[INDOLOGY] The study of Sanskrit as the epitome of uselessness

Wed Mar 25 16:21:19 UTC 2020

In a similar vein of Sanskrit being the epitome of cryptic languages, some time ago in a French TV series thriller, there was a scene where the police inspector gives instruction to his staff that is not carried out. 
He gets angry and shouts: «  Comment faut-il vous l’expliquer ? En sanscrit ? En largonji des louchébems ? » (How should I explain it to you ? In Sanskrit ? in butcher’s slang ?)
This `largonji des louchébem's is a weird slang that butchers used to communicate between themselves for joking about customers in their presence without them understanding. 
It is a variety of French where words starting with a consonant replace it with an l, and put the consonant at the end, followed by some ending which may vary. Thus boucher (butcher) becomes louchébem and jargon (slang) becomes largonji. 
This is typical of what the average Frenchman thinks about Sanskrit: an esoteric and obscure language.

I would also like to point you to “King David in Oudh: a Bible story in Sanskrit and the Just King at an Afghan court”, the Inaugural Lecture for the Oxford Boden Professorship by Pr. Minkowski:

«  During interviews for fellowships at Balliol, it is not uncommon for applicants to be confronted with the following question: as a fellow of this college, you might find yourself at a meal sitting next to the professor of Sanskrit. What would you talk about? 
Of course, the purpose of the question is to probe the ability of candidates to function successfully in a collegiate setting, in which they will have to make intelligent conversation with people who work on subjects very different from their own. The mention of Sanskrit is shorthand for what is out of the ordinary and stands at some intellectual remove. For this purpose, it is not that Sanskrit study is far from some subjects and close to others. 
For it is not that any candidate is expected to know something about Sanskrit. The topic of Sanskrit is assumed, rather, to be similarly dislocated from all customary intellectual pursuits, positioned, as it were, in the academic world’s realm of imaginary numbers.

Thinking of something to talk about with the professor of Sanskrit therefore serves as the college’s shibboleth, successful conversation with any other fellow being assured, according to this reasoning, a fortiori. » 

A link to Pr Minkowski’s lecture is provided on his Web page <https://www.orinst.ox.ac.uk/people/christopher-minkowski>. 

Cheers
Gérard

> Le 25 mars 2020 à 10:06, Oliver Fallon via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info> a écrit :
> 
> Dear Colleagues, 
> In 
> ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF SOLITUDE by GABRIEL GARCIA MARQUEZ (TRANS. GREGORY RABASSA) :
> 
> Aureliano had finished classifying the alphabet of the parchments, so that when Melquíades asked him if he had discovered the language in which they had been written he did not hesitate to answer. 
>  “Sanskrit,” he said. 
>  Melquíades revealed to him that his opportunities to return to the room were limited. But he would go in peace to the meadows of the ultimate death because Aureliano would have time to learn Sanskrit during the years remaining until the parchments became one hundred years old, when they could be deciphered. It was he who indicated to Aureliano that on the narrow street going down to the river, where dreams had been interpreted during the time of the banana company, a wise Catalonian had a bookstore where there was a Sanskrit primer, which would be eaten by the moths within six years if he did not hurry to buy it. For the first time in her long life Santa Sofía de la Piedad let a feeling show through, and it was a feeling of wonderment when Aureliano asked her to bring him the book that could be found between Jerusalem Delivered and Milton’s poems on the extreme right-hand side of the second shelf of the bookcases. Since she could not read, she memorized what he had said and got some money by selling one of the seventeen little gold fishes left in the workshop, the whereabouts of which, after being hidden the night the soldiers searched the house, was known only by her and Aureliano. 
>  Aureliano made progress in his studies of Sanskrit as Melquíades’ visits became less and less frequent and he was more distant, fading away in the radiant light of noon. The last time that Aureliano sensed him he was only an invisible presence who murmured: “I died of fever on the sands of Singapore.” The room then became vulnerable to dust, heat, termites, red ants, and moths, who would turn the wisdom of the parchments into sawdust.
