This refers to the article, “ >The story of my Sanskrit ” (Aug. 16) by Ananya Vajpeyi. The denigration of the ‘other’ is an exercise fraught with peril. Persons like Dina Nath Batra are chauvinists who impose their misguided philosophy on the rest of the nation, reducing serious scholarship to boastful chest- thumping. On Brahmin exclusivity, regional prejudice and misogyny, Ms Vajpeyi has highlighted the arduous path which she as a woman underwent to finish her doctoral thesis. While such hardships are indeed real, they are not exclusively from the context of India or Sanskrit.
G. Parameswaran,
Coimbatore
The agglomeration of language and religion in the case of Sanskrit has stopped it from reaching its zenith. Just as mankind evolved from primitive to modern stage, language too should constantly reform itself and shake away exclusivist tendencies. The power of Sanskrit is noted on the world stage, but we Indians have failed to understand the true spirit of the language of our ancestors.
Kesav Sundar Patnaik,
Visakhapatnam
The stereotype that Sanskrit was the preserve of the Brahmin community goes back to the ancient age. But this is 2014; efforts should be made to popularise the language so that it does not pass into history.
Sunil Peddi,
Bangalore
I have been a staunch supporter of Samskritam for decades and have been requesting all to spell and pronounce the word as Samskrit or Samskritam ( samyak krutam = Samskritam ). My articles on this subject have been published in leading media outlets.
V.P. Dhananjayan,
Chennai
