By Shobha Rao Smilemaker

Mar 2: Imagine getting lost, when driving around a serene village and asking some random person for directions. Imagine our surprise when that stranger replies to our queries in Sanskrit language. This was our first experience when we visited Mattur a small village near the city of Shivamogga. And then I noticed that most of the locals were dressed in traditional clothing, men in dhotis and women in sarees.

We were directed to visit the local school. I saw children playing in the grounds and speaking in Sanskrit to each other. I met the soft spoken Principal of the school in the compound itself in front of the Saraswati statue and he clarified that their ancestors came in from other South Indian States and settled on either side of the Tunga river bank in two villages called Mattur and Hosahalli, which were a part of the great Vijaynagar empire of the 16th century.

He said that native language was called Sankethi, which is a mixture of Sanskrit along with the South Indian languages like Tamil, and Kannada. The local day scholars start learning the Vedas soon after their thread ceremony around the age of eight. He pointed out to the village Gurukul in the distance where students learnt about ritualistic rites for yagnas etc as mentioned in the ancient sutras. They are also known for practicing the rare folk art of Gamaka which is a combination of devotional singing and story telling.

As a Brahmin the only time I would hear Sanskrit was when I listened to chants from priests during religious rituals or festivals. Here in the distance, one could hear groups of students reciting together in the Sanskrit language, because this small place is a big centre for Sanskrit and Vedic studies and has produced many Sanskrit scholars who teach in other universities across India!

It was nearing sunset and he directed us to visit the river bank. We had to cross the small local temples dedicated to Laxmi, Keshava, Durga and Hanuman, which were still closed.We walked down the steps towards the serene Tungabriver bank and I saw a small platform in the middle of the water.

I chatted with a random local who had come for his evening prayer, and he added how the village stays abreast with the latest technologies, with electricity, mobile phones and vehicles being used here too. Old houses used to have common porches where locals would gather to chat in Sanskrit. He said that some people now may not be fluent in conversing in Sanskrit even though they have learnt it.

Soon there was stream of Brahmins coming down the steps, washing their feet in the river water and proceeding to the platform to perform their evening prayers called Sandhya Vandana. It was truly a rare sight, demonstrating one of our oldest indian rituals being performed in public as a daily routine!

It was after the 1980s when the Pejawar Mutt Swami visited this village that the 5000+ locals together, made a serious committment o speak the ancient Sanskrit language on a day-to-day basis and make it a Sanskrit village!

Places like Mattur make me smile as they are a testament to the commitment of the locals to preserve Sanskrit, the culture, the religious and traditional lifestyle and customs of an almost forgotten ancient India!

Shobha Rao Smilemaker has a vision of living in a world where people use their ability to find and make smiles in any situation. She is a lawyer by qualification, a soft skills trainer by passion, a motivational speaker, a freelance journalist, a bestselling author, an avid traveler and founder of 'Smilemakers Trainings'. She can be contacted at www.shobhasmilemaker.com.