> 
> Best wishes,
> Oliver Fallon
> 
> On Wednesday, 25 March 2020, 08:52:31 GMT, Christophe Vielle via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info> wrote:
> 
> 
> A quick search in Marcel Proust's "À la recherche du temps perdu", provides the following extracts:
> 
> Alors le solitaire languit seul. Il n'a d'autre plaisir que d'aller à la station de bains de mer voisine demander un renseignement à un certain employé de chemin de fer. Mais celui-ci a reçu de l'avancement, est nommé à l'autre bout de la France ; le solitaire ne pourra plus aller lui demander l'heure des trains, le prix des premières, et avant de rentrer rêver dans sa tour, comme Grisélidis, il s'attarde sur la plage, telle une étrange Andromède qu'aucun Argonaute ne viendra délivrer, comme une méduse stérile qui périra sur le sable, ou bien il reste paresseusement, avant le départ du train, sur le quai, à jeter sur la foule des voyageurs un regard qui semblera indifférent, dédaigneux ou distrait à ceux d'une autre race, mais qui, comme l'éclat lumineux dont se parent certains insectes pour attirer ceux de la même espèce, ou comme le nectar qu'offrent certaines fleurs pour attirer les insectes qui les féconderont, ne tromperait pas l'amateur presque introuvable d'un plaisir trop singulier, trop difficile à placer, qui lui est offert, le confrère avec qui notre spécialiste pourrait parler la langue insolite ; tout au plus à celle-ci quelque loqueteux du quai fera-t-il semblant de s'intéresser, mais pour un bénéfice matériel seulement, comme ceux qui, au Collège de France, dans la salle où le professeur de sanscrit parle sans auditeur, vont suivre le cours, mais seulement pour se chauffer.
> 
> Ou plutôt non, un Institut de psychophysiologie spéciale vous conviendrait mieux. Et je vous vois surtout pourvu d'une chaire au Collège de France, vous permettant de vous livrer à des études personnelles dont vous livreriez les résultats, comme fait le professeur de tamoul ou de sanscrit devant le très petit nombre de personnes que cela intéresse.
> 
> 
> Eh bien ! si spéciales que soient ces guerres balkaniques, Lullé-Burgas c'est encore Ulm, l'enveloppement par l'aile. Voilà les sujets dont tu peux me parler. Mais pour le genre de choses auxquelles tu fais allusion, je m'y connais autant qu'en sanscrit.
> 
> https://alarecherchedutempsperdu.org <https://alarecherchedutempsperdu.org/>
> https://alarecherchedutempsperdu.org/marcel-proust/ <https://alarecherchedutempsperdu.org/marcel-proust/>
> 
>> Le 25 mars 2020 à 01:02, Jeffery Long via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info <mailto:indology at list.indology.info>> a écrit :
>> 
>> Dear Patricia,
>> 
>> As a Missouri native, I particularly appreciate this one!
>> 
>> All the best,
>> Jeff
>> 
>> Dr. Jeffery D. Long
>> Professor of Religion and Asian Studies
>> Elizabethtown College
>> Elizabethtown, PA
>> 
>> https://etown.academia.edu/JefferyLong <https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fetown.academia.edu%2FJefferyLong&data=02%7C01%7Cchristophe.vielle%40uclouvain.be%7C40256ed0ddeb4838a5e308d7d04fdf88%7C7ab090d4fa2e4ecfbc7c4127b4d582ec%7C0%7C0%7C637206913780261790&sdata=L4jdNhYG%2F549gkVrwgsa4NBlCtuKlmEg%2Bw%2FpvuCUH5g%3D&reserved=0>
>> 
>> Series Editor, Explorations in Indic Traditions: Theological, Ethical, and Philosophical
>> Lexington Books
>> 
>> "One who makes a habit of prayer and meditation will easily overcome all difficulties and remain calm and unruffled in the midst of the trials of life."  (Holy Mother Sarada Devi)
>> 
>> "We are a way for the Cosmos to know itself." (Carl Sagan)
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> On Tuesday, March 24, 2020, 07:59:20 PM EDT, Patricia Sauthoff via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info <mailto:indology at list.indology.info>> wrote:
>> 
>> 
>> The Secret History by Donna Tartt
>> 
>> p. 50 
>> 
>> "You get along with Henry?
>>  "Oh, sure thing," said Bunny, reared back in his chair. "We were roommates. Freshman year." 
>> "And you like him?" 
>> "Certainly, certainly. He's a hard fellow to live with though. Hates noise, hates company, hates mess. None of this brining your date back to the room to listen to a couple Art Pepper records, if you know what I'm trying to get at." 
>> "I think he's sort of rude." 
