Classical flavours: Students perform a Sanskrit play at the end of the course

When Sanskrit scholar Sadananda Das was invited by the South Asia Institute (SAI) in Germany to teach a course in spoken Sanskrit in the summer of 2000 he could not have anticipated the popularity of the course in the coming years. To Das? wonder, the language that is virtually dead in the country of its origin had many takers in Germany. Every year the summer course in spoken Sanskrit at the University of Heidelberg where SAI is located witnesses an increasing presence of students from across the globe.

The popularity of the course has made it a regular feature at SAI. From nearly 40 applications, about 15 students are shortlisted for the course every year. This year too, applications have started pouring in for the course that is set to commence in August. ?Students come from all over the world, including Europe, Canada, China, Nepal, Japan, Australia, Taiwan and the US. Most of them are students of Indology and religious sciences but sometimes there are students of law, medicine, ayurveda and engineering as well,? says Das, who is currently a professor of Sanskrit at the Institute of Indology and Central Asian Studies at the University of Leipzig, Germany.

And it is not just the University of Heidelberg that is playing host to Sanskrit enthusiasts. In February this year, a summer school in spoken Sanskrit was conducted by the Faculty of Asian Studies at the Australian National University in Canberra. Similar courses have been conducted at the University of Lausanne and University of Bern in Switzerland, the University of T?bingen in Germany and University of Florence, Italy.

Michael Koeberlein, SAI?s resident representative in New Delhi attributes this interest to the general interest in India. In Germany, for instance, India was the focus country at the Biennale festival held in Bonn in May 2006. India is also the guest of honour at the Frankfurt book fair to be held in October. ?There is a huge amount of interest in India because of its recent economic success. So, the more you read about the country the more you want to know about it,? adds Koeberlein.

For 28-year-old Astrid Krause it was a tour to South India that kindled an interest in India?s rich religious life and mythology. This PhD student of Indology from the University of Leipzig enrolled for spoken Sanskrit classes to understand the many nuances of this ancient language. ?Most of these students study Indology and learn spoken Sanskrit because it helps them to communicate with the traditional Sanskrit pandits while doing research in India,? says Das.

However, it was an embarrassing moment in India that made 26-year-old student Thomas Wiedemann enroll for the Sanskrit classes. Though Wiedemann, a student of Indology, had been learning Sanskrit for four years, he was unable to converse in the language. And once on a trip to India he was caught in a tight spot when asked to recite Sanskrit shlokas. ?The classes improved my understanding of the Sanskrit language,? says Wiedemann.

Much credit goes to the interactive style of teaching for the increasing interest in Sanskrit among students abroad. The summer school is filled with songs, games and role-play. Das uses Sanskrit comics, CDs, magazines, newspapers and films to make the classes more interesting. There are sessions on letter writing and telephone conversations in Sanskrit. ?Students are not passive listeners in the classroom but active participants. They learn the application of grammar, proverbs and greetings through group discussions,? adds Das. Also, they are allowed to speak only in Sanskrit in the classes, which was a tough proposition for many students at first. At the end of the four-week course students perform a small Sanskrit play on the stage.

As Indian students queue up to learn French and German, it is rather ironical that their counterparts abroad are learning to speak one of our ancient languages, used only in religious ceremonies in India today.