Sponsored by

S a m S k r u t o t S a v a m

School of Vedic Sciences (Aust) Inc.

2 0 1 2

ABN 49 567 817 265

saṁskṛtabhāṣā ati sulabhā samskṛta-vāṇī ati madhurā।āarṣagocaraṁ vedavāṅmayaṁ jñāna sāgaraṁ।

Sanskrit is a systematic and rythmic language that was visualized by the seers and who

availed it for creating the ocean of knowledge.

ससं्कृ तभाषा अतत सलुभा सम्स्कृ त-वाणी अतत मधरुा।

आष ्षगोचरं वदेवाङ्मय ं ज्ान सागरं।

Mr Kaniyur SundareswaranSecretary

Mr Gopal SubramanianTreasurer

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Samskrutotsavam 2012 Post Event ReportThe Samskrutotsavam 2012 - Post Event Report provides a detailed account of the

event ‘Samskrutotsavam 2012’ sponsored by the NSW Government through the

NSW Community Relations Commission. This report is prepared by the School of

Vedic Sciences (Aust) Inc to meet the requirement for acquittal of the grant as per

clause 4 of the Conditions of Sponsorship. The report also includes evidence of how

the sponsorship was acknowledged in accordance with clause 2 of the Conditions of

Sponsorship.

Dr Lakshmi SatyanarayanaPresident

We the executive committee members

of the School of Vedic Sciences (Aust) Inc

thank the NSW Government through the

NSW Community Relations Commission

for their generous sponsorship for

the ‘Samskrutotsavam 2012’ event.

We look forward to working with the

government in future to preserve and

promote the multicultural values in

New South Wales.

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Table of contents

Introduction 5

Background & history 6

Samskrutotsavam 2012 8

Event promotion 12

Sponsorship & event partners 13

Event attendance 16

Event administration 17

Financial statement 18

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Introduction‘Samskrutotsavam’ – celebration of Sanskrit language is aimed at bringing the community together to appreciate and engage in learning a classical language of India – Sanskrit. It is an annual event hosted by Sydney Sanskrit School under the auspices of School of Vedic Sciences (Aust) Inc.

This year the event ‘Samskrutotsavam 2012’ was held on Saturday 13 October* at Greystanes Community Centre, Greystanes.

The event was proudly sponsored by the NSW Government through the NSW Community Relations Commission for a multicultural New South Wales.

The event was more special this year as an attempt was made to showcase the ‘Nature of Dharawal Speaking People from South Western Sydney’ through an Indian classical performance.

An ‘Ode to Australia’ in Sanskrit composed by Dr Meenakshi Srinivasan celebrated the land, culture, heritage and people of Australia through an Indian classical performance as well.

It was an outstanding success. Delegates, community members and the local media applauded the event and appreciated the efforts made by School of Vedic Sciences (Aust) Inc in promoting multicultural values in New South wales.

* Due to local elections and other unavoidable circumstances, the event was postponed from Saturday 8 September to Saturday 13 October.

Honourable David Clarke MLC,

Member of the Legislative Council,

Parliamentary Secretary for Justice

appreciated the efforts of Sydney

Sanskrit School in enabling the

younger generation to learn such

a beautiful and enriching language

and wished the School all success.

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“Sanskrit – the language of the Vedas and yoga…the language that formed the numerals, the language that transmitted the knowledge of the science of meditation and Ayurveda, is regarded as a divine language.

The Sydney Sanskrit School under the auspices of School of Vedic Sciences (Aust) Inc.is a prominent organisation in Australia, dedicated to the teaching and promoting of the Sanskrit language. Apart from the regular classes on Thursday and Sundays for the members of the community in New South Wales, through various activities such as the annual Samskrutotsavam festivals, the children’s camps every season, competitions and through the annual magazine ‘Medha’, Sydney Sanskrit School has been ardently involved in uniting the Australian community.

‘Samskrutotsavam’ is an annual event organised by Sydney Sanskrit School under the auspices of School of Vedic Sciences (Aust) Inc that celebrates Sanskrit language. The main objectives of the event is to • bring together like-minded people to share

ideas and thoughts,• provide an opportunity to nurture talent in arts,

e.g. music, dance and drama in Sanskrit• encourage children to participate in extra

curricularactivitiesthatbuildsconfidenceandpromotes unity in diversity

• foster communal understanding and harmony.Since 2009, this annual event has attracted an average of 250 members of the community whose

appreciation and support encourages the school teachers and students to continue their contribution to the community tirelessly. This event is attended by the Indian and other community members as well as eminent personalities representing the NSW Government, Consul General of various countries such as Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Thailand, Fiji, Burma, Bhutan etc.

