Mangalore : At a function held at the Vishwa Konkani Kendra, Shaktinagar on April 27, Saturday, the  Madhava Manjunath Shanbagh Lifetime Achievement Award was conferred on Fr Mark Walder, noted Konkani writer. The award was jointly conferred by the  Goa Konkani Academy and the  Konkani Language and Cultural Foundation, Mangalore.

The Award carries a cash prize of Rs 25000 and is given annually to an outstanding Konkani achiever outside Goa.

Speaking after conferring the award to Fr Mark Walder of Mangalore, Pundalika N Naik, President of the Goa Konkani Academy said Manjunath Shanbagh in whose honour the award is conferred had nurtured a great desire to strengthen Konkani not only in Goa but also in other states. He also lauded the contributions of Fr Mark Walder. He said the earlier recipients of the Shanbagh award were  K K Pai of Manipal, J B Moras, L Purushotham Baliga, and Basti Vaman Shenoy.

Fr Mark Walder also spoke on the occasion and thanked the Academy for honouring him with the Award. Melvyn Rodrigues, Konkani poet, introduced the Awardee.

Basti Vaman Shenoy, Mahesh R Nayak, Judith Mascarenhas, former mayor, Bhushan Bhave, Vice President, Goa Konkani Academy were among others present on the occasion.