You are here: SriPedia - SriRangaSri - Archives - Nov 2003

SriRangaSri List Archive: Message 00061 Nov 2003

 
Nov 2003 Indexes ( Date | Thread | Author )
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]


UNESCO Declares Vedic Chanting an ?Intangible Heritage of Humanity"
*********************************************
http://pib.nic.in/archieve/lreleng/lyr2003/rnov2003/11112003/r1111200311.html

PARIS, FRANCE, November 12, 2003: The oral tradition of Vedic chanting has been 
declared an intangible heritage of humanity by UNESCO. In a meeting of jury 
members on November 7, 2003, at Paris, Mr. Koichiro Matsuura, Director-General 
of UNESCO, declared the chanting of Vedas in India an outstanding example of 
heritage and form of cultural expressions. The proclamation says that in the 
age of globalization and modernization when cultural diversity is under 
pressure, the preservation of oral tradition of Vedic chanting, a unique 
cultural heritage, has great significance. 
The jury members included Dr. Richard Kurin, Director of the Center for 
Folklore and Cultural Heritage of the Smithsonian Institution (United Nations), 
Mr. Juan Goytisolo, Writer (Spain), Mr. Yoshikazu Hasegawa (Japan), Ms. Olive 
W.M. Lewin. Pianist, ethnomusicologist, Director of the Jamaica Orchestra for 
Youth (Jamaica). 
The UNESCO declaration will bring international recognition to the excellence 
of the Vedic chanting tradition of India, which has survived for centuries 
encoding the wisdom contained in the Vedas through an extraordinary effort of 
memorization and through elaborately worked out mnemonic methods. The purity 
and fail-safe technique devised for Vedic chanting in the olden days led to 
access to one of the ancient literatures of humanity in its entirety today. 
The Department of Culture, Ministry of Tourism and Culture, took the initiative 
to put up the candidature of the Vedic chanting to UNESCO. A presentation was 
prepared by Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts. The Department has also 
prepared a five-year action plan to safeguard, protect, promote and disseminate 
the oral tradition of Vedas in terms of their uniqueness and distinctiveness, 
encourage scholars and practitioners to preserve, revitalize and promote their 
own branch of Vedic recitation as the custodians of their own traditions and 
direct the efforts primarily to making the tradition survive in its own context.
--------


Sanskrit has Regained Popularity at Universities and Schools
*********************************
http://ww1.mid-day.com/news/city/2003/november/67869.htm

MUMBAI, INDIA, November 4, 2003: The ancient language of Sanskrit has become 
prevalent once again at schools and universities in the country. At Mumbai 
University, this article says that the number of students registered for 
courses at the University's Sanskrit department has gone up from 175 to 260 in 
the last 4 years. Dr. G.P. Mahulikar, head of the University's Sanskrit 
department says, "I am amazed to see the kind of response from students. When I 
did my MA in 1975, there were around 10 students in the post-graduate class. 
Now, the number of students is 30." The number of students studying Sanskrit as 
part of a certificate or diploma program has also grown to full capacity. All 
age groups seem to want to learn the language as it opens up doors to study 
ancient epics and disciplines such as Ayurveda. 
Dr. Kalplata Mahajan, a 56-year-old general practitioner says, "I learnt 
Sanskrit in school but could not pursue it as I took up medicine in college." 
Rajashri Barve, a Kathak dancer from Malad adds, "Since the language is also 
becoming popular in schools, there is a demand for Sanskrit teachers. That is 
another reason more students are learning the language." For Prasad Akolkar, a 
Ayurveda practitioner, the language will help her in understanding ancient 
Ayurveda. 
The demand for learning Sanskrit has increased for three reasons; firstly it 
has become popular as an optional language in schools and Sanskrit teachers are 
in demand, secondly it is now offered as a course on the Civil Services 
examination and students usually score well on the test, and thirdly as 
students attempt to discover their roots by studying ancient Indian epics, the 
language of the literature is Sanskrit.


_______________________________________________
Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com
The most personalized portal on the Web!


------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~-->
Buy Ink Cartridges or Refill Kits for your HP, Epson, Canon or Lexmark
Printer at MyInks.com. Free s/h on orders $50 or more to the US & Canada.
http://www.c1tracking.com/l.asp?cid=5511
http://us.click.yahoo.com/mOAaAA/3exGAA/qnsNAA/VkWolB/TM
---------------------------------------------------------------------~->

To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
Srirangasri-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxx

 

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ 



[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next] [Date Index ] [Thread Index ] [Author Index ]
Home Page
http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia
srirangasri-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
To subscribe to the list