Why I chose Sanskrit in School

 In High School and in the first two years of College, I studied Sanskrit. Those were not the days where the students chose what they study, you just pursue what was chosen for you by your parents or some knowledgeable persons in the village, mostly your teachers in High School. You don't have the fancy student counselors that you see in U.S.  Obviously with the rural farmers background, it was not the decision of my father but someone advised us that Sanskrit is the best option for me. There were two reasons for this choice.  The first reason was the students of Sanskrit get 50 percent concession in fees. The fee for a pre-degree student in the Govt. college I studied was fifteen rupees which is less than twenty five cents in U.S. Currency in 2015.  So by choosing Sanskrit as my main, my father saved Seven rupees and fifty paise per month, a big relief for a farmer whose income depended on the rain God. The second reason was more lucrative, I was eligible for a merit scholarship applicable only for Sanskrit students. My father very well knew the scholarship factor as I used to get one hundred fifty rupees in my high school every year and that too because I was studying in an Oriental School where Sanskrit is the main language instead of Malayalam. In college, the scholarship amount jumped to four hundred fifty rupees and I can't blame my father choosing my elective subject. The other allurement was the possibility of getting a job. Someone convinced my father that after pre-degree, his son can find a part time teacher's job in a School. The Government of the day sold the idea of promoting Sanskrit to the voters and a good amount of central fund was earmarked. Little did my father realize that mere eligibility will not guarantee his son a teacher's job in Kerala. Coming from one of the cursed upper castes, a government job was out of question. The next option is Private Schools,which is called management schools. The management school are not like the well managed missionary run convent schools. They are named management because of their ability to manage huge sums of money in selling jobs to the hapless aspirants. Teacher's jobs in management school used to be sold to the highest bidder in secret auctions. The price used to be thousands in those days and over 20 lakhs Rupees at present.

The financial situation and my own conviction not to bribe for job did not make me a Sanskrit teacher. I however, enjoyed studying Sanskrit. Though, I did not pursue a career in Sanskrit, Sanskrit helped me to understand the deep rooted culture of Indian Society. It gave me the opportunity to study the great works of Kalidasa. Sanskrit exposed me to the richness and beauty of Indian languages and appreciate the unity in diversity of our culture. 

जिह्वाग्रे वरतते लक्ष्मी

जिह्वाग्रे मित्र बान्धवाः l 

बन्धनम् चैव जिह्वाग्रे

जिह्वाग्रे मरणं ध्रुवम ll