Timothyves at 19:01, 7 February 2026

2026-02-07T19:01:27Z

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{{Short description|Indian Konkani music composer (1949–2025)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2025}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Eric Ozario
| image = Eric Ozario.jpg
| caption = Ozario in 2012
| birth_name = Eric Alexander Ozario
| birth_place =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1949|5|18|df=y}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|2025|8|29|1949|5|18|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Mangaluru]], Karnataka, India
}}

'''Eric Alexander Ozario''' (18 May 1949 – 29 August 2025) was an Indian [[Konkani language|Konkani]] music composer, cultural activist, trade unionist and the founder of Mandd Sobhann, a leading Konkani [[cultural organization]]. He also founded Kalaangann, a Konkani heritage centre.<ref>{{cite news |title='If identity is lost, everything is lost' |url=https://www.gulf-times.com/story/361228/if-identity-is-lost-everything-is-lost |access-date=13 March 2023 |work=[[Gulf Times]]|date=31 July 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Konkani heritage centre opens today |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/konkani-heritage-centre-opens-today/articleshow/1992856989.cms |access-date=13 March 2023 |work=[[The Times of India]]|date=1 December 2001}}</ref> Ozario was instrumental in Konkani being approved as an optional language in school education in the state of [[Karnataka]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Konkani may be third optional language |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/konkani-may-be-third-optional-language/articleshow/1248609.cms |access-date=13 March 2023 |work=[[The Times of India]]|date=30 September 2005}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Konkani to be optional third language |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/konkani-to-be-optional-third-language/articleshow/1326126.cms |access-date=13 March 2023 |work=[[The Times of India]]|date=10 December 2005}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Konkani language teaching awaits its first true test |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mangaluru/konkani-language-teaching-awaits-its-first-true-test/articleshow/9310994.cms |access-date=13 March 2023 |work=[[The Times of India]]|date=21 July 2011}}</ref> He had also been the secretary general of the Jagotik Konknni Songhotton (JKS – Global Konkani Organisation) for many years.<ref>{{cite news |title=Tomozinho Cardozo to head Jagotik Konknni Songhotton till August 2015 |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mangaluru/tomozinho-cardozo-to-head-jagotik-konknni-songhotton-till-august-2015/articleshow/21896552.cms |access-date=13 March 2023 |work=[[The Times of India]]|date=18 August 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Release |first1=Press |title=Goan Jose Salvador Elected President of Jagotik Konknni Songhotton |url=https://www.mangalorean.com/goan-jose-salvador-elected-president-jagotik-konknni-songhotton/ |access-date=13 March 2023 |work=Mangalorean.com |date=30 August 2017}}</ref>

==Early life==
Ozario was born in 1949 in [[Mangalore]]. He developed an early interest in Konkani music and cultural identity, which later influenced his life’s work. His legacy as a composer and cultural activist began with the foundation of Mandd Sobhann, through which he promoted Konkani music locally and internationally.<ref name="MintWho25">{{Cite web |date=30 August 2025 |title=Who is Eric Ozario? Renowned Konkani music composer dies at 76 in Mangaluru |url=https://www.livemint.com/news/who-is-eric-ozario-renowned-konkani-music-composer-died-at-76-in-mangaluru-11756545776574.html |access-date=2 September 2025 |website=mint}}</ref>

==Career==
In 2009, Ozario participated in a movement to protest a plan to cut trees in [[Mangalore]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Citizens to tie ribbons to save trees |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Mangalore/Citizens-to-tie-ribbons-to-save-trees/article16879117.ece |access-date=13 March 2023 |work=[[The Hindu]]|date=4 September 2009 |language=en-IN}}</ref> Ozario's biography, ''The Indefatigable Crusader'' was released in 2014.<ref>{{cite news |title=Mandd Sobhann Gurkar – Eric Ozario's biography to be released on Sunday |url=http://www.coastaldigest.com/mandd-sobhann-gurkar-eric-ozarios-biography-be-released-sunday |access-date=13 March 2023 |work=coastaldigest.com|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Fernandes |first1=Royston |title=The Indefatigable Crusader |url=https://notionpress.com/read/the-indefatigable-crusader-1294980? |website=notionpress.com |access-date=13 March 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=New book on Eric Ozario likely to 'be scandalous to some' |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/new-book-on-eric-ozario-likely-to-be-scandalous-to-some/articleshow/35575867.cms |access-date=13 March 2023 |work=[[The Times of India]]|date=25 May 2014}}</ref>

==Death==
Ozario died from [[kidney disease]] on 29 August 2025, at the age of 76,<ref>{{cite news |title=Eric Ozario, champion of Konkani music and cultural heritage, passes away at 76 |url=https://www.daijiworld.com/news/newsDisplay?newsID=1290679 |access-date=29 August 2025 |publisher=Daiji World |date=29 August 2025}}</ref> in [[Mangaluru]].<ref name="MintWho25" />

==Awards==
* In 1994 Ozario was bestowed the title 'Konkani Kala Samrat'.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fernandes |first1=John |title=Unbeaten Paths: Theological Reflections on Times of Transition. Living on the Periphery, Crossing Borders, Building Bridges. Revised Edition |date=10 March 2020 |publisher=LIT Verlag Münster |isbn=978-3-643-91153-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ys2sDwAAQBAJ |access-date=13 March 2023 |language=en}}</ref>
* Konkani Ratna<ref name="BarkurOnline">{{cite news |title=Barkur Online |url=https://barkuronline.com/barkuronline/Archies/Review40.html |access-date=13 March 2023 |work=barkuronline.com}}</ref>
* 1993 State Rajyotsava Prashasti<ref name="BarkurOnline" />
* 1999 Karnataka Konkani Sahitya Academy Award.
* Aug 2017 Konkanis in Tel Aviv honoured Eric Ozario at the Independence Day Celebrations.
* Feb 2022 Eric Ozario conferred with Lifetime Achievement Award by Daiji World Dubai
* Feb 2023 Ozario was conferred a lifetime achievement award by Konkani Natak Sabha® (KNS) in Don Bosco Hall, Mangalore. 2023.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Pinto |first1=Arun |title=Konkani Sabha's Lifetime Achievement Award for Eric Ozario |url=https://newskarnataka.com/karnataka/coastal/mangaluru/konkani-sabhas-lifetime-achievement-award-for-eric-ozario/17022023 |access-date=13 March 2023 |work=News Karnataka |date=17 February 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Mangaluru: KNS honours Eric Ozario with life time achievement award |url=https://www.daijiworld.com/news/newsDisplay?newsID=1052248 |access-date=13 March 2023 |publisher=[[Daijiworld Media]]}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last1=Fernandes |first1=Royston |title=The Indefatigable Crusader |date=1 May 2014 |publisher=Notion Press |isbn=978-93-84049-55-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y3c0BQAAQBAJ |access-date=13 March 2023|ref=none}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{IMDb name}}
* [https://www.manddsobhann.org/mandd-sobhann/the-birth Mandd Sobhann – The Birth]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ozario, Eric}}
[[Category:1949 births]]
[[Category:2025 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Karnataka]]
[[Category:Konkani people]]
[[Category:Indian male composers]]

Eric Ozario - Revision history

Timothyves at 19:01, 7 February 2026