DHANYAWAD HARRY, TUMHAARA MILNA MUJHE MERE GAAO , MANGALORE AUR MERI MAA KA YAAD DILAAYA..... AUR AAPKO BADA AWARD MILNE KI SHUBHKAAMNAYE AUR AAGE BADNE KI DUAAYE... BY ALI PETER JOHN

My neighbours used to tell me stories about their visits and stays in exotic countries like America , East Africa , Dubai , Saudi Arabia and Cannada . They all used to work as domestic helps and drivers in these countries - Ali Peter John

But for me Mangalore was the only country that mattered to my heart because Mangalore , Belvai village in Moodbidri to be exact was the native place of Mary, my mother .

My mother knew how much I loved Mangalore and that is why she made all the sacrifices to take my brothers and me to her beloved Mangalore twice and every scene , every church and every treas and every blade of grass still stays on in my mind even after fifty years .

I see Mangalore in my dreams at least five times in a year and I love the Konkani language spoken in Mangalore better than any other language in the world .

Why this sudden nostalgia about Mangalore again ? I have a reason .

I last met Harry Fernades in a bar in Andheri and we became friends only because I loved the way he spoke Konkani. Our association had to take a stop because of the ways of the world .

But I had to meet him again and this time I met him in a cafe and I had retired but was not tired of writing , and he was now a leading filmmaker who had made about twenty films in languages like Hindi , Marathi , Bhojpuri and .. above all Konkani .

He had made some of the most meaningful films in Bhojpuri , had introduced several new actors and technicians and had even made a film in Bhojpuri with three of the biggest stars of the language Manoj Tiwari , Ravi Kishan and Dinesh Niruha , which was considered a major achievement . His talent had made it possible "Hunnar ek aisa jaadu hai jo insaan ko kuch bhi kara sakta hai "

It was after he established himself as a writer , a filmmaker and an all-rounder that his conscience told him that he had to do something for the Konkani language , which was his mother tongue ( why do they call a language a mother's tongue ? isn't a mother's tongue the sweetest tongue God has created ? ) And that question his conscience gave birth to a new chapter in his many - splendoured life .

He ventured out on a non - stop journey to make Konkani films and made some of the path - breaking films in Konkani like " Nosibacha Khel ," Zanvai No 1 , "Sophiya " and "Bandkaar".

Needless to say , these films were a new experience for Mangalore and the Mangaloreans and Harry Fernades Barkur became a household name not only in Mangalore , but in Goa, the Middle East , the UK , America and Canada among other countries .

Harry has been shooting music albums for his friend Dr Mehta from Holland and for other companies and individuals and institutions , including his own .

Harry William Fernades is now busy planning his most ambitious film tentatively titled "Veda " which is expected to be shot all over the Middle East .

And at his age and with all his enthusiasm , I can firmly predict for whatever my prediction is worth that this is only the beginning for Harry the man who started as a back stage artist in Marathi theatre and was an assistant director in several films made in Marathi and Hindi .

And it is at the right time that the Karnataka Government decided to honour him with a special award for his film "Sophiya " which is a symbolic way of honouring him for his all - round contribution to the growth of Konkani cinema .

The award was presented to Harry by the Chief Minister of Karnataka Mr S R Bommai in the presence of a large gathering of celebrities , on the occasion of the 94th birth anniversary of Dr Raj Kumar , the first legend of Kannada cinema

ABHI TOH HARRY KO KONKANI CINE SAMRAT KEHTE HAI , LEKIN HARRY KI DEEWANGI DEKH KAR YE ZAROOR LAGTA HAI KI HARRY JALD EK APNI HI DUNIYA BANNAYENGE JISKA SAMRAT AUR KOI NAH HO SAKTA , HARRY FERNANDES KE SIVAA