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IIM Indore is determined to remain contextually relevant and create opportunities for its community members, including students, faculty, staff, and their family members, to grow at professional and personal levels. The institute aims to contribute to nation-building and ensures initiatives encouraging the IIMI family members to stay connected to their roots, culture, and the country. In line with this, the institute started two workshops for learning Sanskrit and Tamil languages, for everyone on campus. Prof. Himanshu Rai, Director, IIM Indore, inaugurated both workshops on August 31, 2022. Mr. Pravesh Vaishnav, Sanskrit Language Instructor; Ms. Lakshmi Gopalakrishnan, Tamil Language Instructor; and Col. Gururaj Gopinath Pamidi (Veteran), CAO, IIM Indore were also present.
Prof. Rai captivated the participants with his inaugural address in English, Hindi, Sanskrit, and Tamil. He spoke about the significance of regional languages. ‘India has over 19,000 languages, and the dialect and pronunciation change in every region. We, the Indians, are a part of a nation that entirely reflects unity in diversity and is soaked in diverse cultures. This is what makes us and our nation unique’, he said. Having a basic knowledge of the colloquial languages in different regions can open our paths to numerous prospects, connect with people from varied backgrounds and allow us to stay allied to our roots, our nation, and our people in the country, as one. He also spoke about the emergence of Sanskrit and Tamil languages in India. He said that Tamil literature, especially the ‘Sangam Sahitya’, is rich in language and culture, for it imbibes numerous lessons on morality and ethics in itself. Tamil has spread its wings internationally and is spoken in Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Java, Sumatra, and other south Asian nations, he said.
Similarly, Sanskrit is not just limited to epics, but there are people, even though less in number, who still converse in Sanskrit. ‘Sanskrit is not spoken that widely, and thus, it is imperative that we start speaking it more often to preserve our rich culture’, he said. Stating that the New Education Policy emphasizes offering education in regional languages to the children, he said that IIM Indore also aims to generate a platform for the community members to learn, understand and gain knowledge so that they can converse, read and write Tamil and Sanskrit languages comfortably.
Ms. Laksmi Gopalakrishnan threw insights into the history of the Tamil language. ‘The Hindu God of War, Karthikeya, is known as the ‘God of the Tamil People’ and is worshipped as Murugan. Sharing the story of Ganesha circling Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati, and Karthikeya circling the world, she said, ‘Feeling cheated, Lord Murugan ran away to Palani, Tamil Nadu and thus became known as Tamil Kadavul. It is believed that Lord Murugan himself taught him the Tamil language and grammar’. Lord Murugan has been instrumental in developing the Tamil language and culture by directly being involved in the process. She added that from literature to archaeology, all point toward his influence on the culture of the Tamil people. She then briefed the participants about the language basics and thanked IIM Indore for inviting her as the language trainer.
Mr. Pravesh Vaishnav noted that Sanskrit is not a tough language to learn; all one needs is to listen and speak. ‘Just the way a child learns to speak a language while listening to its parents, Sanskrit can also be learned just by conversing’, he said. Whenever one talks about Sanskrit, they believe it is only about the shlokas and mantras. However, he said, Sanskrit is a universal language and exists all around us. ‘Learning by fun makes gaining knowledge easier. We can also play games in Sanskrit, and that’s how we can easily learn it. It is not an ancient language, but is considered a modern language as well, for we can even sing songs in it’, he explained. He advised the participants to keep conversing in the language to gain fluency, for that’s an essential way to learn a language.
Col. Gururaj Pamidi delivered the vote of thanks. He noted that the institute would continue to generate opportunities for community members to learn more languages. The event concluded with great enthusiasm among the IIMI community members, eager to learn two new regional languages.
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