>> Buddy shrugged. "That's his way. See, his mind doesn't work the same way yours and mine do. He's always up in the clouds with Plato or something. Works too hard, takes himself too seriously, studying Sanskrit and Coptic and those other nutty languages. Henry, I tell him, if you're going to waste your time learning something besides Greek -- that and the King's English are all I think a man needs, personally -- why don't you buy yourself some Berlitz records and brush up on your French. Find a little can-can girl or something. Voolay-voo coushay avec moi and all that."
>> "How many languages does he know?"
>> "I lost count. Seven or eight. He can read hieroglyphics."
>> "Wow." 
>> Bunny shook his head fondly. "He's a genius, that boy. He could be a translator for the UN if he wanted to be." 
>> "Where's he from?" 
>> "Missouri." 
>> 
>> 
>> p. 356 also has a [not historically great] description of Buddhist Tantra.
>> 
>> On Tue, Mar 24, 2020 at 1:21 PM Deven Patel via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info <mailto:indology at list.indology.info>> wrote:
>> From a review of the Broadway play Spamalot in the New York Times in 2006.  I had an amusing email back-and-forth with the critic when I jokingly asked him if he could've used another metaphor...
>> 
>> "In "Spamalot," of course, the horseplay's the thing. And in a world of juvenile antics, a gift for Shakespearean tragedy would seem to be about as useful as a doctorate in Sanskrit."
>> 
>> 
>> On Tuesday, March 24, 2020, Jesse Knutson via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info <mailto:indology at list.indology.info>> wrote:
>> Speaking of my dear friend Lee Siegel: he often tells the story that he only decided to study Sanskrit after hearing a speech of Richard Nixon the California senator (before he became president), in which the latter quipped that the University of California's budget should be slashed because 'instead of doing anything useful, they are studying things like Sanskrit'. 
>> 
>> On Tue, Mar 24, 2020, 4:30 AM Walser, Joseph via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info <mailto:indology at list.indology.info>> wrote:
>> One of my favorites, although I am having difficulty finding the source, is: "A knowledge of Sanskrit is of little use to a man trapped in a sewer." The internet tells me that this is attributed to Tom Weller, but I suspect that he got it from someone else.
>> Greetings from the sewer.
>> 
>> -j
>> 
>> 
>> Joseph Walser
>> 
>> Associate Professor
>> 
>> Department of Religion
>> 
>> Tufts University
>> 
>> From: INDOLOGY [indology-bounces at list.indology.info <mailto:indology-bounces at list.indology.info>] on behalf of Madhav Deshpande via INDOLOGY [indology at list.indology.info <mailto:indology at list.indology.info>]
>> Sent: Tuesday, March 24, 2020 9:41 AM
>> To: Andrey Klebanov
>> Cc: indology
>> Subject: Re: [INDOLOGY] The study of Sanskrit as the epitome of uselessness
>> 
>> Here is my description of what we as Indoloogs do:
>> 
>> खफछठथेति रटन्त: स्वशिरोभारेण गौरवं प्राप्ता: ।
>> गणयन्ति काकदन्ताननिशं ते पण्डितंमन्या: ।।
>> 
>> Hope it makes you laugh at ourselves!
