On World Sanskrit Day that was observed on Saturday, institutes offering the language lamented the dwindling number of students opting for the subject. They claimed that there was an increasing interest in the language among foreigners, while local students preferred to opt for professional courses.
According to Dr Kala Acharya, director of KJ Somaiya Bharatiya Sanskriti Peetham, “We have taught Sanskrit to ten foreigners who came to India and were fascinated about learning the language. They gave us an amazing response.” In a pre-recorded video played at the programme, one of the foreign students said, “It feels great to learn and know about the Indian culture. We love to learn Sanskrit as an additional hobby and it is also becoming our favourite subject.”
Dr Acharya further added, “I am happy to know that Sanskrit is gaining popularity all over the world. Mumbai is a corporate city where people give more importance to international languages for their future benefit.
Today, people have keen interest in creative streams, but lag behind in their national languages. Indians are more fluent in English as compared to any Indian language. There are also very few job opportunities for Sanskrit-speaking people in this corporate city.”