The World Sanskrit Book Fair is expected to promote modern Sanskrit Literature and showcase the learning of the language based on new methods and approaches. The fair will be held in the city from January 7-11, 2011. Mallepuram G Venkatesh, vice-chancellor of Karnataka Sanskrit University, gave more details on the fair in an interaction with DNA.
What is the idea behind the World Sanskrit Book Fair?
In a first-of-its-kind initiative, the Sanskrit book fair will provide the opportunity to understand the traditional cultural systems in India in a modern context. Sanskrit literature provides a link between modern and traditional texts. Modern science and ancient science can be combined to understand many issues and Sanskrit texts facilitate this. Hence, it is once again gaining popularity, because of the spread of Indian knowledge systems. While there are numerous language fairs that are held, why shouldn’t we have a Sanskrit Fair?
What can people expect to see at the World Sanskrit Fair?
Recent publications will be on display. Important cultural texts from Indian languages will be translated into Sanskrit. We have texts from all the states of the country; we will translate them into Sanskrit. Sanskrit universities, academies, Oriental research institutions, NGOs and publishers are taking part in the fair.
Full interview here DNA
Showing posts with label Sanskrit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sanskrit. Show all posts
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Monday, September 20, 2010
First World Sanskrit Book Fair to be held in Jan
With a view to giving fillip to modern Sanskrit literature and showcase learning of the language based on new methods and approaches, the first world's Sankrit book fair will be held in Bangalore in January.
"Renowned scholars from about 20 foreign countries, including the UK and Germany, are expected to participate in the four-day fair, which is being held for the first time in the country from January seven", former Chief Justice of India M N Venkatachalaiah told reporters in Bangalore on Sep 20.
The advent and popularity of Indian knowledge systems including yoga, ayurveda, vedanta and Bhagawad Gita has led to a renewed interest in the people world over to learn Sanskrit language, the "key to treasure house of Indian knowledge tradition", Venkatachalaiah, president, National Advisory Board, World Sanskrit Book Fair, said.
"This sudden spurt is also due to people's longing to go back to the roots and access primary sources. In view of this, to make Sanskrit books and Sanskrit literature in all Indian languages available to the public, the fair is being held", he said.
Full report here Deccan Herald
"Renowned scholars from about 20 foreign countries, including the UK and Germany, are expected to participate in the four-day fair, which is being held for the first time in the country from January seven", former Chief Justice of India M N Venkatachalaiah told reporters in Bangalore on Sep 20.
The advent and popularity of Indian knowledge systems including yoga, ayurveda, vedanta and Bhagawad Gita has led to a renewed interest in the people world over to learn Sanskrit language, the "key to treasure house of Indian knowledge tradition", Venkatachalaiah, president, National Advisory Board, World Sanskrit Book Fair, said.
"This sudden spurt is also due to people's longing to go back to the roots and access primary sources. In view of this, to make Sanskrit books and Sanskrit literature in all Indian languages available to the public, the fair is being held", he said.
Full report here Deccan Herald
Monday, September 13, 2010
Reading roots
Bookganga.com aims to revive sales of Indian regional literature and curb piracy of e-books
It was at a preview of Apple’s iPad that US-based IT entrepreneur Mandar Joglekar realised that with the increasing popularity of e-reading across the globe, there was still scope to revive Indian literature. “While preparing a presentation for American Newspaper Association on the next generation’s reading habits, I found it compelling that the older newspapers there were heading towards bankruptcy due to decreasing circulation and ad revenues. There is little doubt that India will soon follow suit and, using this as an advantage, I thought it is time to launch an initiative that will bring dying Indian literature to its patrons,” he explains.
So, on August 30, Joglekar — who runs multiple internet ventures for the NRI audience, like citizen journalism website globalmarathi.com and social networking initiative myvishwa.com — launched bookganga.com. This, Joglekar hopes, will become the amazon.com for Indian literature soon. The website already has on sale close to 7,000 titles across English, Hindi, Marathi and Sanskrit in the e-book as well as hard copy format. The website, within three weeks, is already attending to more than 150 orders from within India and many others from countries like Australia, Peru and the US.
