New Delhi: Below the concrete arc of the flyover going to Shahdara near Nigambodh Ghat, a bunch of white-clad youngsters play volleyball and cricket. What sets them apart from others spending their evening hours on sports are their attire — white dhotis rolled up to their waists — and the short-cropped, sometimes shaven, heads with tufts of hair at the back. Strange as it may seem in these times, these lads are students of Sanskrit , dreaming of careers or livelihoods grounded in the ancient Indian language.At the Vishwanath Sanskrit Vidyalaya, a school run by the Vishwanath Sanyas Ashram near the bend of the Yamuna at Ghanta Ghar, 125 students learn Sanskrit from purva madhyama (Class IX) till acharya (master's degree). "The students come from across India," said Dr Brahmachari Balaram, the principal. Most of them are from UP, Rajasthan, Haryana, Bihar and Delhi, and 60 of them have been allotted hostel seats.Amid the modern pursuits of cosmopolitan Delhi, these youngsters harken back to older days to paint a picture of the future . Rishi Gautam and Salil Shukla, who are in uttari madhyama class, profess to a deep desire to hone their Sanskrit skill to enrich their knowledge of Indian culture. "I go home and recite shlokas from the Gita. Everyone comes to listen," said Shukla, not without a hint of pride. Sailesh Pandey, who is in the equivalent of Class X, was clear why he was in the school: "Mujhe toh doctor banna hain, aur woh bhi Sanskrit ka pura gyan leke."Principal Balaram revealed that the unique school has branches in Kolkata, Bikaner, Mount Abu, Haridwar, Shimla and Varanasi. "However, because we have no affiliation to an institution in Delhi, for every little thing, we have to go Varanasi," he rues. With Delhi government announcing its keenness to promote education in Sanskrit, Balaram hopes for better days for the institution.Sanskrit Diwas on August 6 could, therefore, be an important day for the students and teachers of Vishwanath Sanskrit Vidyalaya. The day could reveal whether the capital's oldest Sanskrit institution will be assured of a brighter future under the patronage of the state government.

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