Village of Sanskrit Pundits - Today!

Kendrapara (Orissa), Apr 6 (PTI) Sanskrit may have ceased to be spoken by people, but there is a remote village in this coastal district of Orissa where every home has a 'pundit' of the ancient language.Sasana village in the Shyamsundar gram panchayat, which is inhabited mainly by Brahmins, has a little over 32 households with 200-odd members. In all the households, one will come across Sanskrit pundits employed in government-run Sanskrit-medium educational institutions."We are proud patrons of Sanskrit. The ancient language is very much alive at the village," 76-year-old Baishnav Charan Pati, a Sanskrit pundit who has retired from his teaching job, said.Pati said that they made sure for generations that at least one child in every household had been taught in the Sanskrit medium of education.