Background & historyEstablished in 2006, the Sydney Sanskrit School under the auspices of School of Vedic

Sciences(Aust)Inc.isthefirstSanskritcommunitylanguageschooltobeestablished

in the southern hemisphere and is supported by the NSW Department of Education

under the NSW Community Languages Program.

Sanskrit which is one of the classical

languages of India, is also one of the

threads in the fabric of the diverse

multicultural society of Australia

Mr Albert Vella, President

NSW Federation of Community Language

Schools

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Samskrutotsavam is an event that brings the community together in order to appreciate the students bilingual (multilingual in many cases) learning and encourage them in promoting the multicultural Australia through their activities. Further, through the publishing of its annual school magazine ‘Medha’, Sydney Sanskrit School invites eminent scholarly/literary articles from both Indian and Australian community and consular from other nations. This magazine alsoprovidesanopportunityforqualifiedandnonprofessionals to contribute articles related to history, literature, science, religion, philosophy, yoga, natural therapy, meditation and so on. This magazine is released annually at the Samskrutotsavam event.

Aruna Gandhimathinathan, a Bharatanatyam exponent in Australia (www.silambam.wordpress.com) summarizes the importance of

Samskrutotsavam as:” Irrespective of nationalities, language, culture or beliefs, people come together at the events organised by Sydney Sanskrit School in the true spirit of unity and harmony. As an Indian classical dance artiste, I have presented Bharatanatyam performances at the Samskrutotsavam festivals in 2009 and 2010 and have been overwhelmed by the appreciative audience from various backgrounds at the festival. The staff, students and the parents come together to organise a beautiful event, reaching out to the wider Australian community, ultimately striving towards peace and harmony.”

Each year this event has grown bigger and better contributing towards and promoting the multicultural values of New South Wales.

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Samskrutotsavam 2012Mr Tony Issa, Member of the NSW Legislative Assembly, Member, Legislative Assembly

Committee on Community Services highlighted India’s contribution to the multiculturalism

of Australia and congratulated the Sydney Sanskrit School’s role in spreading Sanskrit

and wished all the best for the continuing years.

A glorious spring day on Saturday 13 October complemented the Sydney Sanskrit School’s premier annual event showcasing their activities of the year. To an audience of 200 and more the event sponsored by the government through NSW Community Relations Commission presented a spectrum of a truly multicultural society.

Commencing with a warm “Welcome to country “extended by Aboriginal community elder Mr. Les Bursill. Born in Gandangara country of which most of Western Sydney is part of, he is the acknowledged Dharawal Elder.

The occasion was graced by several multi national representatives from India, Thailand, parliamentary representatives from the state of NSW, Aboriginal and Romani Gypsy Elders, friends and family of the Sydney Sanskrit School

with relatives from Fiji, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and South Africa to name a few. The Consul General of India in Sydney, Mr. Arun Kumar Goel inaugurated the function with the traditional lighting of the lamp. He declared the occasion to celebrate Sanskrit, the language with ‘richness beyond belief’.

Avneeta Narayan, a talented student and recipient

The CRC Chairperson Mr Stepan Kerkyasharian

and Ms Julie Owens honoured Mr Les

Bursill, Mr Peter Morgan, Mrs Aruna

Gandhimathinathan and Mrs Dhanashree

Karandikar for their contribution to

Samskrutotsavam 2012.

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of the Premiers Award for Community languages in 2012, delivered the welcome speech in Sanskrittranslated into English by Master of Ceremonies Mrs.Vandana Dixit.

The presentations were interspersed with brief and enlightening talks by the invited dignitaries. A play on Lord Ganesha which illustrated the traditional method of holistic learning from the Guru who would impart the knowledge of theoretical understanding along with the core values of truth, respect for others and generosity in giving and sharing for leading a righteous life, was presented by the younger students. The senior students recited a verse composed by Jagadguru Adi Shankaracharya (80 BC), Eka Sloki.

Mr. Arun Kumar Goel, Consul General of India in Sydney, earlier in his inaugural speech spoke about the ancient heritage of Sanskrit predating languages such as Hebrew and Latin. He touched upon Sanskrit being the mother of Indo-European languages with emphasis on the richness by counting upon the wealth of literature in Sanskrit covering aspects of mathematics, botany, chemistry, medicine and even systems engineering approaches.

