How Rohini Bakshi can help you learn Sanskrit

Sitting in well-appointed Knightsbridge apartment, in UK, Rohini Bakshi seems unperturbed by the overcast grey sky outside. For, she is busy tapping on her iPad posting tweets, deciphering verses in Sanskrit, the language she feels so close to and is working hard at promoting.

The brain behind running #SanskritAppreciationHour (SAH), a social media platform to promote Sanskrit, a language which is as old as our history, and which has been relevant in every age not just as a liturgical device but also as a spoken language, Bakshi, 51, has been active on Twitter for past three years. Today, #SAH has 11.5k followers, across countries.

Connect with language

People learn Sanskrit for a number of reasons. For some, it signifies going back to their roots. For others, it is about speaking to God in the language of the gods. Some learn it to read the scriptures without any mediation.

There are others who want to study complex philosophical, religious and cultural texts without losing anything in translation. "No matter how good a translation is, it's never as good as the original. But I can assure you, no one learns Sanskrit 'for the heck of it'," says Bakshi, who took to learning Sanskrit because she always wanted to read the scriptures on her own, and not depend on interpretations.

"If I care about my religion, and what the Upanishads say, I would want to read the original and know what the verses say myself; that was the sentiment that propelled me towards getting enrolled at the SOAS, University of London, for masters in Hindu Studies and Sanskrit."

From online platform to the world of paperback

"I think everyone should learn Sanskrit. I'm keen to remove any baggage that comes with it," she says. Which says why this language enthusiast wants to make Sanskrit a household language.

Her book Learn Sanskrit Through Your Favourite Prayers: Strota Ranjani, written along with Narayanan Namboodiri, is a logical outcome of #SAH.

The book contains 11 strotas (about 140 verses) to deities that many of us must have chanted or heard as children, but didn't know the meaning. Bakshi says, "In the book, we have translated each and every word, and explained grammar, so that the reader knows why a word has been translated the way it has been."

The book can be read at several levels. You might just want a reliable translation; you might want to know what one or more of the individual word means; or might want to understand the grammar, right down to the Sanskrit root. "I would like readers to associate the book with freedom and empowerment. Freedom to access ancient scriptures, literature, technical manuals, and philosophical tracts."

Quick fixes to be a pro

Try to speak in Sanskrit. "It's the best way to learn a language; make mistakes and improve. As soon as you can speak, grammar is embedded, and you will be able to open a text and make sense of it much quicker," says Bakshi.

Through her book and Twitter group, she is trying to charm, delight and imbue her audience.

(Learn Sanskrit Through Your Favourite Prayers by Rohini Bakshi and Narayanan Namboodiri is available in bookstores and on Juggernaut.)

Also read - Why China's intellectuals are turning to Sanskrit