Bhogilal Leherchand Institute of Indology

A report on the 22nd All India Summer School on Prakrit Language & Literature 2010

The Bhogilal Leherchand Institute of Indology (BLII) Delhi has organized its 22nd All India Summer School on Prakrit Language & Literature was organized in Delhi from Sunday 9th May 2010 to 30th May 2010. About 30 participants from various states of India attended the three-week Prakrit Workshop. In addition a number of Jain nuns also attended the course. Faculties were also invited from various universities apart from in-house faculty of BLII.

Inaugural Function was chaired by Prof. Dr. Gayacharan Tripathi, Consultant, Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, New Delhi. Prof. Tripathi delivered a very intellectual and informative talk and highlighted the significance of Prakrit and Sanskrit. He clearly mentioned that Prakrit was a language of mass while Sanskrit was that of elite and educated. He also explained the relationship between Prakrit and Sanskrit by giving examples from the texts. He expressed a very elaborate talk on the use and importance of Prakrit in Sanskrit texts and the relationship between both these languages.

Mr. N. P. Jain, Vice-Chairman, BLII welcomed the guests and the participants as well as faculty members whereas Dr. J. B. Shah, Director, L. D. Institute of Indology, Ahmedabad spoke in details on the activities of the Institute carried out during past 26 years and on the 21 Summer Schools organized by the Institute. Shri R. K. Jain, President of the Institute and Secretary General of Vallabh Smarak under whose aegis this Institute is working, narrated the history of the entire complex. Guests Dr. Prashant Dave (Ahmedabad) and Dr. Vijay Shankar Shukla also addressed the gathering.

The valedictory function was held on 30th May at 10.30 A.M. The Guest of Honour of the function was Dr. (Mrs.) Neeru Mishra, Director, Indian Council of Cultural Relations, New Delhi. She appreciated the efforts of the BLII in organizing this course continuously for the past 22 years in preserving the rich values of Prakrit language and literature.

The Chief Guest of the function was Prof. Namwar Singh, a well known scholar in the Academic world and also a Hindi critic. He appreciated the valuable contribution made by the Jain community in upholding the national heritage of our country by preserving the valuable rare manuscripts and also organizing Seminars and Lectures on various topics. He also spoke about his long standing personal association with BLII. Shri Bhanwar Lal Doshi, Director, D. R. International Pvt. Ltd., also welcomed this unique activity on this event.

On this occasion, Shri N. P. Jain, Vice-Chairman and Shri Raj Kumar Jain, President also spoke about the activities of BLII and also the other activities going on in this complex.

Dr. Balaji Ganorkar who compared the entire programme announced the results of the first, second and third prize of Elementary and Advanced courses. The first prize of Rs. 2,100/- was sponsored by Jaswanta Dharmarth Trust and the Second and Third Prize of Rs.1,500/- and 1,100/- was sponsored by Enkay Charitable Trust.

The result of the Prakrit Quit held on 29th May 2010 was also announced by the Director of the Institute, Dr. Balaji Ganorkar. The awardees of first, second and third prize were given a cash prize of Rs.1000/-, Rs.500/- and Rs.250/-.

The faculties namely, Prof. Damodar Shastri and Dr. J. R. Bhattacharya have also spoken about the methodology of teaching. Some of the participants have also spoken about the arrangements made by the authorities and they shared their experiences with the audience.

Emeritus Prof. S. R. Banerjee, Dr. Anita Bandopandhya, Prof. J. R. Bhattacharya, Dr. Kamal Kumar Jain, Dr. Ashok Singh, Kum. Shefali, Mrs. Shalini Saraswat, Dr. Lopamudra Bhattacharya, Dr. Uttam Singh and Dr. Balaji Ganorkar have in all taught 220 periods (hours) to the participants. In addition to the above, there was a special lecture delivered by Dr. Baladevanand Sagar, In-charge, Sanskrit News, All India Radio.

The program started with the Lightening of the lamp by the guests followed by Saraswati Vandana by Km. Rajni Sinha. Prof. J. P. Vidyalankar, former Director of the BLII proposed vote of thanks.

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