Mangalore, India, Feb 1, 2008 / 01:09 am
Catholics in southwestern India have set a new world record by singing non-stop for 40 hours, UCA News reports.
Priests, religious, and laypeople started singing on January 27, managing to eclipse the previous 36-hour record set by a Brazilian Christian group in 2004.
The record-setters sang in the Konkani language, currently spoken by about 5 million people. The language is largely associated with Catholics on the southwestern coast of India.
Eric Ozario, founder of the Konkani cultural organization Mandd Sobhann, told UCA News that the aim of the project was to instill a sense of unity and solidarity among Kokani-speaking people. “We are a small community and Westernization is eating away our culture,” he said. The Konkani community could grow "only when it is united, culturally rooted and proud of its culture." Ozario said some Konkani-speaking Catholics have turned to an “English culture, forgetting their rich cultural roots.”