There is a village in the remote interiors of Goa, on the bank of River Kushavati, called Rivona.. As per history its original name was Rishi Vana, a forest where Rishis reside. It's well known for its Buddhist caves.
Recently, Rivona became the talk of the town all over Goa when one day, all of a sudden, Prime Minister Modi made a phone call in the village to congratulate a 16 year old boy, Priyavrat Patil. What made the PM call up Priyavrat Patil was that this handsome teenager had cracked one of the most difficult exams in Sanskrit. This makes him one of the topmost scholars of Sanskrit.
A few days back, I was in Margao with a friend for some work. The person I was to meet was at Quepem. So we went there. After the work my friend said, "Why not go to Rivona to meet the Patil Gurujis?"
When we reached Rivona it was quite dark and already, the cyclone Nisarga was approaching. There we met Mrs Patil. Their house, itself, was the first revelation. It was a rishi's ashram. You could feel you're seated there and all of a sudden Sri Ram would enter with his huge bow or Sri Krishna with his flute, anytime.
The young man and his father were not at home. So, Mrs Patil called up her son on his mobile phone. The very first thing I noticed was this lady who was talking to us in fluent Konkani and Marathi was talking with the same fluency to her son, in Sanskrit.
Priyavrat's father, Mahamahopadhyaya Devdutt Patil and his mother, together, run a Sanskrit Gurukul in this village. It's a small institution with 30 or so resident students. Not many in Goa may know about it but the President and the Prime Minister of India know who they are and what work they do. This small unaided school is one of the topmost Sanskrit research centre.
Gurukul follows an entirely different kind of study system. Unlike our regular schools, here boys and girls are dedicated to study their given topics. They reside in the house of their guru, do community work, learn life skills and at the same time specialise in their subjects.
Learning Sanskrit in the traditional way is no joke. There are no classrooms or books. You totally memorise a book like a song. When asked, you sing the entire book page by page, paragraph by paragraph, word by word without making a single spelling or pronunciation mistake, knowing each and every meaning of the word in the same tone and at the same pitch. Every word is a mantra.
The Gurukul admits boys after 7th class and girls, after 10th. There is no other criteria. Students come from all over the country. Education is free. No fees. The school is run by a public charitable trust on public donations.
The course is of 6 years and these 6 years, you learn 3 topics. Sanskrit Vyakaran, Mimansa and Nyaya. That is grammar, interpretation and art of debating.That's it. It you have passed out of this small unaided institute not affiliated to any board or university, all the universities will come rushing to you, requesting you to head their Sanskrit Departments!
Remember, this is not a Veda Pathasala. They don't teach Vedas or Shastras or Upanishads. They teach you PhD level Sanskrit. If you learn it, all the knowledge of the gods is open to you. Who doesn't want the keys to the heaven's gate in this life itself?
In life, if you are a Hindu, you may not go to a temple ever but do something for the preservation of the Vedas. Dharma is not about hating other religions. It is about finding your way to God through the hardships of life!
Tailpiece.
Got up at our usual time. Sajish, from the Amigos, had come by a quarter to 7 to give me my monthly haircut. Was ready by a half past 9 and had breakfast later than my usual time.
Time was kept apart to solve a misunderstanding within the family and in the process, spoke to a few of my close relatives. Two more are left which should be over by tomorrow morning.
Recently, Rivona became the talk of the town all over Goa when one day, all of a sudden, Prime Minister Modi made a phone call in the village to congratulate a 16 year old boy, Priyavrat Patil. What made the PM call up Priyavrat Patil was that this handsome teenager had cracked one of the most difficult exams in Sanskrit. This makes him one of the topmost scholars of Sanskrit.
A few days back, I was in Margao with a friend for some work. The person I was to meet was at Quepem. So we went there. After the work my friend said, "Why not go to Rivona to meet the Patil Gurujis?"
When we reached Rivona it was quite dark and already, the cyclone Nisarga was approaching. There we met Mrs Patil. Their house, itself, was the first revelation. It was a rishi's ashram. You could feel you're seated there and all of a sudden Sri Ram would enter with his huge bow or Sri Krishna with his flute, anytime.
The young man and his father were not at home. So, Mrs Patil called up her son on his mobile phone. The very first thing I noticed was this lady who was talking to us in fluent Konkani and Marathi was talking with the same fluency to her son, in Sanskrit.
Priyavrat's father, Mahamahopadhyaya Devdutt Patil and his mother, together, run a Sanskrit Gurukul in this village. It's a small institution with 30 or so resident students. Not many in Goa may know about it but the President and the Prime Minister of India know who they are and what work they do. This small unaided school is one of the topmost Sanskrit research centre.
Gurukul follows an entirely different kind of study system. Unlike our regular schools, here boys and girls are dedicated to study their given topics. They reside in the house of their guru, do community work, learn life skills and at the same time specialise in their subjects.
Learning Sanskrit in the traditional way is no joke. There are no classrooms or books. You totally memorise a book like a song. When asked, you sing the entire book page by page, paragraph by paragraph, word by word without making a single spelling or pronunciation mistake, knowing each and every meaning of the word in the same tone and at the same pitch. Every word is a mantra.
The Gurukul admits boys after 7th class and girls, after 10th. There is no other criteria. Students come from all over the country. Education is free. No fees. The school is run by a public charitable trust on public donations.
The course is of 6 years and these 6 years, you learn 3 topics. Sanskrit Vyakaran, Mimansa and Nyaya. That is grammar, interpretation and art of debating.That's it. It you have passed out of this small unaided institute not affiliated to any board or university, all the universities will come rushing to you, requesting you to head their Sanskrit Departments!
Remember, this is not a Veda Pathasala. They don't teach Vedas or Shastras or Upanishads. They teach you PhD level Sanskrit. If you learn it, all the knowledge of the gods is open to you. Who doesn't want the keys to the heaven's gate in this life itself?
In life, if you are a Hindu, you may not go to a temple ever but do something for the preservation of the Vedas. Dharma is not about hating other religions. It is about finding your way to God through the hardships of life!
Tailpiece.
Got up at our usual time. Sajish, from the Amigos, had come by a quarter to 7 to give me my monthly haircut. Was ready by a half past 9 and had breakfast later than my usual time.
Time was kept apart to solve a misunderstanding within the family and in the process, spoke to a few of my close relatives. Two more are left which should be over by tomorrow morning.
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