by Kiran Manral
WHAT’S HAPPENING
- It was a valiant effort to keep alive the dying classical language Sanskrit. The first World Sanskrit Book Fair in 300 years, held in Bangalore between 7 and 10 January 2011, saw on display some rare Sanskrit books. There were cultural programmes, too, including the staging of a full-length Sanskrit play (Hindu, 6 January 2011).
- Sanskrit universities, oriental research institutes, Sanskrit academies and some 10,000 delegates from India and abroad participated in the fair in which about 100 publishers from India displayed their books. In all, 4 lakh people participated.
- A three-day national conference of Sanskrit scholars explored the efforts needed to infuse the language with fresh interest. The delegates also discussed modern teaching methods and producing books in Sanskrit with modern themes, to attract youngsters to the language.
WHAT THIS MEANS TO BUSINESS
- Youngsters are keen to learn Sanskrit but want to do this in a way they are familiar with — through modern tools and approaches to language learning.
- People are keen to make Sanskrit a conversational language rather than one restricted to texts.
RESOURCES
