A family in Dakshina Kannada has maintained Sanskrit as their primary language at home.
For 37 years, the family of Vasanth Madhava and his wife, Savithri, in Bantwal taluk’s Kalladka has made Sanskrit their primary language at home, turning their house into a living Samskrita Gruha (Sanskrit home), where three generations communicate only in that language.
After marrying Vasantha, a headmaster, she and her husband took the commendable decision to transform their home into a true Samskrita Gruha,” he said. “She actively contributed to our mission by conducting numerous Sambhashana Shibiras or spoken language camps over several years.
The initiative began in 1989 when Vasanth, convenor of Sri Rama Vidya Kendra, married Samskrita Bharati volunteer Savithri. Before marriage, Savithri requested that at home, they should speak in Sanskrit – prompting Vasanth to attend conversational camps to gain fluency. In the initial years, the couple used Sanskrit nameboards on walls and in different parts of the kitchen to familiarise themselves with household vocabulary. When their son was born, he picked up the language quite naturally.