This Sanskrit-Speaking Village In India Is Keeping The Ancient Language Alive
Mattur in Karnatakas Shimoga district is the only village in the country to still converse in Sanskrit. A school in the village imparts the knowledge of Sanskrit to the 5000 odd people. Children as young as 8-yr-old begin learning Vedas here So its easy to learn the language.
We often harp about how we have lost with our culture, traditions and lingual legacy that we should have inherited more profusely from our ancestors.
But, many people across the country have ensured that we, as a generation, do not completely lose touch with our history. One such village is Mattur.
Karnataka: Residents of Mattur,village in Shimoga,use Sanskrit, besides Sankethi&Kannada, as one of the languages for day-to-day communication, say 'Sanskrit is mother of all languages. Children, as young as 8-yr-old, begin learning Vedas here. So it's easy to learn the language' pic.twitter.com/MbOdXWUOHd
¡ª ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2018
Tucked away in Karnataka's Shimoga district, Mattur holds the unique distinction of being the only village in the country to still converse in Sanskrit.
Sanskar Bharati, a school in the village that imparts the knowledge of Sanskrit to the 5,000 odd people, attempts to preserve this ancient language in the modern times.
"Here the children start studying the Vedas at the age of 10 and each student of this village speaks Sanskrit fluently. Sanskrit phrases such as Kaatham Asthi (How are you?), Aaham Gachami (I am going) and Shubham Bhavatu (May all good happen to me) are heard quite often," said Subraha, a local resident.
A village called Mattur speaks only one ancient, holy and spiritual language - #Sanskrit! Discover it now. #OMGIndia #FullStory pic.twitter.com/MP20srQ0Vf
¡ª HISTORY TV18 (@HISTORYTV18) April 20, 2018
Although the villagers converse in the local dialect, most of them can speak Sanskrit fluently.
"Not everyone speaks Sanskrit all the time. But it is easier for people from around the country to learn Sanskrit. This is because most of the languages in India are derived from Sanskrit itself," said Shashank, a resident of the village who also happens to be an IT professional.
Honored to be in the presence of Veda Brahma Sri Mattur Markandeya Avadhani, renowned Sanskrit scholar and Veteran Gamaka artiste and Kumara Vyasa awardee and lucky to be blessed by Him in #Mattur pic.twitter.com/FjbMlb1dsi
¡ª Suresh N (@surnell) May 1, 2018
On a related note, in order to preserve this ancient language, the central government last year added Sanskrit as a choice of the third language apart from German in Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).
