Dr H V S Shastry:

Report about a visit to
Panini Kanya Mahavidyalaya, Varanasi

CHETANA EDUCATION TRUST, U.K.
A visit to PANINI KANYA MAHAVIDYALAYA, VARANASI reporting their activities.

In February 2009, I spent a week in Varanasi. I have in store many marvellous things to recollect – immediately what comes to memory is the experience of our visit to the special school where the Indian scriptures are taught only to the girls! The residential girls’ education centre, Panini Kanya Mahavidyalaya, where 82 girls of different ages are taught and trained to some career-based crafts including priesthood, archery and Paninian grammar to quote among them in the foremost. All the girls here study their compulsory as well as the optional subjects through the Sanskrit medium. Their Gurus including the head teacher Smt Medha Devi Pracharya are women. Self-motivation to undergo that in-campus grooming is evident for any viewer who pays the visit. A sense of family in the matters like respect, love and affection runs in them all. I reckoned such things make a school, a Gurukula.

On 24 February, the day I, along with Solveig McIntosh were invited and welcomed at the gate, we met another group of visitors, again among 10 –12 majority were women, from America. We were taken around the premises which was useful in being informative and impressive with the facilities and services which the purpose-built Mahavidyalaya is offering and striving to meet more needs of the many more who had applied but could not get admission.

To keep my written report short and lest I forget to include their academic reports, statistics as well as the financial accounts, I collected their leaflets etc as package and enclose with this report. Their management has this oriental academy and deserve a worldwide recognition, campaign and visitors to enhance the number of sponsors.

On the initiative of the principal, assisted by three teachers and a subject expert (Dr Sudyumna Acharya, the only man we saw among the tutors) the multi-talented and dynamic girls pupils showed their talents with a passion of learning. We watched their talents in a variety of skills on a very good memory, advanced ability in expression, resourcefulness, - all in a challenging standard throughout their ‘only Sanskrit’ programme!

All these, earned at a very tender age, were hard to believe, in my opinion. They sang Bhajans melodiously (with musical instruments), debated, exhibited Antakshari, a game like the ‘Mastermind’ contest, involving quoting the Panini Sutras by memory, enacted two comic skits and a lot more – all in Sanskrit.

When the half a dozen 9 year olds something were incessantly quoting the Sutras, their non-stop uttering and debating in Sanskrit were going rounds and rounds non-stop! As I watched, I wondered how that school yet so small, and humble was taking a giant step to advance. Accumulating with a huge potential, this Paninian school is quietly generating a formidable woman power, and will hopefully harvest an unceasing vigour for future India! This is in reality a nation-building programme apart from being a profound educational curriculum.

They would carry on with those amazing feats and games for quite a long time indeed; but we had little time in our busy schedule to enjoy in and around such nature very unique to Varanasi. That treat we most gratefully had from Panini Kanya Mahvidyalaya was the most hospitable amidst a fond company in that Guru Shishya Parampara – in the lineage of the preceptor and the disciples.