Mr. Goel also recalled the incident when the former President of India, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam was greeted in Sanskrit by the Greek President during his visit to Greece in 2007 at the banquet ceremony. Greek President Karolos Papoulias studied the Indian classical language in Germany to understand India better. He also mentioned about the various universities in the United States of America and Europe offering Sanskrit studies and having separate departments devoted to Sanskrit research.

The Annual School Magazine “Medha” was then released by Mr. Tony Issa and Honourable David Clarke MLC, Member of the Legislative Council, Parliamentary Secretary for Justice. Mr. Clarke gave a spirited and well-researched speech on India, revealing many things that many Indians may not have recognised and known. He emphasised India’s contribution to the world at large including starting from trivial but essential items such as the button to the more complex number systems including “zero” and architectural wonders such as the Taj Mahal. He went on to focus more on Sanskrit language with its rich contributions in thefieldsofnotonlyliteraturebutalsomedicine,engineering and religion. He appreciated the efforts of Sydney Sanskrit School in enabling the younger generation to learn such a beautiful and enriching language and wished the School all success.

Mr. Tony Issa, Member of the NSW Legislative, Member, Legislative Assembly Committee on Community Services highlighted India’s contribution to the multiculturalism of Australia and congratulated the Sydney Sanskrit School’s role in spreading Sanskrit and wished all the best for the

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continuing years.

Drawing inspiration from Swami Vivekananda’s, address to the Parliament of Religions in Chicago on September 1893 wherein he stated that “holiness, purity and charity are not the exclusive possessions of any religion in the world, and that every system has produced men and women of the most exalted character”, cautioning against bigotry, against a notion dreaming of “exclusive survival of one’s own religion and culture” and proclaimed that the future of mankind was to “help and notfight”,“assimilationandnotdestruction”,“Harmony and Peace and not Dissension”. While this is also the thought of progressive modern democracies, a timely reminder is also warranted.Inafittingtributetohis150thbirthanniversary, the notion of respect, assimilation and harmony was portrayed in the next two plays in Sanskrit, the language that coined the term “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” (the whole world is one single family).

The play starts with a conversation between a young Indian who comes to Australia and catches up with his friend living in Australia. His friend explains the local harmony and then they all get together to make the Ganesha Icon for the Ganesha festival, with clay received with blessings from Aboriginal elders. The play not only displayed the mastery of the students in

Sanskrit as a spoken language but also highlighted the generous nature of the Aboriginal elders in welcoming newcomers and sharing their land and future with them.

Thenextfifteenminuteswasatreattotheeyesand ears with an excellent classical dance performed by Mrs. Aruna Gandhimathinadhan and her disciples from Silambam-Sydney School of Traditional Dance to the song “An Ode to Australia” written and composed by Dr Meenakshi Srinivasan, the Founder Principal of the Sydney Sanskrit School. This item expounded the natural beauty and history of Australia and the Aboriginal culture of Australia.

The excellent art works in the background (stage) designed by Sri Anjanappa Dakshinamurthy are worth a special mention as they captured the sacred Uluru with traditional items such as Didgeridoo and Boomerang providing an apt backdroptothisperformancewiththemapandflagof Australia in the background as well.

One of the highlights of the evening was the presentation of “Nature of Dharawal Speaking people”, conceptualised by Dr Lakshmi Satyanarayana, President of the Sydney Sanskrit School. This item was based on a collaborative work by Les Bursill, Mary Jacobs, artist Deborah Lennis and the Dharawal spokesperson Merv Ryan, to contribute to the dissemination of

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Aboriginal culture. Abridged content of this book was presented in an Indian Classical Performance by Mrs. Aruna Gandhimathinathan, with an English voice-over by Peter Morgan. This project is sponsored by the NSW Government through the NSW Community Relations Commission (CRC) for a multicultural NSW.

The CRC Chair Person Mr. Stepan Kerkyasharian and Ms Julie Owens honoured Les Bursill, Peter Morgan, Aruna Gandhimathinathan and Dhanashree Karandikar for their contribution to make Samaskrutotsavam 2012 a success.

One of the dignitaries extolled the thought behind the play, the harmony of assimilation with Aboriginal andAustraliancultures,“thisisthefineexamplemulti-culturalsim, retention of one’s own culture, yet assimilating in a new culture with respect and harmony” and wished that the main stream media was present to report the event.

The penultimate performance showcased one of the senior student, Skanda’s depth of Sanskrit prowess and his excellent skills in acting “Karna Bhaaram” a mono act that brought out the various emotions Karna was undergoing. Karna was one of the most tormented characters in the Indian Epic Mahabharata. He is torn between his duty towards his friend Duryodhana, who supported him at all, times and the “Dharma - Righteousness” which unfortunately was not on the side of his friend. It would not be exaggerating if we say Skanda morphed into Karna during the play in displaying various emotions including extreme anguish.

