The beauty and strength of this book is its new systematic approach. To a large extent the significant factor in the approach and structure of this book has been the input from the students regarding their needs and difficulties over number of years. Thus, while putting this book together, first consideration is given to the fact that learners may not know the Devanagari script if they came from the countries outside India or from the provinces of India where Hindi not taught. For such fresh learners, the book covers every aspect a new reader may need to learn the Devanagari script fully well. Also, Sanskrit words are transliterated with proper diacritical marks and English meaning of each Sanskrit word is provided.
The book progresses step by step, without jumping ahead on what is not yet taught, and covers all basic aspects of grammar in a very delicate manner. In addition, at after every step, the material is reviewed cumulatively under an entry called, ‘what we have learned so far.’ This cumulative learning is one of the beautiful aspects of this book.
Here a care is taken to make sure that, the material being discussed on any page deals only with the information covered in previous pages, a very simple principle but most uncommon. For this substantial purpose, you will notice that the three ‘tenses’ are introduced cumulatively without mixing with the ‘cases’ prematurely. After this, the seven cases are demonstrated, now together with the use of the tenses we learned. The key aspect of this book is it shows you ‘how to make your own Sanskrit sentences,’ rather than teaching through premade sentences.
It is often said that “Sanskrit must be taught through Sanskrit medium only (sanskrit madhyamena eva).” It is very inspirational and patronizing, but practically it is just a slogan. Because the universal truth remains that a language is always taught through another language or medium that the learner knows. That medium the learner understands could be of three types, namely : (i) the English for English speaking people and a regional language for the non-English speaking people; (ii) language of signs or gestures, and (iii) the medium of pictures and actual objects as illustrations.
In a classroom situation, where a teacher is present, Sanskrit can be taught through more use of latter two options and less use of the first option. Surprisingly though, the languages of sighs, gestures, graphics and objects does not get counted, it is somehow assumed that Sanskrit can be taught through Sanskrit only, because the teacher’s spoken words are Sanskrit. Whereas the fact remains that the teacher could not teach Sanskrit only by speaking in Sanskrit - without any use of the mediums of signs, cue cards, gestures, objects and some use of a language the reader understands. For a language teaching book though, the pictures and words written in a common language are used in place of signs, gestures, cue cards and objects.
I have tried to make this book easy as and useful as possible. I hope you will find this book interesting as well as useful.
(Ratnakar Narale)