Full report here Indian Express
So, on August 30, Joglekar — who runs multiple internet ventures for the NRI audience, like citizen journalism website globalmarathi.com and social networking initiative myvishwa.com — launched bookganga.com. This, Joglekar hopes, will become the amazon.com for Indian literature soon. The website already has on sale close to 7,000 titles across English, Hindi, Marathi and Sanskrit in the e-book as well as hard copy format. The website, within three weeks, is already attending to more than 150 orders from within India and many others from countries like Australia, Peru and the US.
Full report here Indian Express
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Why Jesus didn't turn wine into water
It’s a myth that Sanskrit is the best language for writing computer code. Patriotic Indians have spread this lie for many years. - Bill Gates
There are some people whose books you don’t want to finish in a hurry because you know, instinctively, that your next read is unlikely to measure up.
Manu Joseph’s Serious Men ranks alongside the others in my list - books by Amitav Ghosh, Orhan Pamuk, Vikram Seth and Salman Rushdie.
His voice is so fresh that he ascribes quotes to Bill Gates the latter has no idea he is believed to have said. Well, in all fairness, it is Ayyan Mani, the protagonist of the novel, father of an acclaimed genius and resident of the BDD chawl in Mumbai who does this.
Inevitably, there have been comparisons to the driver from White Tiger. As the author himself confessed at a reading, he groaned when Aravind Adiga’s claim to fame came out.
“I was well into my book by then,” he says,” and I thought ‘Noooo!’”
But while Yann Martel’s and Adiga’s tigers didn’t impress me much, Manu Joseph’s writing is lyrical even when the thoughts he puts down on paper are coarse. Take the pages in the beginning, when the author gets into Ayyan Mani’s head, to describe the ‘long concrete stretch by the Arabian Sea’, made famous by the climactic scenes of Bollywood movies.
Full report here Sify
Manu Joseph’s Serious Men ranks alongside the others in my list - books by Amitav Ghosh, Orhan Pamuk, Vikram Seth and Salman Rushdie.
His voice is so fresh that he ascribes quotes to Bill Gates the latter has no idea he is believed to have said. Well, in all fairness, it is Ayyan Mani, the protagonist of the novel, father of an acclaimed genius and resident of the BDD chawl in Mumbai who does this.
Inevitably, there have been comparisons to the driver from White Tiger. As the author himself confessed at a reading, he groaned when Aravind Adiga’s claim to fame came out.
“I was well into my book by then,” he says,” and I thought ‘Noooo!’”
But while Yann Martel’s and Adiga’s tigers didn’t impress me much, Manu Joseph’s writing is lyrical even when the thoughts he puts down on paper are coarse. Take the pages in the beginning, when the author gets into Ayyan Mani’s head, to describe the ‘long concrete stretch by the Arabian Sea’, made famous by the climactic scenes of Bollywood movies.
Full report here Sify
Monday, July 26, 2010
‘Thiruppugazh’ for everyone
The F/236 flat in Swathi Nagar has a Tamil attire right from its doorsteps. The ‘kolams’ in front, the typical jasmine flowers, idols; everything pulls a visitor to an invisible Tamil connection here. Living in this congested flat complex in West Fort, S R Subrahmanyan Ayyar and S Subbalakshmi have been spreading the message of ‘Thiruppugazh’- a central work of mediaeval Tamil literature composed by poet-saint Arunagirinathar during 15th century - to city folk.
For this old couple, giving music classes on Thiruppugazh to interested people is the main activity post-retirement. Thiruppugazh is considered as the central work of mediaeval Tamil literature which outshines contemporary works with its distinct style and composition. “The language in this classical Tamil work has loaned words and usages from Sanskrit, Malayalam and Urdu. It visualises universal brotherhood and has intertextual connections with other epics in Indian literature,” says Ayyar.
