Most Indian don't know but Sanskrit as an everyday spoken
language in the village of Mattoor near Shimoga in Karnataka
(about 300 Km from Bangalore
City)
Muttoor and Hosahalli in Karnataka and Jhiri and Mohad in Madhya Pradesh
where Sanskrit has truly
become language of the masses.
More than 95 per cent the
people of Muttoor and hundred
per cent people in Jhiri speak Sanskrit.
Apart from Muttoor, Hosahalli
and Jhiri; Mohad and Baghuwar
in Madhya Pradesh and Ganoda
under Banswara district of
Rajasthan are also the villages
where Sanskrit is spoken by majority of the villagers.
Not only for asking well-being of each other but even while
ploughing the fields, talking on
telephone, purchasing goods
from the grocer’s shop, getting the hair cut at barber’s shop,
preparing food in kitchen, etc.
people freely speak Sanskrit.
The containers having spices andother things in the kitchen too
contain the names in Sanskrit. Nobody in these villages thinks
what will happen by learning
Sanskrit. Whether it will help in
getting a job or not. It is our
language and we have to learn
it is the only feeling amongst them.
Muttoor, the village of about
2,000 inhabitants, is located
about 8 km south of Shimoga.
The Tunga river flows gently on
one side of the village. Its fame
as the Sanskrit Gram has spread far and wide. Sanskrit is the
spoken language of over 95 per
cent of the people here. Soft and
dulcet, a conversation sounds
like a Vedic recital. Though it is a
journey, which began about 500 years ago, Sanskrit has been
modified as per the modern
needs here by Samskrit Bharati.
As one enters the village he is
greeted with " bhavatha nam kim? (What is your name?), "coffee va chaayam kim ichchhathi bhavan? (What will you have, coffee or tea?). The
pronunciation of "Hari Om" instead of ‘hello’ and "katham asti" instead of ‘how are you?’ are common here. Everybody-men, women,
children, literate or illiterate-
freely speaks Sanskrit. Even the
Muslim families speak Sanskrit
without hesitation and as
comfortably as is spoken by the Hindus. Their children are found
in the streets reciting Sanskrit
shlokas. Even while fighting and
playing cricket in the grounds
children freely speak Sanskrit.
When one walks down a few places from the school where
one touches the ratha veethi
(car street) and graffiti on the
walls what grabs the attention
is: "Maarge swachchataya virajate, grame sujanaha virajante" (Cleanliness is as important for a road as good
people are for the village). Other
slogans like ‘keep the temple
premises clean’, ‘keep the river
clean’ and ‘trees are the nation’s
wealth’ are also written in Sanskrit and painted on walls
reflecting ancient values. There
are families who have written
on their doors-‘You can speak in
Sanskrit in this house.’ This is
basically to tell the visitors that in case they are fluent in the
language they can talk to them
in Sanskrit.
connect.krishna.com/node/7769
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanskrit_revival
undiscoveredindiantreasures.blogspot.com/2012/05/mattur-village-where-people-converse-in.html?m=1