The first Sanskrit newspaper in Gujarat christened Sanskritvartmanpatram will roll out on Sunday. It is only the third of its kind in the country and is the result of enthusiasm of three persons connected with teaching the language and dealing with ancient scriptures. Their effort will now be to provide current affairs and news in Sanskrit, says a Times of India report.
A faculty at Baroda Sanskrit Mahavidyalaya of M S University (MSU) Praful Purohit, former professor of the college J K Bhatt and officiating director of MSU's Oriental Institute M L Wadekar will together ensure that those keenly following Sanskrit get their daily morning news in that language. Purohit is the editor-in-chief of the newspaper.
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"Initially, we plan to bring out the newspaper as a four-page daily printed in black and white. We are going to print 1,500 copies of the newspaper initially and have already contacted thousands through SMS, email, letters and even personally asking them to subscribe to the newspaper. As many as 350 people have already subscribed to it," said Purohit.
Purohit said unlike scriptures or religious treatises, the daily will be brought out in simple Sanskrit which would not be difficult to understand. "There will be no reporters in the initial phase and we will translate news obtained from different sources," he added. The initial finances for the project have trickled in the form of donations and the subscriptions. "We are also looking forward to some advertisement," Purohit who has been bringing out a Sanskrit magazine Devsayujyam' said.
Besides news, the daily will have literature pieces, articles, stories for children, jokes and other reading material. Purohit said the first Sanskrit newspaper in the country was Sudharma', brought out from Mysore. The only other such newspaper is Navprabhatam', brought out from Kanpur.