Full report here New indian Express
For this old couple, giving music classes on Thiruppugazh to interested people is the main activity post-retirement. Thiruppugazh is considered as the central work of mediaeval Tamil literature which outshines contemporary works with its distinct style and composition. “The language in this classical Tamil work has loaned words and usages from Sanskrit, Malayalam and Urdu. It visualises universal brotherhood and has intertextual connections with other epics in Indian literature,” says Ayyar.
Full report here New indian Express
Monday, July 12, 2010
Uniform syllabus has oriental schools worried
Intended as a uniform syllabus to nullify differences across boards, 'Samacheer Kalvi' now has the heads of Oriental schools worried. They feel it may rob their institutions of their special linguistic character, the reason why they were established under a separate stream by the state government in 1951.
"Our schools were set up with the purpose of promoting the study of Arabic and Sanskrit languages. Parents admit their children to Oriental schools knowing that greater emphasis will be paid to these languages and it will enable them to read and learn religious scriptures better,"said G S M P Khadri, secretary and correspondent of Murthuzaviya Foundation which runs the Murthuzaviya Oriental Higher Secondary School in Triplicane.
Full report here Times of India
"Our schools were set up with the purpose of promoting the study of Arabic and Sanskrit languages. Parents admit their children to Oriental schools knowing that greater emphasis will be paid to these languages and it will enable them to read and learn religious scriptures better,"said G S M P Khadri, secretary and correspondent of Murthuzaviya Foundation which runs the Murthuzaviya Oriental Higher Secondary School in Triplicane.
Full report here Times of India
Sunday, July 4, 2010
'Tamil is mother of all languages in the world'
The Tamil language is older than Sanskrit and is "the mother of all languages in the world," said Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi on Wednesday.
Setting the stage for an academic debate on the antiquity of Tamil language at the World Classical Tamil conference in Coimbatore, the CM said more than 20 Tamil words had been found in Vedas by linguist Robert Caldwell, who coined the term Dravidian languages and first declared Tamil as a classical language.
"From this we learn that Tamil had an existence prior to Sanskrit," the CM said.
"Tamil is not only an international language, it is like a mother of all languages in the world,"' he said. Tamil scholar Devaneya Pavanar had established that Tamil is the primary classical language of the world, he said.
Full report here Times of India
Related news
More Chinese and Tamil language teachers to be recruited from 2011
Setting the stage for an academic debate on the antiquity of Tamil language at the World Classical Tamil conference in Coimbatore, the CM said more than 20 Tamil words had been found in Vedas by linguist Robert Caldwell, who coined the term Dravidian languages and first declared Tamil as a classical language.
"From this we learn that Tamil had an existence prior to Sanskrit," the CM said.
"Tamil is not only an international language, it is like a mother of all languages in the world,"' he said. Tamil scholar Devaneya Pavanar had established that Tamil is the primary classical language of the world, he said.
Full report here Times of India
Related news
More Chinese and Tamil language teachers to be recruited from 2011
Press Centre for nod on Tamil in HC: Jaya New Indian Express
Study Tamil to get jobs: Karunanidhi Calcutta Tube
Priests honored for saving Tamil language CathNews India
World Tamil Conference brings Sangam classic alive
Standard curriculum for Tamil as foreign language mooted Hindu
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Lost Sanskrit manuscript rediscovered in Italian library
A lost ancient manuscript detailing India's old Sanskrit language was rediscovered in an Italian library.
According to a German news agency, Toon Van Haal of Belgium tracked down the Grammatica Grandonica in a Carmelite monastery library near Rome.
The manuscript compiled in Kerala, India by Johann Ernst Hanxleben, could provide insights into western grammarians' thoughts about the ancient language of India - revered in the west as the oldest branch of the Indo-European family of languages, which include English, French and Persian, reports Earth Times.
Johann Ernst Hanxleben was a German Jesuit priest who spoke fluent Malayalam, compiled the document between 1701 and 1732.
