The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Where religion hardly stands in the way

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Sep 22, 2006
ePaper

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Where religion hardly stands in the way

R. Sujatha

BUDDING LINGUISTS: Muslim girls studying Sanskrit at the Murthuzaviya Educational and Cultural Foundation in Triplicane. — PHOTO: S.R. RAGHUNATHAN

CHENNAI: Misbah Fathima has a master's degree in Applied Mathematics but wants to teach Sanskrit.

Nuzhath Fathima, her sister, who is doing her master's degree in Electronic Science, is also studying Sanskrit. She is proficient in Tamil and English and took up Sanskrit out of interest.

At the Murthuzaviya Educational and Cultural Foundation on Big Street in Triplicane where the sisters learn Sanskrit, there are as many Muslim youngsters as Hindu youth enrolling to learn the ancient language.

Currently, over 140 students in the 6-35 age group are learning the language to sit for the qualifying examinations. Kovidh, conducted by the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, is the highest examination offered to these students and quite a few Muslim students clear it with distinction.

The Foundation has been running the course for the past 30 years and around 1,100 students have registered for the classes. Of these, 206 students have passed Kovidh. Students begin by learning basic language skills and by the time they reach the Kovidh level, they are equipped to write essays in Sanskrit and translate English passages into Sanskrit. "Most of them take Sanskrit out of interest ," says the Foundation's correspondent G.S.M.P. Khadri. Students like Aisha Begum who dropped out of school at 12, are also taken in. "I am learning Sanskrit just out of interest," she says. Her classmate points out that it will take her more time than others who are more literate.

Often, teachers were themselves students here. One such person is Jayanthi, who teaches a mixed class of about 30 students, most of whom are girls.

The Foundation has also taken up the cause of Urdu calligraphy. "Urdu press was almost dead. One had to go out of the State to learn calligraphy. This institution started running a two-year diploma course in calligraphy design, sanctioned by the Government of India," says Dr. Khadri. The calligraphy classroom is filled with watercolour designs in Urdu lettering, many of them in praise of Allah.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Tamil Nadu