Sanskrit, ‘sanskriti’

Sanskrit has been universally recognised as the oldest language and the mother of all languages. It is the language not only of the Vedas, the great treasure house of knowledge, but the finer aspects of many other subjects are also rooted in Sanskrit.

In the Middle Age, the growth of Sanskrit suffered a setback. The medium of instruction was changed to Arabic and Persian by alien rulers. Sanskrit was no more the official language. It was not only the beginning of a slow death for Sanskrit, but also of a culture, effects of which are almost fully manifested in today’s life. The knowledge available in Sanskrit fell into disuse. There were, however, a few scholars like Dara Shikoh (also referred to as Pandit Dara Shikoh by some historians), ironically the elder brother of Emperor Aurangzeb, who had studied the scriptures in Sanskrit thoroughly and knew their lasting value. He did translate some of the epics in his language. Even today, ancient books on astrology like Lal Kitab, written in Urdu, are considered to be the most authentic versions on the subject.

It is time this valuable resource was dusted, cleaned and put to use again, for the revival of Sanskrit will definitely lead to the survival of ‘sanskriti’, which is in the danger of falling down the precipice anytime.

VINOD KUMAR KHANNA, Mohali

II

It is true that Sanskrit is more perfect than Greek and more refined than Latin and is endowed with irresistible beauty, remarkable elasticity, unusual expressive power and suggestiveness. Despite being a member of the Indo-European family of languages, it has failed to make a mark.

Sanskrit has a unique quality of putting forth an idea in a charming form. Its humour and subtle wit and its exalted moral tone have an appealing effect.

The best way to promote Sanskrit is to promote it in foreign countries. Sanskrit’s affinity with Greek, Italic, Celtic and German was discovered when ‘Shakuntla’ was translated into English in the late 18th Century.

Prof ANUP KUMAR GAKKHAR, Haridwar

Common man today This has reference to the interesting middle ‘Modern essays’ (January 11). The writer has very intelligently summed up the wide gap between the golden past and the not-so-shining present. One could think of adding a few more interesting ones to his list. ‘My Teacher’ — My teacher is smartly dressed, always busy with a laptop and mobile, and is available for chatting on Facebook and Twitter. He/she does not have to prepare lessons. At the click of the mouse the lesson props up in our smart class. The teacher is interested only in encouraging us to attend his/ her private tuition group. Another one is on ‘Common Man’. He is a victim of stress, blood pressure and diabetes. He has perhaps forgotten to enjoy a pious and simple life. Enjoying small occasions has become a thing of the past. He is always worried about inflation, admission, corruption, scarcity of essentials, security and endless other tensions. His sources of entertainment are TV sops. His value goes up during elections.  ANITA KATARIA, Patiala

Parliament debate

The debate on the Lokpal Bill in Parliament brings to mind some observations made by eminent thinkers. Here are some of them. All institutions are prone to corruption.

A committee is a group of men who individually can do nothing but as a group decide that nothing can be done. If Columbus had an advisory committee, he would probably still be at the dock.

A politician needs the ability to foretell what is going to happen tomorrow, next week, next month, and the ability afterwards to explain why it did not happen. And politics is the art of postponing decisions until they are no longer relevant.

No wonder, most of our representatives who have the guts to stand up and speak lack guts to sit down and listen.

RC CHEEMA, Hoshiarpur

Confusion prevails

The political events in the last few months have left the common man totally confused, with candidates hopping from one party to another, tainted ones being accommodated, corruption cases and unethical practices being reported from all quarters.

The Lokpal Bill was stalled by the greedy ‘netas’ who pursue one single ideology of grabbing positions of power to give benefits to their kith and kin.

The writer has stated the obvious in the editorial ‘Rebels without cause’ (January 9) that personal ambition and lust for power and pelf are the overriding criteria.

So, which party does the common man vote for? Better vote for the right candidate rather than the right party.

TEJINDER SINGH KALRA, Mohali