Full report here Sify
According to a German news agency, Toon Van Haal of Belgium tracked down the Grammatica Grandonica in a Carmelite monastery library near Rome.
The manuscript compiled in Kerala, India by Johann Ernst Hanxleben, could provide insights into western grammarians' thoughts about the ancient language of India - revered in the west as the oldest branch of the Indo-European family of languages, which include English, French and Persian, reports Earth Times.
Johann Ernst Hanxleben was a German Jesuit priest who spoke fluent Malayalam, compiled the document between 1701 and 1732.
Full report here Sify
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Study on orientalism
In this book, Michael Dodson examines the historical ontology of orientalism, empire, and nationalism — the three major obsessions of the last generation — in the light of rarely used sources in Sanskrit, Hindi, and English, and with fresh insights into the making of modern India. It explores the varied scholarly manifestations in literature, history, and linguistics, related to the period 1770-1880, projecting the image of ‘Indian Civilisation.'
Themes
The book draws on three principal themes: the East India Company's use of orientalist knowledge and the Sanskrit pundits for strengthening state power in Bengal in the late 18th century; the uses of orientalist methodologies in education for the civilising mission in the 19th century; and, the adaptation, by Indian Sanskrit scholars, of some of orientalism's discursive constructs in the production of newly inflected Hindu identities.
The core argument is that orientalism in India is best understood not as a static modus operandi but as a shifting set of policy positions and localised practices, which were constantly adapted to changing circumstances in the colonial context as well as in respect of evolutions in metropolitan British thought.
Full report here Hindu
The book draws on three principal themes: the East India Company's use of orientalist knowledge and the Sanskrit pundits for strengthening state power in Bengal in the late 18th century; the uses of orientalist methodologies in education for the civilising mission in the 19th century; and, the adaptation, by Indian Sanskrit scholars, of some of orientalism's discursive constructs in the production of newly inflected Hindu identities.
The core argument is that orientalism in India is best understood not as a static modus operandi but as a shifting set of policy positions and localised practices, which were constantly adapted to changing circumstances in the colonial context as well as in respect of evolutions in metropolitan British thought.
Full report here Hindu
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Murthys gift Harvard $5.2 mn to publish classics
N R Narayana Murthy, Chief Mentor of Infosys Technologies, and his family have donated $5.2 million to Harvard University and Harvard University Press to establish a new publication series called The Murty Classical Library of India.
The endowed dual-language series will feature contemporary English versions of works originally composed in classical languages such as Sanskrit, Persian and Urdu, as well as literature from Tamil, Bengali, Kannada, Punjabi and other Indian languages.
“I am happy that Harvard University Press is anchoring this publishing project,” said Murthy. His wife, Sudha, said, “We are happy to participate in this exciting project of taking the rich literary heritage of India to far corners of the world.”
Full report here Indian Express
The endowed dual-language series will feature contemporary English versions of works originally composed in classical languages such as Sanskrit, Persian and Urdu, as well as literature from Tamil, Bengali, Kannada, Punjabi and other Indian languages.
“I am happy that Harvard University Press is anchoring this publishing project,” said Murthy. His wife, Sudha, said, “We are happy to participate in this exciting project of taking the rich literary heritage of India to far corners of the world.”
Full report here Indian Express
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Punjabi, the oldest language of the world?
"People of the Punjab were not mute when the world-known ancient Indian Valley Civilization flourished in the north-west parts of the country. The Panjabis used to speak their own language which is older even than the Dravadian's".
This was claimed by the eminent Punjabi litterateur Dr Satinder Singh Noor while delivering his keynote address in the inaugural session of the 2-day national seminar on the New Perspectives of Punjabi Language, Literature and Culture being organised by the Department of Panjabi, Kurukshetra University.
