Raknno

About Raknno

Raknno (Konkani for "Guardian" or "Protector") is a Konkani weekly magazine published in the Kannada script from Mangaluru (Mangalore), Karnataka, India. Founded in 1938, it is the largest circulated periodical in Konkani in the Kannada script and the mouthpiece of the Konkani Catholics of the Canara region. It is published by the Deepti Trust and its official website is raknno.com.

Founding in 1938

Raknno belongs to the diocesan press tradition of coastal Karnataka, in which the Catholic Church sustained publishing as an instrument of community formation. The weekly began explicitly as an organ of the Diocese of Mangalore, and this institutional anchoring — publication by the Deepti Trust, editorship by diocesan priests, distribution through parish networks — gave it a stability that purely commercial Konkani ventures often lacked, explaining its endurance across eight decades of political and technological change.

Raknno was started in 1938 by Rev. Sylvester Menezes, under the encouragement of Rt. Rev. Victor Fernandes, the Bishop of Mangalore. It began as an organ of the Diocese of Mangalore, giving the Konkani-speaking Catholic community of the region its own weekly voice. The first Konkani periodical in Mangalore had been the Konkani Dirvem, founded in 1912 by the poet Louis Mascarenhas; Raknno, arriving in 1938, built on that pioneering tradition and grew into the most enduring Konkani weekly of the Canara coast.

The Konkani Language Context

Konkani is written in multiple scripts — Devanagari in Goa, Kannada in coastal Karnataka, Malayalam in Kerala, Perso-Arabic by some Muslim communities and Roman by others. Raknno is published in the Kannada script, serving the large Konkani-speaking Catholic population of the Canara region (Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts). As the largest circulated periodical in Konkani in the Kannada script, it is the principal print institution of this linguistic community, sustaining readership in a language that faces pressures from larger regional languages.

Editors: A Succession of Priest-Editors

Raknno has been shaped by a succession of priest-editors. After the founder Rev. Sylvester Menezes came editors including Alexander D'Souza, Mark Valder (also rendered Mark Waldar), Vincent Menezes, Samuel Sequeira and Eric Crasta. Rev. Fr Mark Valder, born 22 October 1936 in Permude and ordained a priest of the Mangalore diocese on 2 February 1966, served as editor of Raknno from 1973 to 1985; he pursued a diploma in journalism at Mysore University and a certificate course at St Xavier's Institute of Communication, Mumbai, while editing the weekly, and passed away on 7 March 2024 at the age of 87. Fr Vincent Victor Menezes, born 3 November 1945 in Valencia, served as managing editor from 1985 to 1993 after studying journalism in Mumbai, and passed away on 20 May 2021 at 75. The current editor is listed as Rev. Fr Valerian Fernandes (with Francis Rodrigues also associated with the editorial role in recent records).

Two of Raknno's longest-serving editors are remembered in detailed obituaries that illustrate this priest-journalist tradition. Rev. Fr Mark Valder, editor from 1973 to 1985, combined parish ministry with professional journalism training — a diploma at Mysore University and a certificate at St Xavier's Institute of Communication, Mumbai, undertaken while editing the paper; after his editorship he served parishes including Ammembal, Thannirbavi, Siddakatte and Gantalkatte, and as chaplain at Mount Rosary Institutions, Alangar, for eight years, dying on 7 March 2024 aged 87. Fr Vincent Victor Menezes, managing editor from 1985 to 1993, studied journalism at Mumbai University before taking charge of the weekly and later served parishes including Pernal, Miyar, Cascia and Paldane, dying on 20 May 2021 aged 75.

A Literary Medium

Histories of Mangalorean Catholic literature group Raknno with Dor Mhuineachi Rotti (founded in 1914 in Karachi, later shifted to Bombay and then Goa) and Goa's Vauraddeancho Ixt as the three periodicals run by Christian religious institutions that created hundreds of literary figures for the Konkani world. While the circulation of Dor Mhuineachi Rotti declined in later stages, Raknno and Vauraddeancho Ixt remained strongly rooted among the Christians of Goa and the Canara coast. The earlier Konkani Dirvem of 1912, founded by the poet Louis Mascarenhas, had pioneered Konkani journalism in Mangalore; Raknno carried that pioneer tradition forward and, through its succession of priest-editors, brought countless new writers into the limelight.

Under its succession of editors, Raknno was transformed into a literary medium, bringing countless Konkani writers into the limelight. Alongside Dor Mhuineachi Rotti (founded 1914) and Goa's Vauraddeancho Ixt, it is counted among the three periodicals run by Christian religious institutions that created hundreds of literary figures for the Konkani world. Its pages have nurtured poets, novelists, essayists and journalists writing in Konkani, making it one of the foundational institutions of modern Konkani literature in the Kannada script.

Content: Informing, Educating, Entertaining

The weekly describes its role as informing, educating and entertaining its readers, keeping them abreast of the times. Its coverage spans agricultural, scientific, medical, legal, economic, political, religious, cultural, educational, social and career-guidance issues, published as articles, news-features, news-analysis and media criticism. Constant innovation and creativity have been its hallmark: humour, satire, serialised novels, short stories and special pages for children, youth and women have promoted literature and the habit of reading among its audience.

Platinum Jubilee

In December 2012, Raknno stood on the threshold of its platinum jubilee — 75 years of continuous publication since 1938 — an event noted by the Mangaluru press, including a Daiji World report marking the milestone. A year later, the Deccan Herald carried a tribute titled "Raknno – pride of Konkani," cementing the weekly's status in the English-language press of Karnataka as well. Few Indian language weeklies, and fewer still in a language the size of Konkani, have achieved such longevity. The jubilee marked the weekly's emergence from a diocesan organ into a widely recognised institution of Konkani journalism and literature, testifying to the loyalty of the readership it had built through its mix of news, literature and service journalism.

Recognition and Awards

Raknno has been recognised by numerous institutions and associations for its mission of awareness through magazines and its promotion of language and literature. It has been honoured by the Akhil Bharath Konkani Parishad (Goa), the Dr T. M. A. Pai Foundation (Manipal) and the Karnataka Konkani Bhasha Mandal, among others. In 2007, the South Kanara district administration honoured the weekly with the Jilla Rajyotsava Prashasthi for its contribution to the promotion of literature — official recognition of its cultural role in the district.

Publication Details

Raknno is published weekly by the Deepti Trust from Mangaluru, Karnataka, India. Its office is located at Kodialbail, Mangalore, Karnataka 575003, with contact numbers (0824) 2422426, 2444118 and 2440524. It is registered as a periodical under HSN code 4902 (newspapers, journals and periodicals). Its official website, raknno.com, extends the weekly's presence to digital readers.

Place in Konkani Journalism

Within the history of Konkani periodicals — from the 1912 Konkani Dirvem through Bombay weeklies such as Sukh-Dukh (1948), Poinnari (1950) and Mithr (1953) — Raknno stands out for its uninterrupted run of more than eight decades and its status as the largest-circulation Konkani periodical in the Kannada script. As the mouthpiece of the Konkani Catholics of the Canara region and a nursery of Konkani writers, it remains the central print institution of its community.