An unsolicited inquiry.

[tbaca at mail.utexas.edu]

Two elementary questions:  (1) What is the best introductory text for
learning to read Sanskrit and (2) Is there a *freeware* font available
anywhere for the transliteration of the nagari script (complete w/ long
vowel signs and dots for the retroflex stops, anusvara, etc.)?

I apologize for interrupting the current discussions on the group, but I am
an undergrad student of composition with time only for a hobbyist's
interest in Sanskrit (and, eventually, hopefully, the poetry of Kalidasa).

Thanks,

Trevor Baca
tbaca at mail.utexas.edu