Gurukul goes West for California Sanskrit Rush
(Published by the Asian age Online magazine www.asianage.com)

By Ashish Kumar Sen
San Francisco, July 23


For a span of nine days this month the banks of the American River at Coloma, California, were transformed into a site reminiscent of an ancient Indian gurukul, a scene complete with the sound of hesitant conversations in Sans-krit emanating from the camps.

The picturesque setting was the venue of the Alakananda Sams-krita Shibiram attended by 81 adults and children from 17 states across the country, Canada and India. The group included many Ph.Ds, several medical doctors, two Ayurvedic doctors, a nurse, computer professionals, teachers, a lawyer, housewives, and students.

“The idea was to speak Sanskrit not about Sanskrit,” the organisers explained. Sri Krishna Shastry, the man behind the “Speak Sanskrit” movement in India, said his “expectations were more than met.”

Beth Kulkarni, president of the Houston chapter of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, was one of a group of five American participants at the camp. “I have always enjoyed hearing Sanskrit being spoken but only got this opportunity in temples,” she said. For Karuna Goleria, a young lawyer, learning Sanskrit would help her comprehend Indian literature without relying on translations and she would then use this knowledge to work on US patents of Ayurvedic medicines.

Shivakumar Varma and his wife Susan Barr had a similar motive. This couple, both of whom are practicing Ayurvedic doctors in Canada, plan to include Sanskrit as a workshop topic, complementing their clinical practice in Vancouver. Others planned to teach after further study of the language.

Ms Kulkarni admitted the camp was a wonderful opportunity to learn the language and hoped she would soon be able to read it fairly well. “My husband and I have been using little Sanskrit phrases in our conversations,” she said. She admitted, however, that her initial days at the camp were not very enjoyable. “Being a white American I stuck out, and people kept asking me whether I was enjoying the camp. Honestly, I was not.

But it later turned out to be a wonderful experience,” she said. Govinda Rao Yelagala-wadi, one of the volunteers and a scientist at a San Jose-based biotech company, said he was not surprised by the presence of American participants at the camp. “They (Americans) are very interested in yoga and our culture and as all the asanas have Sanskrit names they are keen to learn the language and through that get closer to understanding yoga,” he reasoned.

He explained that he had been interested in learning Sanskrit as he felt it was a common thread for all Indian languages. Mr Yelagalawadi, who has been in the US for the past 16 years, said he would now use his recently gained knowledge to read the Bhagwad Gita and other scriptures. “As Indians we are divided by many factors, but Sanskrit can help unify us,” he felt.

His wife Jyoti, a technical writer, was an enthusiastic student in a group training to be teachers. Besides this she also supervised arts and craft classes for children. “The kids wanted more. They really enjoyed the experience,” she said. As for her, Ms Rao is now busy approaching community centres in San Jose offering to teach Sanskrit to young people. “Lots of people have been asking about the classes,” she said.

Many of the participants have formed small study groups while others have formed an e-group to stay in touch and share their knowledge of the language. The organization has correspondence courses and many students will continue their study with study groups in their own communities.

In addition to classes in Sanskrit the group participated in yoga lessons taught in Sanskrit, games to develop better memory and alertness, and bhajans. Evening programmes included shlokas, humorous skits, and songs in Sanskrit presented by children, teenagers and adult campers.

In addition to teaching Sanskrit, the goal of the Samskrita Bharati, a non-profit voluntary organization, is to teach Indian culture. A group of volunteers, mainly from in and around San Jose, had been planning this camp, the first of its kind outside India, for over a year. Its success has prompted organisers to put their heads together and think about holding a similar event next year.