Tuesday,May 18,2010
(Buddha Dev Sharma)
HARIDWAR, INDIA: More than three decades ago, when Buddha Dev Sharma was young and nervous about English, he subscribed to a newspaper in English to overcome his fears and learn the new language. Today Buddha Dev Sharma writes, edits and publishes Vaak, Uttarakhand’s only Sanskrit newspaper.Following stints as a freelance writer with local newspapers in Haridwar and Dehradun, and later a teaching job in the subject at a government secondary school, Sharma took it upon himself to propagate the language he likes to call “practical Sanskrit.” “There was no better way to do it than publish a newspaper,” he says.
In the four color pages in each edition, the fortnightly newspaper touches upon current affairs, a crossword puzzle and a column for general knowledge questions, the newspaper’s most popular section. The range of news is contemporary–the Copenhagen summit on climate change, political leadership changes in the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party, and the updates on Indian Premier League cricket matches.
The name Vaak, which means speech in English, is also in line with the purpose with which it was launched: bringing the language to daily life.
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