GLOBALISATION NURTURES SANSKRIT: BALADEVANANDA

by SUCHETH P R
Kannur: Baladevananda Sagara, the name synonymous with Sanskrit news in the All India Radio (AIR), is eloquently optimistic about the progress of the language in the age of globalisation. “Sanskrit with its mathematical structure is the language most adaptable to computer and hence anyone with a passion for the Net can learn this language quite easily,” Baladevananda, who was here on Sunday to address the 35th state
conference of the Kerala Sanskrit Teachers’ Federation, told Express.
  Sanskrit is no more a language restricted to any class or caste. It is accessible to all. The modern technology has accelerated its spread among large sections of people, he said. “We have simplified some of the strict grammatical rules yet maintaining its perfection and scientific structure, and made it suitable for the new generation through the audio- visual aids developed for the study of language.
  The computer and the internet have helped us a lot in popularising the language,” he said, while deliberating
on the efforts to expand the reach of Sanskrit. Baladevananda says that Sanskrit is spoken by people of many villages spread across the country and there are many families who use Sanskrit alone for their
household communication, and so it cannot be termed a dead language. “Muthur in Shimoga district of Karnataka and Jhirri in Rajgarh district of Madhya Pradesh are the best instances where the entire village folk communicate with each other in Sanskrit,” he said.
  Baladevananda was proud to say that St James Junior Independent School in London has made Sanskrit
a compulsory subject for all students as the school believes that mastery in Sanskrit helps them learn all subjects easily. Many institutes and universities across the world are engaged in the researches about the immense potential of the language, he said. “Thousands of years of history of the nation and its rich heritage, including contributions in all spheres of knowledge, are recorded in Sanskrit. And every Indian can identify Sanskrit as an integral element of his identity,” he added. Baladevananda added that globalisation is a welcome change, the concept of which was imagined as Vasudhaiva Kudumbakam by Sanskrit scholars thousands of years ago.
  Baladevananda Sagara who has served over three decades in AIR was also fortunate to be the first reader
when Doordarshan started Sanskrit news bulletin in 1994. “News reading is often an extempore activity. While reading a bulletin we often get flash news or breaking news and on several occasions news written
in English was directly handed over to me without translating them. The confidence and skill of the reader are put to test on such occasions,” he said. Contemporary Sanskrit literature is portraying today’s life authentically, he further said. “Novels, poetry and stories are produced in Sanskrit as in any other language. Sanskrit Sahityotsavam will be held from February 22 to 24 at Ujjayin. ‘Be Modern and Learn Sanskrit’ is our motto.”
   Baladevanda who has written the first book on journalism in Sanskrit ‘Samskritha Patrakaritha’ is still active in media field as a freelancer. A skilled actor, he has performed in hundreds of Sanskrit plays also.
The New Indian Express