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While the airport employees praised the move, passengers and internet users responded to it in diverse ways.
Digital Desk: The Babatpur Airport in Varanasi has become the first airport in the country to make announcements in Sanskrit in addition to Hindi and English.
The announcement about the safety measures to be taken to ward off Covid-19 may be heard in Sanskrit in a video that the Varanasi airport authority posted recently.
The tweet that accompanied the video said that once inside the airport terminal, travellers would quickly realize that they had arrived at a location that had once been a centre for Sanskrit learning.
Sanskrit is used to identify Varanasi, according to an airport official. Since ancient times, it has served as a hub for Sanskrit education. Such a measure would go a long way in renewing people's interest in this old language," said the official.
Notably, Varanasi has a Sanskrit university named Sampoornanda Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya that focuses on the study of the Sanskrit language and other related subjects.
While the airport employees praised the move, passengers and internet users responded to it in diverse ways.
"Why not Bhojpuri? Why bhojpuriyas are treated like second class citizens in their own country? We need announcements in native language of Varanasi which is Bhojpuri. Also recognize Bhojpuri language. Give announcements in Bhojpuri," a user tweeted.
"let us also include Pali and Prakrit. Sarnath is the place where Buddha delivered his first sermon and Ashoka built his most iconic pillar! both languages have a large corpus of material! The sheer stupidity of making a public health safety announcement in Sanskrit!" Musician TM Krishna also tweeted.
While another user wrote, ''Sanskrit is the mother of all Indian languages. Efforts are needed to encourage the use of this language. It's (making announcements in Sanskrit) a good decision."
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