Tattva

Sowmya Joisa, originally from Karnataka, was born and raised in Seattle, WA. She studied Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania, and is currently a vistarika, or a full-time volunteer for Samskrita Bharati, a non-profit organization and a sister organization of Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh. Her vistarakship started in Los Angeles in September 2007 and will come to a completion this September.

Tattva: Tell us about Samskrita Bharati.
Sowmya: Samskrita Bharati is a non-profit organization started in 1981 in Bharat by a few students who studied Samskritam in Thirupathi Pathashala. They were used to speaking Samskritam and they wanted to create a patrika in Samskritam, but since many people did not speak the language, they decided to teach simple Samskritam by conducting sambha-shana (conversational) Samskritam camps. In 2000, the first residential sambhashana Samskritam camp was held in the US. Samskrita Bharati activities currently run in 18 different cities in the US; they focus on teaching Samskritam through conversation. Samskrita Bharati has taken the efforts to teach-ing students the first two steps of learning language, shravaNam (listening) and bhASHaNam (speaking) since most institutions have lagged in teaching the language through speech.

Tattva: What inspired you to learn Samskritam and how did you come in contact with Samskrita Bharati?
Sowmya: My father had taken the Samskrita Bharati corre-spondence course when I was a child. I was also learning Car-natic music, and it was mostly in Samskritam, so I wanted to learn the language. When I went to college, I took Samskritam all four years. But after two years, I was very discouraged because the method of teaching made it difficult to learn. At the end of my 3rd year in college, I attended a Samskritam residential camp in Bay Area with my parents. Here, the focus was spoken samskritam and I got to use a lot of what I had learned. While I did not know much vocabulary, I was able to immediately put into effect what I learned in camp classes.

Tattva: What motivated you to become a vistarika?
Sowmya: I was involved with Samskrita Bharati directly for a year before I decided to become a vistarika. When I first thought about what I wanted to do after college, I had the intent of volunteering my time for something. A lot of my friends were taking a year off to volunteer for Americorp, Peace Corps, etc. During my senior year in college, I had met with Samskrita Bharati volunteers who suggested I give my time for spreading Samskritam. Most of the Samskritam classes are given free of charge. I benefited from that teaching, so I thought I could give back by volunteering my time for the organization.

Tattva: What did the vistarakship encompass?
Sowmya: I started my vistarakship in July 2007. I initially attended a training session in Bharat for a month and a half. After that, I came back to the US and took a two-week tour with a few senior full-time volunteers to talk about Samskritam. I came to Los Angeles, my karyakshetra, in September, For the first few weeks, I did not have a car. So my stay was mostly in one place. Once I got a car, I was able to go to different parts of LA to meet people interested in Samskritam and start teaching classes. My schedule was very fluid and depended on when and where I could have classes. There was a lot of support from the Samskrita Bharati headquarters in San Jose and my host family in LA. This support was very helpful.

Tattva: What is it like being a vistarika? What were your expectations?
Sowmya: When I decided to become a vistarika, I had no idea what it would be like to be one. The biggest challenge was making a commitment to something I did not really know about. For instance, when friends asked where I was going to live during my vistarakship, I did not have an answer for them. However, the whole experience has come out very well. I teach classes, I meet new families, as well as find people who are interested in learning and supporting the learning of Samskritam. This involves a lot of traveling. The process is very people-oriented. Meeting people at homes versus at classes has a very different impact. I spend a lot of time with people, and building relationships with them. I meet people with various backgrounds, and the interesting part is that they all can be brought together through Samskritam. This is the most rewarding part of the vistarakship.
As a vistarika, I had to learn to adapt to the different lifestyles of people. I also had to adjust to the fact that my schedule is bound to change at the flip of a coin. Developing the skill to use every interaction and moment I had to contribute to the cause of Samsrkitam was one that took time. Initially when I met new people, I did not always use the opportunity to bring up Samskritam. Even now, I am still learning and working on it. Being a vistarika has also shown me the hospitality of people. I never had problem finding a family to stay with.

Tattva: What were people’s response to the Samskritam classes? How are classes and other events conducted?
Sowmya: People expressed great interest, mainly because there was no one really available to teach Samskritam. I have run 20 beginner level classes (each beginner level class is 20 hours) in the year. My host family had numerous contacts through Hindu Swayamasevak Sangh, and they helped a lot with meeting new people. I also went to events of various Hindu organizations for getting contacts and publicizing Samskritam classes.
In addition to the regular classes that happen throughout the year, two events were conducted in LA that were very unique. A camp was conducted in Irvine for teenagers. Twenty-six teenagers attended this 3-day camp in January. This was a smaller day camp, and the group was very interested in learning Samskritam. The teachers were also youth. We also had a family camp for the west coast, and we held classes for those who never had exposure to Samskritam as well as for those who have been learning for 7 to 8 years. This year, the camp was conducted in the San Bernadino mountains during Memorial Day weekend. Seventy-four people attended, a very high turnout considering the fact that Samskrita Bharati activities in this area just started the previous September.

Tattva: What was the highlight of your experience?
Sowmya: The highlight was meeting different people from various parts of Bharat. I come from a South Indian family and my interaction with Bharatiya people was limited to a South Indian, Kannada crowd. This experience has broadened my view of Indians and Hindus. The term is much broader than I had previously thought. There is much diversity throughout the country. I do not think I would have come into contact with so many kinds of people had I not been a vistarika.

Tattva: What are some benefits of the work you have done?
Sowmya: On a personal level, I developed interpersonal skills. The concept of calling someone new, introducing myself, setting up time to talk to them, and talking about Samskritam
was something I did not have much experience with before. The experience has made me more independent and confident in life and teaching. The organizational skills one learns as a vistarak become an asset in various aspects of life. Another benefit has been the spread of Samskritam. There is more awareness about Samskritam and more effort amongst people who are actively working to promote Samskritam.

Tattva: What are your future plans?
Sowmya: My vistarakship ends in September. After that I will be getting married. I am currently working towards my Masters degree in Samskritam through a correspondence course. I am in my 2nd year of the course, so I will be working on my final exam. I will also be working on curriculum activities of Samskrita Bharati. Since I have been teaching for Samskrita Bharati, I have realized I could do a lot of projects. But regardless of what I do, Samskritam will be a part of my life.

Tattva: What kind of volunteer opportunities are available with Samskrita Bharati?
Sowmya: There are two types of volunteers: karyakartas and vistaraks. The former include students and people with families and jobs who contribute their free time to Samskrita Bharati. Most of our volunteers fall into this category. There is a lot of work they can do – teaching classes, organizational work, contacting people, networking, publicizing, etc. Vistaraks are full time volunteers. For being a full time volunteer, one can contact the secretary for Samsrkita Bharati and express interest. They would plan out a training session, conducted in Bharat. Training covers not only Samskritam, but also how to conduct events, how to teach, the lifestyle, etc. The length of vistarakship is flexible. Since it takes time to settle in a new place and start work, it works best if you are interested in volunteering 6 months or longer.

Sowmya can be contacted at sowmya.joisa@gmail.com

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