CHENNAI: In an age of increasing privatisation of education, and thriving competition among students and schools, Sri Ahobila Math Veda Pathashala in the village of Madhurantakam has a lot to offer. Here, the nuances of a gurukulam are preserved and celebrated with pride, and the traditional teachings of the Vedas, prabandhas, shastras and adarsha Sanskrit are kept alive.
This Mahavidyalaya campus was founded in 1942, and 2017 marked the institution’s 75th year. The year-long platinum jubilee celebrations, inaugurated by Prakrutan Srimad Azhagiyasingaron on 24th June, 2016, saw its valedictory function on Sunday at Prarthana Mandapam, Madhurantakam, at 4 pm. Young boys in white dhoti and tuft, and women dressed in silk sarees, were seated along with their parents and teachers.
The function was presided by HH Srimad Azhagiyasingar, head of Sri Ahobila Math, who gave a grand welcome with Poorna Kumbham as both men and women received his blessings. All the programmes started with invocatory shlokas and Vedic readings. The shishyas (young boy students) studying at the Math, presented a vedha gosham before the gathering. Following this, a welcome address was read out in Sanskrit by J Sreeram, a teacher at the Pathashala. The chief guest was K Pandiarajan, minister for Tamil official language and Tamil culture.
He, along with HH Srimad, unveiled the silasasanam, stone inscriptions on the wall. The alumni and past teachers of the Math relived their good-old moments. The annual report of the gurukulam was read by the principal. “Tamil and Sanskrit languages have persisted the Anglo-Saxon period. They have been the only languages that continue to serve values of language as a medium of communication. Here, we teach our students values from the age-old languages, realising year after year that it is the best for our children,” shared Srikaryam Swamy, principal at the Pathshala.
Students in this school are taught for free. They are given food, shelter, and clothes, and learn to live a traditional life. Most of these students are from elite Brahmin families, and are taught to preserve, nurture and encourage values imparted by their gurus. “Our students are our gems. We believe that our mission is still relevant in today’s modern society, and we will fulfill our vision irrespective of the number of challenges that modernisation brings,” said DP Kannan, secretary of the Mahavidyalaya.