The Kushalam-Mangalam Times of Sanskrit

A World Sanskrit fair has rekindled interest in India’s ancient language as experts, expats and even a Sanskrit orchestra recently vied for attention to grab new audiences in the infotech city of Bangalore.

A World Sanskrit fair has rekindled interest in India’s ancient language as experts, expats and even a Sanskrit orchestra recently vied for attention to grab new audiences in the infotech city of Bangalore. The surprise was a little known Sanskrit daily newspaper, Sudharma, brought out by a dedicated husband-wife team from Mysore along with three staffers.

“We have been publishing for 41 years now without a break. It is overseen by the language’s vidwans (scholars),’’ says Editor KV Sampath Kumar. The newspaper was started by his father, KN Vardaraja Iyengar, who wanted to dispel the notion that Sanskrit is only for Brahmins. He wanted the common man to learn it. Kumar’s wife Jayalakshmi says the content, mainly news items, is written in a specially-adapted Sanskrit typeface and sent to press.