Sanskrit to be an elective subject in schools

[David Magier]

> There is a village in the Malnad region of Karnataka (Shimoga Dist.
> I think) where I am told the language is Sanskrit.  

Do the housewives haggle with the vegetable vendors in Sanskrit? Do
they scold their little children in Sanskrit? Do the kids discuss the
latest cricket matches in Sanskrit? In other words, apart from the
official decree and the use of Sanskrit in various religious and
official contexts (and possibly an enforced subject of study in
school), is Sanskrit really "the language" of daily life in this
village? Is it anyone's first language that they learn from birth?

David Magier