Ranga Bhat, Vinayak Pandit and Appu Bhat Memorial at Cherlai, Kochi - 2

This is project was initiated by Anugraha Charitable Trust in memory of our forefathers  Ranga Bhat, Vinayak Pandit and Appu Bhat. This can really be considered as the greatest contribution of Konkanis to mankind.

About the Trio

Hortus Indicus Malabaricus is the 17th century project initiated by Hendrik Adrian Van Rheede the then Dutch Governor of Kochi.

It is a comprehensive treatise in 12 Volumes written in Latin on medical plants of Malabar, an area that stretched along the western Ghats, from Goa to Kanyakumari.This great work in 1595 pages containing 791 pictures, illustrations of 742 medical plants belonging to 691 species was block printed in Amsterdam during 1678-1693 A.D.The plant names are mentioned not only in Latin but also in Konkani, Malayalam & Arabic. This work is accredited as the first Block printed book in Konkani (Devnagari script) as well as in Malayalam.

Ranga Bhat , Vinayak Pandit & Appu Bhat, Konkani Vaidyas of Kochi were the major contributors in the making of Hortus Indicus Malabaricus. A testimonial in Konkani language written and signed jointly by the trio and reproduced in the first volume of the treatise, affirms their tremendous efforts.

To bring this to the publc attention a National Seminar on Contribution of Konkanis to Hortus Indicus Malabaricus was conducted at Panaji Goa on 18th & 19th February 2013 with support from  Goa Konkani Akademi, Directorate of Archives & Archaeology, Govt. of Goa, Panaji & Konkani language & cultural foundation, Mangalore.

To give wide publicity and acclaim, the plan of the memorial was conceived by the  Trust, and with support from Kochi Thirumala Devaswam, the memorial was inaugurated by then Goa Chief Minister Sri. Laxmikant Parsekar on 29th November 2015.