Dr Meenakshi Srinivasan, the founder Principal of the school along with her teachers Mrs. Meera Jagadeesh, Mrs. Ranjani Rao and Ms Saumya Raman showcased the year long hard work done by the students of Sydney Sanskrit School. The ‘Train Song’ and the ‘Kshetrapala Govinda’ (based on the Old MacDonald) rhymes were few of the items that left the audience wanting to see and hear more of Sanskrit songs.Final performance of the students made everybody tap dance (of course, in their seats!) to the tune of the Tabla played by students who are learning under the tutelage of Pundit Ram Bahadur.

With a brief acknowledgement of all the volunteers and the enthusiastic audience, the evening dispersed to savour some Indian snacks generously prepared by the volunteers.

Dr Saroja Srinivasan, Mr Kaniyur Sundareswaran and Mr Karthik Subramanian

Event promotionThe occasion was graced by several multinational representatives from India, Thailand,

parliamentary representatives from the state of NSW, Aboriginal and Romani Gypsy

Elders, friends and family of the Sydney Sanskrit School with relatives from Fiji, New

Zealand, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and South Africa to name a few.

This event was mainly promoted through personal contacts, email, print advertising, publication and website.

Invitation to Samskrutotsavam was published in various publications including school’s quarterly newsletter ‘Dhimahi’ and Indian Herald, a local news magazine. Theeventflyerswereprintedandmailedtothedelegates and distributed to the community members at various social functions.

The event was also promoted on the School’s website www.sanskritschool.org.

www.sanskritschool.org http://indianherald.com.au/epaper/

Sep2012/index.html#/32/

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Sponsorship & event partnersThe event could not have been delivered without the support of our generous sponsors

and event partners.

School of Vedic Sciences (Aust) Inc.

ABN 49 567 817 265

Presents

Samskrutotsavam 2012

At MSM Technology we provide services for:

contact: Jag

(02) 9624 5801 or 0422340093

10/79 Station Road, Seven Hills, NSW 2147

Email: jag@msmtechnology.net.au

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For all wirecut and toolmaking enquiries and obligation free quote

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Gears

Punches and dies replacement

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Piercing punches and pilots

Hardness Testing

Oil cut for high precision and Pika �nish

Precision wire cutting

Sponsored by

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Acknowledgement of Sponsorship‘Samskrutotsavam 2012’ was sponsored by the NSW Government through the NSW

Community Relations Commission for multicultural New South Wales.

The generous sponsorship by the government was acknowledged by the School of Vedic Sciences (Aust) Inc through:• Online invitation• Advertisement in publication• Announcement at the event• Display• Felicitation • Website posting

Online invitationThe event invitation was posted online at www.sanskritschool.org three weeks before the event. The invitation indicated sponsorship of the event by CRC.

www.sanskritschool.org

Advertisement in publicationThe event was advertised in the school’s annual publication ‘Medha’ which was released on the day of the event. The sponsorship has also been acknowledged in the post-event report published in the school newsletter Dhimahi.

A copy of both the publications, ‘Medha’ and ‘Dhimahi’ has been enclosed with this report.

Announcement at the eventOn Saturday, 13 October i.e. the day of event, Mrs Vandana Dixit, the Master of Ceremonies (MC) in her opening address acknowledged the sponsorship of the government through NSW Community Relations Commission. The acknowledgement was repeated when the MC requested Dr Stepan Kerkyasharian to address the audience and felicitate Mr Les Bursill, Mr Peter Morgan and Mrs Aruna Gandhimathinathan for their contribution to Samskrutotsavam 2012. .

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DisplayAstandingbannerfromtheofficeofNSWCommunityRelations Commission was displayed at the venue.

FelicitationNSW Community Relations Commission logo was included in the felicitation plaques given to Mr Les Bursill, Mr Peter Morgan, Mrs Aruna Gandhimathinathan and Mrs Dhanashree Karandikar for their contribution to Samskrutotsavam 2012. The logo was also included in thecertificatesgiventotheparticipantsofculturalitemspresented in the event.

Plaque 1

Awarded by the management committee to

Mrs Aruna Gandhimathinathan

in appreciation of her creative contribution towards

Samskrutotsavam 2012

Sydney, Australia.

