i ndian and Hindu culture have been an important part of my life from the time I was born. When I was about seven years old,

I started learning Vedic chants (chants and hymns from the Hindu scriptures), which inspired not only an appreciation for my culture but a growing interest in its origins and meaning. Over time, as I became more curious about the foundations of my culture and religion, I realized that the basis of it all was Sanskrit.

Sanskrit is an ancient language of Indian origin. The word literally means “perfectly formed,” referring to the language’s very evolved word and grammar structure. Its influence is so wide-spread that Sanskrit is considered the mother of practically all Indian languages and is believed to have influenced many current and nonextant world languages. In fact, several eminent scholars and linguists argue that Sanskrit is as much a classical language as are Greek and Latin.

By the time I finished middle school, I was expressing an interest in going beyond memorizing verses to truly learning the language. My family learned of a summer Sanskrit language immersion camp conducted by an organization called Samskrita Bharati, which seemed like the perfect way to begin studying the language.

First StepsMy Sanskrit journey, or yaatra, began the summer after my fresh-man year of high school with a one-week camp called Shraddha (the Sanskrit word for focus and determination) held at the Arsha

by Suryateja Rao

Vidya Gurukulam, a spiritual retreat in Pennsylvania. The camp began with an introductory session for the 50–60 students, fol-lowed by fun beginnings to the classes.

The Sanskrit immersion began on day one. Students spoke in Sanskrit as much as possible, especially in class but also in social settings and during free periods. Of course, as beginners, we were quick to ask the teacher’s help, consult the dictionary, or ask a friend for help—but no one was shy about trying. My class-mates and I would eagerly raise our hands each time our teacher asked a question, and the excitement of answering a question correctly, in our own Sanskrit wording, increased our love for Sanskrit and our desire to learn it. The immersion experience was effective: We started with the basic Sanskrit letters and numbers; by the end of the week, we were writing plays and reading short stories in the language.

For me, the highlight of the camp was the series of plays, songs, comedy skits, parodies, and cultural and religious skits that the students put on every night—all in Sanskrit—culminat-ing in a grand performance at the end of the week for visitors and parents. These small-group performances forced us not only to speak in Sanskrit during the actual performance, but to think in Sanskrit to formulate the script. As we wrote them, we would pick up even more Sanskrit when we asked our teacher (in San-skrit, of course) about grammatical structures or vocabulary we might need to convey a particular thought. As exciting as it was to learn in the classroom through games and questions, actually using the language in the form of a play was incredibly motivat-ing and rewarding.

Cycle of GrowthAfter my positive experience at camp, I decided to enroll in San-skrit as a Foreign Language, a three-year high school-level online program offered by Samskrita Bharati. This course developed my fluency in the language and made me love it even more. Every class exposed me to new words; for example, during lessons about nature, I would learn vocabulary such as agnijwaalaamukhi (volcano). I also picked up informal words, such as bhoH, a word that roughly translates to “man” or “dude,” that could be used in conversation with my friends.

Throughout the course, we worked in small groups on projects such as writing and performing skits, answering series of ques-tions and putting together a speech based on the responses, and competing in fun Jeopardy!-style review games before exams and after difficult, vocabulary-laden sessions. Between the 90-minute

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My Sanskrit Yaatra

Brahma Salutes Krishna, a folio from a Bhagavata Purana, India, Delhi region or Rajasthan, 1525-1550.

www.cty.jhu.edu/imagine imagine 33

Learn more about Sanskrit and find resources to study it at www.samskritabharatiusa.org.

we gradually progressed to the point where our classes centered on the application of our knowledge, interpretations, writing, and discussions. All along, I continued to grow closer to the culture that had attracted me to Sanskrit in the first place.

The corpus of Sanskrit writings encompasses a rich variety of novels, plays, and poems, as well philosophical, med-ical, and technical texts. Famous texts that have existed

for millennia such as the Vedas, Bhagavad Gita (a set of guidelines for successful and righteous living), and the Ashtaadhyaayi (a set of standardized grammar rules for Sanskrit) continue to guide Indian culture and linguistics to this day. Studying this language has allowed me to explore and better connect with the culture and traditions that have guided my ancestors from our earliest times. Sanskrit is an intergenerational link, the backbone of Hindu culture, religion, and language. It is the essence of India, and I carry it forward each time I read it and write it, each time I

say the words. n

Suryateja Rao is a senior at Westford Academy in Westford, MA, where he is captain of the Westford Academy Science Team. He is also an executive officer of the National Honor Society and a laureate of the National French Contest. In his free time, Teja enjoys playing Carnatic violin, playing basketball and football, and relaxing with a good book.

Krishna fluting, an illustration from a Bhagavata Purana series. India, Orissa, circa 1800.

weekend classes and the couple of hours spent on homework, projects, and studying throughout the week, I was constantly interacting with the language. The class was instrumental in developing my language skills, my ability to write complex sentences and paragraphs, and the vocabulary and knowledge of grammatical structures needed to write such paragraphs.

For three years, as I went through the annual cycle of sum-mer immersion camp followed by school-year online course, my command of the language grew, as did my camaraderie with my classmates, who have become some of my closest friends.

Access to Ancient TreasuresAfter achieving a certain reading proficiency and vocabulary level, I began to read stories from the Puranas, Indian epics detailing the exploits of gods and great warriors, and the Hito-padesha, fables written to impart life lessons through nature and common life situations. I delved into the Vedas and other Hindu scriptural texts I had been studying since childhood, now connecting with them on a much deeper level and with a greater appreciation.

In class and on my own, I began exploring the expansive litera-ture that was now open to me. My curiosity extended to the great works of the famous Indian playwright Kalidasa and epic tales I had grown up with, such as the Ramayana and Mahabharata. The texts my classmates and I were reading and the connections we were making became increasingly integrated into the course experience;