June 25, 2014

SANSKRIT NEWSPAPER SEES BUSINESS MODEL IN NEW GOVERNMENT

[Mr. Khatri said he was not yet recovering the 150,000 rupees, or about $2,500, that he invests each month in the 16-page weekly newspaper, which is published out of Delhi. But he is optimistic about ad revenue: He hopes to garner one ad from each of the 29 states and each of the 45 central ministries per month, added to revenue from private companies. He projects his eventual advertising revenue as 10 million rupees a month. After that, he wants to expand to FM radio out of the holy city of Varanasi, which is Mr. Modi’s constituency.]

By Betwa Sharma
The front page of the Sanskrit newspaper Sajal Sandesh after 
Narendra Modi’s party won the general election, with a 
headline that translates to “Miracle, Miracle, Miracle.”

The Saturday after Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party’s historic victory in the country’s parliamentary elections was announced, some 40,000 subscribers to a weekly Sanskrit newspaper woke up to a resounding headline:

“Miracle, Miracle, Miracle,” printed in bold Sanskrit over the top of Sajal Sandesh, which means “Gentle Message.”

But for Deven Khatri, who manages an edible oil export business as his day job, there may have been a double meaning in the headline. He saw the election of the Hindu nationalist leader and his right-of-center party as not just a political windfall, but also an economic one.

Mr. Khatri, 42, started Sajal Sandesh in May 2013, partly in anticipation of a new government, which is likely to be friendly toward the revival of the ancient language, and therefore could provide a much-needed platform, promotion and advertising to his fledgling paper.

“The Modi government very much prefers Indian culture, and they are very keen to promote Sanskrit,” he said. “We have met B.J.P. leaders, who have assured us of their support.”

In March 2013, he met with Shankaracharyas, the heads of Hindu monasteries, who predicted Mr. Modi’s victory. He saw it as a good omen for his business.

“They were very firm about this,” he said. “They are very wise. They know what will happen one year, and after five years.”

Popularizing an ancient language with a history of use only among upper-caste Brahmin priests, and which only 50,000 Indians identify as their first language according to the most recent census, might be difficult — but Mr. Khatri has a plan.

In an interview, Mr. Khatri spoke less about the glory of ancient Hindu culture and the beauty and purity of Sanskrit, and more about business.

The paper is now eligible for government advertisements, since it has been publishing for a year, and Mr. Khatri and his team say they have been meeting with politicians from state governments and leaders from the national party for two years. They intend to run ads from states, which put out information including education and health programs, job postings and notices inviting bids for public projects.

Mr. Khatri said he was not yet recovering the 150,000 rupees, or about $2,500, that he invests each month in the 16-page weekly newspaper, which is published out of Delhi. But he is optimistic about ad revenue: He hopes to garner one ad from each of the 29 states and each of the 45 central ministries per month, added to revenue from private companies. He projects his eventual advertising revenue as 10 million rupees a month. After that, he wants to expand to FM radio out of the holy city of Varanasi, which is Mr. Modi’s constituency.

Mr. Khatri said that he had spoken with B.J.P. leaders, including the health minister, Harsh Vardhan, who expressed their support for the paper.

This month, several B.J.P. politicians, including top ministers like Mr. Vardhan, took their oaths in Sanskrit at a ceremony in the Indian Parliament.

“We have a great love for the language,” Mr. Vardhan said in a phone interview, explaining why he had taken the oath in Sanskrit. “It is our oldest language, and we regard it as the mother of all other languages.”

Mr. Vardhan described Sajal Sandesh as a “positive effort that had to be appreciated” for bringing to the public “an advanced and scientific language.”

“Anything which is good for the country, in the larger interest of the people, and strengthens the culture, then it is the moral duty of the government to support not only this but every such mission,” he said.

Rajesh Misra, editor of Sajal Sandesh, said that he had even taken it upon himself to prepare a draft of Mr. Modi’s prime ministerial oath in Sanskrit, in case Mr. Modi had decided to be sworn in in the language, to run in the paper.

To publicize the newspaper, an additional 30,000 complimentary copies are delivered to religious and educational institutions, as well as the upper and lower houses of Parliament.

Others have also made efforts to revive Sanskrit, including another paper, published from the Mysore region, which is struggling to find readers.

Before starting the paper, Mr. Khatri said, the Sajal Sandesh team had also sought advice from holy men in sacred Hindu cities like Haridwar and Varanasi.

“The priests told us that they wanted to know about current affairs like what Modi ji was saying today,” he said, referring to the prime minister with the Hindi honorific.

Mr. Misra, 43, said that the newspaper had 20 freelance reporters, who send dispatches in Hindi and English that are then translated by Sanskrit experts in the Delhi office.

Mr. Khatri said that the reporters, some with degrees in engineering, business and mass communications, were also expected to promote the paper and increase subscriptions — earning about 100 rupees for each one.

Mr. Khatri said he believed that there were more Sanskrit speakers in India than the census had recorded.

In Delhi, Mr. Misra has counted 39 colleges that offer postgraduate Sanskrit courses and 23 religious ashrams, called gurukuls, where Hindu boys live and study.

“And that is only in Delhi,” he said. “So we see huge potential to grow.”

Vikas Tiwari, who runs a gurukul for boys between the ages of 3 and 14, said that he receives four complimentary copies of Sajal Sandesh every week. Mr. Tiwari said that the younger students used the newspaper to practice speaking in Sanskrit, while the older boys brushed up on current affairs.

“It helps them increase their vocabulary, make sentences, and be more conversational,” he said.

Mr. Khatri said that popularizing Sanskrit corrected an imbalance in the supply and demand of the language.

Today, Mr. Tiwari said, more students from lower castes than Brahmins are being educated at his gurukul.

“Now we want everyone to know Sanskrit, not only Hindus,” Mr. Khatri said. “Sanskrit is knowledge, and that brings equality.”