CHENNAI: The Sanskrit language, whatever be its antiquity, is of wonderful structure; more perfect than the Greek, more copious than the Latin, and more exquisitely refined than either,’ said British philologist William Jones. If that wasn’t enough reassurance, decades later, here we are, still struggling to promote and explore the potential of one of the most ancient and prolific languages known to mankind.
The Indo-Aryan language, despite enjoying the status of being one of India’s classical languages, is spoken by less than one per cent of the Indian population. While it would be unfair to neglect the efforts taken by a handful of patrons to promote the language locally and globally, there’s more to accomplish, it seems.
A comforting comeback
Starting small, in its month-long campaign, Aalaap, an arts consulting agency, has collaborated with Learn Sanskrit Easy — an Instagram page run by PhD student from National Sanskrit University, Tirupati, Supritha Suresh — to revive the interest among people. The page attempts to showcase Sanskrit and its presence in our life and its inherent connection with the modern world. “There’s been a sudden resurgence where people are returning to their roots in all aspects of life. Sanskrit too has gained its share of relevance and takers in the arts community, particularly. The intention is to offer the beauty, simplicity, richness, variety and the amazing power of the language in small doses every day so that it inspires people to make Sanskrit as part of their everyday lives,” says Akhila Krishnamurthy, founder, Aalaap.
The content concise posts on Sanskrit proverbs and English equivalents, synonyms, poems, literary verses and slokas is curated and compiled by Supritha. Offering insights about her year-old page with over 4,000 followers, she shares, “This is for people who’ve forgotten the language, to brush up and stay in touch with the roots. The inspiration behind my flair for the language is my mother who’d insist I read beyond the textbook syllabus. My teachers played an equal role in explaining the subject with much clarity and patience. This is just a small way of giving back what I’ve learnt over the years.”
Small steps for bigger results
One of the strongest reasons behind the collaboration, Akhila believes, is the reverence for the language among the dancer community. “Aalaap interacts with many dancers. The language is crucial to the community because there are many literary texts in Sanskrit. Dancers are constantly delving deep into these texts to understand the metaphors and layers.
There’s much demand for it. The diction, pronunciation and simplicity of the language command respect. It’s encouraging to see many warming up to the language. I’ve seen many youngsters chant Lalitha Sahasranamam and other slokas with seriousness. People are realising its neurological benefits. We will be adding more trivia to engage our audience on the page,” notes Akhila.
However, the scenario isn’t as optimistic on the academic front, feels Supritha. “A majority of students opt for the language because it’s easier to score marks in schools and colleges. Despite its popularity in foreign universities in Germany, Australia and Canada, it’s only a minuscule population that pursues Sanskrit for PhD. Surprisingly, after I started the page, I’ve been receiving messages from kids and parents enquiring about Sanskrit classes, I’m glad in a way. I will be continuing my work and I’m hoping more people reach out to me,” she says.
She’s also working on restarting her podcast Learn Sanskrit Easy to reach a larger audience. There are plans to conduct online classes for children, too. “I don’t want to promise anyone that they can master the language with my page or classes. I’m only taking tiny steps to promote this language and pass it on to the next generation,” says Supritha.