Centre of learning
G. PRABHAKARAN
|
The Puducode Kendra of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan is trying to popularise the study of Sanskrit and the Vedas.
|
PROUD LEGACY: Centre of Sanskrit, Vedas and music.
Puducode, an enchanting hamlet about 45 km from Palakkad town, tucked snugly in the valley of Kudiran Ghat, is a centre of Sanskrit, the Vedas and music. The famous Bhagavathy and Shiva temples situated in the midst of four Agraharams are surrounded by lush green paddy fields.
This village has been home to many erudite Vedic scholars. They taught the Upanishads, Vedas and Sastras. The villages reverberated with the chanting of Yajur Veda and Sama Veda.
Sanskrit College
The famous Sanskrit College here was established by the late Justice P.R. Sundaram Iyer, who hailed from Puducode. It is identical to the one started by him and the late Krishnaswamy Iyer in Mylapore.
Puducode and the surrounding villages benefited from this college because the Vedas and the Upanishads are all in Sanskrit. Another community that greatly benefited from this college is the famous Kavaseri/Padur astrologers. The Carnatic musicians at Manjapra village, including the renowned late M.D. Ramanathan and Kalyana Krishna Bhagavathar, were beneficiaries of the college.
The Sanskrit College ceased to function in 1950 owing to the lack of encouragement from the Government. It was converted into a high school with a student strength of more than 3,000.
In 2000 the Bharathiya Vidya Bhavan started its Puducode Kendra to popularise the education of Sanskrit and the Vedas.
Award
The Kendra constituted an award in memory of Justice P.R. Sundaram Iyer for the promotion and propagation of Sanskrit. The first award was given to Prof. Vasudevan Potti, an eminent Sanskrit scholar, by the former Chief Election Commissioner, T.S. Krishnamurthy, at a function in Puducode on August 14.
A memorial lecture was also held in memory of Sundaram Iyer.
In his lecture N. Vittal, former Chief Vigilance Commissioner, said, "Sanskrit is a great heritage of India. It must have evolved in India by a process of assimilation and the natural growth of the indigenous communities, coming in to contact with each other.''
He said, "Practially all languages in India bear the influence of Sanskrit.
The Government of India had taken a decision to celebrate `Shravani poornima' as Sanskrit day, highlighting the importance of Sanskrit as a potent factor in national integration.
But the progress is slow. Thus a collective national effort is necessary to take Sanskrit, repository of Indian culture and heritage, to the masses."
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Entertainment
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
