Rajnath inaugurates first of its kind spoken Sanskrit centre

Gujarat University today announced a course on spoken Sanskrit in order to popularise the ancient language, making it possibly the first course of its kind in the country.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh launched the university's Centre for Spoken Sanskrit which will offer a six-month course for people on how to speak the language, reports PTI.

Its coordinator, Atul Unagar, said it was possibly the first such course to be launched by a university in India, adding that classes would be held on Saturday and Sunday.

"Anybody who loves Sanskrit, but did not have a chance to learn it in college or school, can join this course. It will teach them how to speak Sanskrit. People will be able to converse in the language after a sixmonth course," Unagar said.

For the course, no prior knowledge of Sanskrit is required, he said, adding that the first batch would hopefully begin in 10 days as the university looks for a minimum class strength of 30 students. The fees have been fixed at Rs 500, he informed.

Unagar said that an advanced course, with focus on grammar, would also be offered to students who are inclined to learn more about Sanskrit, enabling them to read ancient scriptures.

"There are people who could not go for higher studies but are keen to learn Sanskrit in order to understand our ancient scriptures. In a society where families are disintegrating, learning values from society can be helpful," he said.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh launched the university's Centre for Spoken Sanskrit which will offer a six-month course for people on how to speak the language