Author: Suchandana Gupta
Publication: The Times of India
Date: September 5, 2005
Like a blast from the past, a rhythmic
chanti¬ng of Vedic mantras greets anybody entering the Navi Mandal
Veda Vidya Mandir in the heart of Ujjain. In¬side, 80 boys, between
8 and 18, in white dhoti and kurta with tricolour angavas¬trams recite
the shlokas in unison. Their heads are shaved, save for a tuft of hair
tied in a knot at the back. There are no desks and chairs; pupils sit on
the floor to study.
In an age when children surf the
Net and dream of careers in the Silicon Valley, these kids are preparing
to become priests. In this an¬cient holy city, a three-hour drive from
Bhopal, there are several schools where stu¬dents are taught the Vedas
so they may become priests in the temples or pundits of 'dharmashastra'.
The courses are recognis¬ed
by the Union HRD, princ¬ipals of these schools claim.
Set in the 'gurukul' mou¬ld,
the school puts its stude¬nts through a rigorous sche¬dule (see
chart). They stay in the hostel where food is strictly vegetarian and are
permitted to go home for a 15-day summer vacation and five days for Diwali.
The syl¬labi consists of Yajurveda and Sanskrit along with a spattering
of modern educa¬tion-English, history, geog¬raphy and the sciences.
Yajurveda is compulsory as it is
the complete scrip¬ture for pujas, yajnas and all arts and mantras
meant to appease the Hindu gods. If a student is extraordinarily bright,
he is given an addi¬tional Veda to study.
After six years, a student is given
a certificate equiva¬lent to higher secondary ed¬ucation. Then
he can take admission in a college for a BA in Sanskrit.
Students in this school mostly come
from 40 dis¬tricts of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Brahmins are preferred,
said principal Mahaveer Prasad Sharma. "We have nothing against accepting
non-Brahmins. But our students are mostly the children of priests who wish
their sons to carry for¬ward the tradition of their ancestors," he
added.
Admission is open to boys between
8 and 12. There is no school fee, but they have to pay a security deposit
of RS 10,000, which is returned on completion of the course. The school
runs on govern¬ment grants and donations.
A student passing out of this vidya
mandir is ready to enter college when he is 14 years old. "Our school is
not an eyewash. There are at least four such schools in Ujjain which are
attached to the Maharshi Sandipani Rashtriya Veda Vidya Pratishthan. Our
degrees are recognised by the Union government," said Sharma.
The first lesson is the Gayatri
mantra. "We judge students from the recitation of this mantra. His dedica¬tion
and his voice are tested. We consider the Rigveda for very selective and
extreme¬ly intelligent students. It is the toughest of the Vedas,"
A day in the life of a Student
* 4 am: Wake up time. Daily ablutions
* 5.30 am: Gayatri mantra, Surya
aradhana
* 6.30 am: Hanuman Puja
* 7.15 am: Breakfast of poha, halwa,
daliya or chana, milk
* 8 am o 12 noon: Veda study
* Noon: Lunch of chapatti, rice,
dal & two vegetable curries
* 1.30 to 4.30 pm: English, Sanskrit,
math, sciences, geography and history classes
* 4.30 to 5 pm: Games
* 5.30 pm: Sandhya Suryapuja and
Gayatri mantra
* 6.30 pm: Arti and Hanuman Chalisa
path
* 7.30 pm Dinner
* 8.30 to 10 pm: Study
