Sanskrit a ‘scientific’ language

Minna Zutshi

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Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, August 14

For these Sanskrit-speaking persons living in Punjab, Sanskrit is not a language of rituals. Neither is it tagged with any religion. They believe Sanskrit is steeped in Indian ethos and follows the rigours of science. Other tags are just superfluous.

“It is a misconception that Sanskrit is an abstruse and complicated language. On the contrary, Sanskrit is a very scientific language with clear-cut rules. It is easy to acquire this language. One can also learn to speak basic Sanskrit in less than a fortnight,” says Budhiya Ram from Jagraon in Ludhiana. He communicates with his wife in Sanskrit. His daughters, aged two and four, have acquired Sanskrit naturally.

Budhiya Ram refuses to buy the idea that Sanskrit is a language of priests. “Language has no religion. We need to steer clear of appending religion to language,” he says.

Class X student Shubhan Khan agrees with Budhiya Ram. This Ludhiana-based student made a conscious decision of learning Sanskrit and attended weeklong classes on spoken Sanskrit recently.

Dr Harsh Mehta from Talwara believes that Sanskrit is a vibrant language unlike many ancient languages that were lost in the passage of time. “Sanskrit is in the DNA of Indians,” he claims, adding, “Sanskrit Diwas is celebrated every year on Shravana Purnima. It was first celebrated in 1969.”

As a Sanskrit professor, Dr Mehta taught Sanskrit to students for close to three decades.