I remember the very first time we went to a Konkani convention.  It was the 2nd North American Sammelan, held in Hayward, California in 1998.  Up till that point, my exposure to fellow Konkanis was extremely limited.  We had a Konkani Association in Ontario, and there was a small group of us that had grown up together, but that was about it.

I knew nothing about my culture.  I didn't care to know anything about my culture.  I thought that the only people who did were hard-driving Indians who were way out of touch.The first Sammelan did a lot to change that.  For once, I was meeting real people who were like me who were also Konkani.  They weren't a bunch of far-out weirdos.  They were normal kids, and they were actually a lot of fun to be around.  For the first time, I felt proud to acknowledge the common bond between all those people there: our common heritage.

Since then, I went to Chicago's Konkani Samellan in 2000, and most recently, the first ever Konkani Youth Samellan in Boston, Massachussets last weekend.  Again, it was a great experience and I met lots of extremely cool people.  Boston was a great city to host the convention in, and the centrality of our hotel really let us make the most of the city.  The program was tonnes more open than previous Samellans.  There were definite things planned, but they mainly revolved around get-to-know-you type stuff.  To see the program, attendee list, and other details, visit:

Here's to: police lines, Ritz-Carlton fraud, researching at the BPL, cut jigsaw puzzles, two-lies-and-a-truth, Clubvibes.com, packed dance floors, false IDs, Roxbury, Canadiana, Sonal's messiness, "udkies," Konkani class, and the people.

Seminars are always a big part of these conventions, and those are where you really appreciate what all that culture-stuff really means.  Whether it's talking about dating,  parents, or marriage issues, there are certain themes inherent in those topics that are common amongst all Konkanis.  A new one that popped up in Chicago and again in Boston, was the idea of preservation of culture.  With Konkani 100% oral, and possessing little else but its own brand of cuisine, the culture can very easily be lost.  To a certain extent, it will never be preserved to the same degree in us 1st generation kids as it is in our parents; for starters, we don't live in Mangalore.  Yet, even as North American Konks, there is no reason that we have to be the generation to extinguish the flame.  A big step is to start taking pride in what we have.  I think back to before I went to Hayward in 98, and I couldn't tangibly see any reason to care about the culture.  "Konkani" was merely a label.  It was these Samellans that made me see beyond that. 

This past weekend was very comforting.  120 youth converged upon one hotel, associated with each other, and opened themselves up to complete strangers.  There was only one aspect of the attendees that made us so open.  Yet, it  seemed to be enough. 

I think back to the second day of the convention, when a group of us were walking to Vinny Testa's for lunch.  Along the way we passed a man standing in a small shop.  His thick, Boston accent cut through the roar of traffic, "Hey!  What a nice looking family!"  Nobody uttered a word of disagreement.

official site of 2001 YKC
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