Thursday, April 29, 2010

‘Spoken Sanskrit’ by Samskrita Bharati in Singapore

A 10-day ‘Spoken Sanskrit’ course, beautifully designed by Samskrita Bharati was conducted by Dr. Anuradha Choudry from the 13th of March 2010. Anu, as she is fondly known by members here was an instant draw, with her unmatched vibrancy.
This course was attended by a wide range of age groups, with participants ranging from 4 to 50 years in age. However, all were students of the same level trying to grasp all that was being taught in a multi-sensorial approach. It was a vibrant classroom where the power of words was being rediscovered through speech, action, songs, interactive drama and puzzles and games and stories. Authentic scientific facts to support the effect of the language on our mind and brain were also shared together with an explanation of their benefits.

Four classes was all it took of the 10-day course for the children, whose minds were like sponges, to start emailing and sending text messages in Sanskrit. One can envisage the effect of the course in the lives of these children. The sessions were very interactive and this could be a reason for its grand success and its effectiveness. We had Chinese classmates who made simple poems and elaborate sentences. There were also calls for a repeat of this course in future.

We all came away so happy at the end of the 10 days. There was no examination pressure but the indicated objectives were met even so. All pre-conceived notions about Sanskrit being an exclusive language that was difficult to learn were shattered to pieces. There was great enjoyment and a sense of achievement which spoke well for the course of this nature. Participants showed great enthusiasm in wanting to master this language. Here is a big THANK YOU to Anuradha for being such an effective facilitator. - Jaishree

We met on the morning of 21st March, at 8am at the visitors’ center of Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. We did meditation and some warm up exercises and learned the route. We headed along South View Path. It was very tiring. Then we went on to the main road. After that we turned on to Rock Path. We climbed a very steep pile of rocks. It was challenging. Once again, we turned on the main road. Soon, we reached Summit Path. When we reached the end of the path, we went to summit hut and rested our legs. We had some snacks and drinks and a closing meditation. Then, we went down the main road towards the starting point.

We watched the monkeys. Vignesh was scared and he threw a piece of red bean bun to them. They delightfully ate it up. In the meantime, Dheeraj and I went up to the museum. We saw it all by the window. Finally, it was time to go home. Everyone went home happily. We were all exhausted but elated. - Pranav

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