Mangalore :

An exhibition of old secular and religious Konkani books was inaugurated at Maria Jayanthi Mandir, Jeppu church premises here on Wednesday May 1 by Sahitya Akademi awardee Melvyn Rodrigues.

To the beat of the Gumott instrument, people gathered during the inaugural, sang an old folk song and thus the exhibition was inaugurated.

“The habit of reading good books is going into oblivion. As per the survey conducted in Delhi, out of 5000 lecturers belonging to 66 colleges of two universities in Delhi, 95% dont read any books other than those they want for teaching.  Another 3% read crime, detective stories and literature on sex. Only 2% read real worthy books. This shows where exactly our country is heading to,” said Melvyn in his speech, “Our young generation is living in a fantasy world which is far from reality. Let these books enlighten them about the realities of life,” he said, and requested people to devote a minimum of half hour every day for reading.

Fr Nelson D’Almeida, parish priest of Jeppu church welcomed the gathering.

The exhibition also includes a display of antiques.

The exhibition is arranged to coincide with the parish feast of Jeppu church. There will be festive mass at 5 pm, fancy fete and cultural programme at the open grounds later in the day.

source: http://www.daijiworld.com / DaijiWorld.com / Home> Top Stories / by DaijiWorld Media Network – Mangalore / Wednesday – May 01st, 2013