Sponsored by

School of Vedic Sciences (Aust) Inc. ABN 49 567 817 265

Website postingAn article about the success of the event was posted on the website at www.sanskritschool.org. The posting can be accessed at: http://www.sanskritschool.org/samskrutotsavam-2012/

Parliament NSWHon. David Clarke, Member of Legislative Council moved a notice at the Meeting of the House on October 24. The minutes of the proceedings can be accessed athttp://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/lc/lcpaper.nsf/0/22CD09D9DC6CA0E3CA257AA10044471C/$file/M121024P.115.pdf.

The HTML version can be accessed at http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/hansart.nsf/V3Key/LC20121024009

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Event attendance“...thisisthefineexamplemulticulturalism,retentionofone’sownculture,yetassimilating

in a new culture with respect and harmony”, extolled one of the delegates.

Samskrutotsavam 2012 was hosted at the Greystanes Community Centre, Greystanes.

The venue proved to be an ideal location for all the community members to attend the event.

The event was attended by approximately 200 members of the community. This was a great turnout for the event. People from various community background attended this event supporting the multiculturalism promoted by this event. Delegates who attended this event include:

• Hon Consul General of India – Mr Arun Goel• Mr Stepan Kerkyasharian AO , Chairperson

andChiefExecutiveOfficer,NSWCommunityRelations Commission

• Hon David Clarke, MLC• Hon Tony Issa, MP, Granville• Hon Deputy Consul General of Thailand – Ms

Kesanee Palanuwongse• Mr Albert Vella, President of NSW Federation

of Community Language Schools• Mr Nihal Agar, President, Hindu Council of

Australia• Mr Rohit Revo, Editor, The Indian.

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Event administration“It is not how much you do, but how much love you put in the doing.” - Mother Teresa

Samskrutotsavam 2012 was coordinated by Mrs Meera Jagadeesh, Teacher, Sydney Sanskrit School. She was supported by Dr Meenakshi Srinivasan, Founder Principal and Mrs Ranjani Rao and Saumya Raman her colleagues. The dedicated committee members of and the staff of School of Vedic Sciences (Aust) Inc assisted Mrs Meera in organising this event..

Event photography was managed by Mr Arun Satyanarayana, Mr Alexander Fessenko and Mr Ramakanth Rajagopal. Video coverage was managed by Mr Narsimha Murthy. Art work for the stage backdrop was created by Mr Anjanappa Dakshinamurthy..

Event catering and miscellaneous jobs were managed by the ever willing endless list of volunteers.

Post event feedback was collected through an online survey posted at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Y76HBPK

As Elizabeth Andrew puts it “Volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they just have the heart.” It has been a very busy year for the organisation and can-do attitude of the volunteers and their ongoing support in service of the language - Sanskrit is exemplaryofselflesscommunityservice.

“Each year, we feel 100% prepared

to take on this event and work

towards its success. This year has

been no exception, however, with

cultural items dedicated to the

praise of Australia and its culture,

heritage and people, this task

was much more challenging. With

the unwavering support from

the committee members and the

volunteers, it seemed like a trivial

task”, says Mrs Meera Jagadeesh..

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Samskrutotsavam 2012 was sponsored by the NSW Government through the NSW Community Relations Commission. The total budget of the event was forecasted to be $4200. The NSW Community Relations Commissiongranted$1000towardsthesponsorshipoftheevent.Belowisthefinancialstatementofthesponsorship.

Income Source Income (in dollars)

NSW Community Relations Commission 1000

Expenditure Expenditure (in dollars)

Hall hire (Greystanes community centre) 350

Sound System 250

Honorarium for Master of Ceremonies 150

Stage Art Work 150

FelicitationMementosandCertificates 100

TOTAL Expenditure 1000

Financial statement

I certify that the sponsorship funds received from the NSW Government through the NSW Community Relations Commission has been expended in accordance with the Terms and Conditions of the Multicultural Advantage Grants Program (Sponsorship).

Print Name

Signature

Position

Date

Print Name

Signature

Position

Date

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Support us in our cause to preserve and promote Sanskrit as a community language. We will acknowledge your contribution as an official sponsor of the Sydney Sanskrit School.

To request a sponsorship proposal email info@sanskritschool.org

Become a sponsor now...

Samskrutotsavam 2012 - Post Event Report has been prepared by the Sydney Sanskrit School under the auspices of School of Vedic Sciences (Aus) Inc. All rights reserved. No part of the copyright content in this publication other than the proprietary logos of sponsors and event parters, may be reproduced in any form or by means, electronic or mechanical ,reading , forms of performance or any other information storage device without prior permission in writing from the School of Vedic Sciences (Aust) Inc.

Contact usWebsite: www.sanskritschool.org

Email: info@sanskritschool.org