news and e-mail in Sanskrit, claims portal

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>From "South India's leading news site"

http://www.newindpress.com/ For the sanskrit portal

mentioned in the article below, click on

http://sanskrit.netjaal.com/

 

Keval

 

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News and e-mail in Sanskrit, claims portal

 

NEW DELHI: Ask school students and they will tell you

that it is a scoring subject and helps pull up the

overall percentage.

 

Ask pandits and they will say that unless a string of

them are chanted, a marriage is not sanctified.

Theologists will say that ancient knowledge and

mysticism can be unravelled only if one knows this

language. But to see Sanskrit on the Internet is to

witness a real coming of age.

 

Not only are the Indian religious texts available on

the web in the language, there are also net-based

courses that ‘‘conduct classes in Sanskrit literature

and language’’ and claim to ‘‘quench the thirst of

many who yearn to learn it.’’ There are introductory,

intermmediary and advanced courses for those who no

longer find Armenian or Japanese challenging enough.

 

But hold on, the clincher is yet to come. Arguably,

India’s first multi-lingual mahaportal, netjaal.com

now has a Sanskrit section. What it implies is that

besides offering virtual prayers, you can catch news,

read about Lagaan’s chances of an Oscar or even send

an e-mail - all in Sanskrit!

 

And in case you are wondering who would send e-mails

in Sanskrit, there are almost 50,000 people across the

world who can speak the language fluently, in addition

to almost 5 lakh academics who understand it, says the

portal’s editorial director, Dr Ved Pratap Vaidik.

 

‘‘It is the repository of knowledge and the language

of communication for all experts of ancient Indian

culture, oriental history, philosophy and religion. At

times the correct expression is only in Sanskrit and

we expect such people to use our service,’’ says

Vaidik.

 

Though it does seem odd to exchange e-mails in

Sanskrit, even if one is proficient in the language,

target group exists that is interested in the

goings-on in the area. As is evident by the fact that

Doordarshan’s weekly news magazine in Sanskrit is of

15-minute duration from January 26 from a 10-minute

byte.

 

‘‘The items in the programme are of interest to the

Sanskrit-speaking audience. Information on kavi

sammelans, sahitya functions are keenly followed by

teachers, students and others working in the field of

Sanskrit literature,’’ said DD (news) director, K.M.

Ravindran, of the programme that is almost 10-years

old.

 

Similarly, All India Radio (AIR) airs a daily 5-minute

news bulletin at 7am that has been around for more

than 10 years. Says M.R.S. Menon, language head at

AIR: ‘‘Obviously, there is a demand. We receive

responses on the bulletin and know that audiences

specially tune in to hear the Sanskrit news.’’

 

Besides the electronic media, a Sanskrit daily,

Sudharma, is also brought out from Mysore. Almost all

Indian universities have a Sanskrit department and

there are about six universities where the medium of

instruction is also Sanskrit.

 

‘‘If the political leaders so desire, Sanskrit can

become the lingua franca of this country. It is

definitely the language of interest for any linguist,

philosopher or sociologist. It is rational for these

people to know it,’’ says Dr V.N. Jha.

 

 

 

 

 

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