Balakendra teaching Sanskrit, inculcating moral values in kids

Tirupati: At the time of technological revolution and computer education growing out of proportions, there was a feeling among literary activists that various mother tongue languages and the base for Indian languages and culture, Sanskrit has been pushed to a back seat.

With a view that this trend will gradually make the future generations to grow away from our traditions, culture and above all from the beauty of mother tongue, Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetha (RSVP) has took up a novel initiative of teaching spoken Sanskrit to children along with moral education.

Named as ‘Abhimanyu Balakendra’, the brain child of RSVP Vice-Chancellor Prof V Muralidhara Sharma, it was aimed at promoting Sanskrit language so that this language should have an entity. Started with 30 children in August 2017, it has grown into as big as 17 centres now with 541 children.

These centres were spread in and around Tirupati city and 17 students were trained enough to teach the values and spoken English to children. The one-hour classes will be held on Saturday and Sunday. They will not use even black board in the classroom and teach the Sanskrit language through oral communication in completely play way method.

Speaking to The Hans India, the Dean of department of Education and Coordinator of Balakendra Prof Prahlad Joshi said that Sanskrit language was the base language to many Indian languages. To make more and more children well-versed with the language simultaneously providing them moral education and increasing spirituality in them was the basic objective of Balakendra.

“There was a false propaganda that Sanskrit is a non-living language, difficult language and it belongs to some sect of the society only. We want to prove that these are wrong. Now, the persons speaking Sanskrit were increasing gradually. In RSVP, everyone speaks in Sanskrit only and total medium of instruction here is in Sanskrit.

Even kids were learning this language proving that it was very easy. People from various sects were coming here and showing interest in learning the language. Even Muslims were learning it in Balakendra,” Prof Joshi maintained. The parents, who visit RSVP to drop their children at Balakendra asked the faculty that they too will learn the language instead of going back and come again to pick up their children.

Accordingly, the RSVP started another class for the parents. Saying that it will be like a Sanskrit medium nursery, Prof Joshi said, adding that the children will be taught language games also along with spoken Sanskrit. RSVP has brought out a book called “Samskarapusthika” to help the children of Balakendra. They believe that this book will help them immensely as it had many useful aspects about the language and other issues.

The Balakendra has celebrated its first anniversary on Wednesday at Vidyapeetham in which about 20 cultural programmes have been presented. Each Balakendra has presented at least one cultural programme like skit, dance, jokes etc.

In the anniversary programme, RSVP V-C, All projects Special Officer of TTD and in-charge Special Officer of SVBC N Muktheswara Rao, Sanskrit Bharathi Director Dr Chand Kiran Saluja, Dinesh Kamath and other dignitaries participated.

By V Pradeep Kumar