, and said that the movie tried to trace the Christian life during the Portuguese era.
Mr Keni, in his speech lamented that the Saraswat community is weak and dispersed, in spite of its intellectual strength, while Mr Dattaraj Salgaocar, in his welcome address said that the book will help in reviewing the roots and identity of the Saraswat community, even if the castes have no great significance in the globalised world.
Mr Shivanand Salgaocar proposed the vote of thanks, while Mr Anil Pai compered.