About 30 scholars of Punjabi language and literature are participating in this seminar from Haryana, Punjab and Delhi. Refuting the ongoing theory that Punjabi was Indo-Aryan language, the Vice Chairman of the Bhartiya Sahitya Academi, Delhi Professor Noor said that the Panjabi was the oldest language of the world which existed in one form or the other before the use of Tamil and even Sanskrit because it existed before the emergence and blooming of the most ancient Indian Valley Civilization in this part of India. He cited examples with the help of many prevalent words using phonetics and morphological terms.
Full report here Punjab Newsline
This was claimed by the eminent Punjabi litterateur Dr Satinder Singh Noor while delivering his keynote address in the inaugural session of the 2-day national seminar on the New Perspectives of Punjabi Language, Literature and Culture being organised by the Department of Panjabi, Kurukshetra University.
About 30 scholars of Punjabi language and literature are participating in this seminar from Haryana, Punjab and Delhi. Refuting the ongoing theory that Punjabi was Indo-Aryan language, the Vice Chairman of the Bhartiya Sahitya Academi, Delhi Professor Noor said that the Panjabi was the oldest language of the world which existed in one form or the other before the use of Tamil and even Sanskrit because it existed before the emergence and blooming of the most ancient Indian Valley Civilization in this part of India. He cited examples with the help of many prevalent words using phonetics and morphological terms.
Full report here Punjab Newsline
Sunday, February 21, 2010
The conflict of languages - Tamil and Sanskrit
Most readers are aware of the great Tamil Studies scholar Vaiyapuri Pillai’s predisposition to drag the period of ancient Tamil texts down to the Anno Dominis, while admitting without any issues, the period of Vedas, Upanishads, Ithihasas and Yashkanruthams. But, my regards for the scholar as unwavering in scientific spirit was shaken to the core recently, on reading his article on the Mauryas, in the first volume of his collected works. His articles on the history of Sanskrit works that run over 150 pages in the fourth volume of his collected works further augmented the doubts on the credentials of his works.
For instance, the author of Panini notes in his work, that the Vedic language was called Sandas and the spoken language then prevalent Basha. This confirms the view that Panini was well aware of the older Vedic language and the newly evolving Sanskrit during his period. Scholars have established beyond doubt that, the new Sanskrit evolved only after the second or third century ADs. In spite of that historical fact, Vaiyapuri Pillai still takes for granted the opinion that Katyayana, the commentator on Panini, lived around 250 BC.
Full report here Truth Dive
For instance, the author of Panini notes in his work, that the Vedic language was called Sandas and the spoken language then prevalent Basha. This confirms the view that Panini was well aware of the older Vedic language and the newly evolving Sanskrit during his period. Scholars have established beyond doubt that, the new Sanskrit evolved only after the second or third century ADs. In spite of that historical fact, Vaiyapuri Pillai still takes for granted the opinion that Katyayana, the commentator on Panini, lived around 250 BC.
Full report here Truth Dive
BSI to publish updated Sanskrit Bible
The Bible Society of India will bring out an updated edition of the holy book's Sanskrit version as part of its year-long bi-centennial celebrations beginning on Feb 21.
"The Sanskrit Bible is being updated. We have also appointed a translator. Work for the updated translation will begin soon. We hope it will help more people understand the Holy Word," BSI general secretary B K Pramanik told PTI.
The Bible Society of India (BSI) is a Christian body that is authorised to translate, produce, distribute and market the Holy Bible.The BSI, created from the British and Foreign Bible Society, has already made the Bible available in 203 Indian languages and is currently engaged in translating it in another 102 languages of the country.
Fulll report here PTI
"The Sanskrit Bible is being updated. We have also appointed a translator. Work for the updated translation will begin soon. We hope it will help more people understand the Holy Word," BSI general secretary B K Pramanik told PTI.
The Bible Society of India (BSI) is a Christian body that is authorised to translate, produce, distribute and market the Holy Bible.The BSI, created from the British and Foreign Bible Society, has already made the Bible available in 203 Indian languages and is currently engaged in translating it in another 102 languages of the country.
Fulll report here PTI
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