>> 
>> Madhav M. Deshpande
>> Professor Emeritus, Sanskrit and Linguistics
>> University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
>> Senior Fellow, Oxford Center for Hindu Studies
>> 
>> [Residence: Campbell, California, USA]
>> 
>> 
>> On Tue, Mar 24, 2020 at 4:56 AM Andrey Klebanov via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info <mailto:indology at list.indology.info>> wrote:
>> “To study Sanskrit” (учить Санскрит) became a rather popular idiom (a kind of meme) in Russia in 2015, and it has been used since then frequently exactly as an epitome of a useless time-consuming and exhausting activity, which, in a long run, may be still more rewarding than engaging in Russian politics (especially as a member of the opposition). It was popularized by journalist Oleg Kashin <https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fkashin.guru%2F&data=02%7C01%7Cchristophe.vielle%40uclouvain.be%7C40256ed0ddeb4838a5e308d7d04fdf88%7C7ab090d4fa2e4ecfbc7c4127b4d582ec%7C0%7C0%7C637206913780261790&sdata=dzY%2Fbu6SXjH5BaQOmIm3D58vgKBGcCBPnrgilGQLJHs%3D&reserved=0>, who has famously used this expression (the original wording was actually slightly different) in his debate with politician Alexey Navalny, who, in 2015, campaigned for opposition parties to participate at regional elections at any cost. See, for example, here <https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Flurkmore.to%2F%25D0%259E%25D0%25BB%25D0%25B5%25D0%25B3_%25D0%259A%25D0%25B0%25D1%2588%25D0%25B8%25D0%25BD%23.D0.9C.D0.B5.D0.BC.D1.8B&data=02%7C01%7Cchristophe.vielle%40uclouvain.be%7C40256ed0ddeb4838a5e308d7d04fdf88%7C7ab090d4fa2e4ecfbc7c4127b4d582ec%7C0%7C0%7C637206913780271786&sdata=PKCWauLm%2BNA7gjgDNOH8lfk%2F8U1hjVJYsjMK4GKNEkU%3D&reserved=0> or here <https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fecho.msk.ru%2Fprograms%2Fklinch%2F1742522-echo%2F&data=02%7C01%7Cchristophe.vielle%40uclouvain.be%7C40256ed0ddeb4838a5e308d7d04fdf88%7C7ab090d4fa2e4ecfbc7c4127b4d582ec%7C0%7C0%7C637206913780271786&sdata=SX4G2d2NGUl2bCu2Nr0BlwlhxknggGY5gP6nZhLEFqE%3D&reserved=0>. The original debate is here <https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fecho.msk.ru%2Fprograms%2Fklinch%2F1592616-echo%2F&data=02%7C01%7Cchristophe.vielle%40uclouvain.be%7C40256ed0ddeb4838a5e308d7d04fdf88%7C7ab090d4fa2e4ecfbc7c4127b4d582ec%7C0%7C0%7C637206913780281782&sdata=sEdcDTcXbqADX70Db4AWaA%2Fry7tTTXC20sEDuRqym2Y%3D&reserved=0>. 
>> 
>> best,
>> Andrey
>> On Mar 24, 2020 11:57 +0100, Sven Sellmer via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info <mailto:indology at list.indology.info>>, wrote:
>>> Dear All!
>>> 
>>> One may also add a passage of Hermann Hesse's "Glasperlenspiel" here, though also rather in the category of useful uselessness:
>>> 
>>> … schon manche von ihnen haben ihr Leben an sehr entlegene und oft wunderliche Arbeiten gewendet, wie etwa jener Lodovicus crudelis, der in dreißigjähriger Arbeit alle überlieferten altägyptischen Texte sowohl ins Griechiche wie ins Sanskrit übersetzt hat …
>>> 
>>> … not few of them devoted their lives to very marginal and often rather strange occupations, like one Lodovicus crudelis, who in the course of thirty years translated all preserved Old Egyptian texts both into Greek and into Sanskrit … 
>>> 
>>> Best wishes,
>>> Sven
>>> 
>>> ****************************
>>> Sven Sellmer, PhD
>>> Adam Mickiewicz University
>>> Institute of Oriental Studies
>>> Department of South Asian Studies
>>> ul. Grunwaldzka 6 <https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Fmaps%2Fsearch%2FGrunwaldzka%2B6%2B%250D%250A%2B60-780%2BPozna%25C5%2584%2B%250D%250A%2BPOLAND%3Fentry%3Dgmail%26source%3Dg&data=02%7C01%7Cchristophe.vielle%40uclouvain.be%7C40256ed0ddeb4838a5e308d7d04fdf88%7C7ab090d4fa2e4ecfbc7c4127b4d582ec%7C0%7C0%7C637206913780281782&sdata=hRJ7u7b46XKDO4QPbxj0Iv3y8bMnhjQMnq9%2Fc%2Fp%2BytU%3D&reserved=0>
>>> 60-780 Poznań <https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Fmaps%2Fsearch%2FGrunwaldzka%2B6%2B%250D%250A%2B60-780%2BPozna%25C5%2584%2B%250D%250A%2BPOLAND%3Fentry%3Dgmail%26source%3Dg&data=02%7C01%7Cchristophe.vielle%40uclouvain.be%7C40256ed0ddeb4838a5e308d7d04fdf88%7C7ab090d4fa2e4ecfbc7c4127b4d582ec%7C0%7C0%7C637206913780291784&sdata=x3%2BTBKDvVWVHnxn7yBfpmnEeyg6RHrG7t6zWaOOSa6w%3D&reserved=0>
>>> POLAND <https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Fmaps%2Fsearch%2FGrunwaldzka%2B6%2B%250D%250A%2B60-780%2BPozna%25C5%2584%2B%250D%250A%2BPOLAND%3Fentry%3Dgmail%26source%3Dg&data=02%7C01%7Cchristophe.vielle%40uclouvain.be%7C40256ed0ddeb4838a5e308d7d04fdf88%7C7ab090d4fa2e4ecfbc7c4127b4d582ec%7C0%7C0%7C637206913780301777&sdata=MMsdpQy7AnrxqYnJhX4qtpmUuwDWkR2Ons5B4NRC4jY%3D&reserved=0>
>>> sven.sellmer at amu.edu.pl <mailto:sven.sellmer at amu.edu.pl>
>>> 
>>>> Am 24.03.2020 um 11:24 schrieb patrick mccartney via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info <mailto:indology at list.indology.info>>:
>>>> 
>>>> Sort of related, on page 100 of chapter 5, of Amazing Stories (1943) issue 17 no 05, the following is said: 
>>>> She put her hands on her hips, her  
>>>> face thoughtful. Then she grabbed hold  
>>>> of the grab-rail on the side of the door-  
>>>> way, stepped into the bipedomobile.  
