Eric Ozario
Credit: Special Arrangement
Mangaluru: Eric Alexander Ozario, renowned Konkani music composer, cultural activist, Gurkar of Mandd Sobhann — a Konkani cultural organisation — and former president of the Karnataka Konkani Sahitya Academy, passed away in Mangaluru on Friday after a brief illness. He was 76.
His last rites will be held with a mass at 11:15 am at St Vincent Ferrer Church, Valencia, on Sunday.
His mortal remains will be kept for public viewing at Kalaangann from 1 pm to 4:30 pm.
Ozario rose to prominence as a celebrated composer and cultural leader. He played a pivotal role in preserving and promoting the Konkani language and was instrumental in establishing Kalaangann, a Konkani heritage centre.
He also spearheaded efforts that led to Konkani being recognised as an optional language in school education in Karnataka.
For several years, he served as the secretary-general of the Jagotik Konknni Songhotton (JKS – Global Konkani Organisation).
In his quest for a distinct Konkani identity in music, Eric initiated the Mandd Sobhann musical experiment on November 30, 1986.
Over his career, he performed in more than 200 Mandd Sobhann shows in India and abroad, composed music for over 1,000 poems and songs, performed in over 800 programmes, and produced 26 audio cassettes and CDs.
Under his leadership, Mandd Sobhann set a Guinness World Record for the longest singing marathon by multiple singers, achieved by 43 groups performing 645 songs over 40 hours.
As director, Eric was the mastermind and brought to life landmark events, including the world’s first Baila Show, Manddo Fest, Porob, Sant, Baila International, Punov, Manddo Utsav, Konkani Mahotsav, Konkani Nirantari, the Global Konkani Music Awards, the first World Konkani Cultural Festival, the Global Konkani Cinema Awards, and five successful seasons of the singing reality show Soad.
His creative vision also gave rise to the blockbuster Konkani film Osmitay.
Opposing the Kendra Sahitya Akademi’s decision to recognise Konkani only in the Devanagari script and suppress other scripts, he fought for justice in the High Court for five years on behalf of writers.
Ozario was conferred titles such as Konkani Kala Samrat and Konkani Ratna.
He also received the Karnataka State Rajyotsava Award, the Karnataka Konkani Sahitya Academy Award, and Lifetime Achievement Awards from Daijiworld Dubai and Konkani Natak Sabha (KNS).
He is survived by his wife, noted singer Joyce Fontes of Jeppu, and two children — Dr Rashmi Kiran and Rithesh Kiran.