>>>> She wasn’t a tall girl, but she had to  
>>>> stoop.  
>>>> 
>>>> Her eyes were grave. Suddenly she  
>>>> pointed into the distance.  
>>>> 
>>>> “Godwa te lele!”  
>>>> 
>>>> “It’s all Sanskrit to me, Jamie,” he  
>>>> said sadly. “They’ve sure done you up  
>>>> brown, haven’t they — ^you’ve forgotten  
>>>> entirely, haven’t you? Well, if you want  
>>>> to go in that direction, okay. It’s as  
>>>> good as any, and maybe we’ll solve a  
>>>> few mysteries while we’re at it. We  
>>>> might even find out how to get your  
>>>> memory back again.”  
>>>> 
>>>> She smiled dazzlingly. She pointed  
>>>> again.
>>>> This link will take you to the relevant page - https://archive.org/details/Amazing_Stories_v17n05_1943-05_cape1736/page/n99/mode/2up/search/sanskrit <https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.org%2Fdetails%2FAmazing_Stories_v17n05_1943-05_cape1736%2Fpage%2Fn99%2Fmode%2F2up%2Fsearch%2Fsanskrit&data=02%7C01%7Cchristophe.vielle%40uclouvain.be%7C40256ed0ddeb4838a5e308d7d04fdf88%7C7ab090d4fa2e4ecfbc7c4127b4d582ec%7C0%7C0%7C637206913780301777&sdata=fepDQ26EOHnBYFmAlHjmoegKwXL69viKOuZhIE4QNkw%3D&reserved=0>
>>>> 
>>>> All the best,
>>>> 
>>>> パトリック　マッカートニー
>>>> Patrick McCartney, PhD
>>>> Research Affiliate - Organization for Identity and Cultural Development (OICD), Kyoto
>>>> Research Associate - Nanzan University Anthropological Institute, Nagoya, Japan
>>>> Visiting Fellow - South and South-east Asian Studies Department, Australian National University
>>>> Member - South Asia Research Institute (SARI), Australian National University
>>>> 
>>>> Skype / Zoom - psdmccartney
>>>> Phone + Whatsapp + Line:  +61410644259
>>>> Twitter - @psdmccartney @yogascapesinjap
>>>>  Yogascapes in Japan <https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fyogascapes.weebly.com%2F&data=02%7C01%7Cchristophe.vielle%40uclouvain.be%7C40256ed0ddeb4838a5e308d7d04fdf88%7C7ab090d4fa2e4ecfbc7c4127b4d582ec%7C0%7C0%7C637206913780311772&sdata=my0LFsuaZBcbo1aPg3usgRR4QqxQjKLucc2hV84e2JA%3D&reserved=0> Academia <https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpatrickmccartney.academia.edu%2F&data=02%7C01%7Cchristophe.vielle%40uclouvain.be%7C40256ed0ddeb4838a5e308d7d04fdf88%7C7ab090d4fa2e4ecfbc7c4127b4d582ec%7C0%7C0%7C637206913780311772&sdata=HSzACfx8fwRE762IOp%2BIQsFn63N7wL8pWXCb8pJnABY%3D&reserved=0> Linkedin <https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fprofile%2Fview%3Fid%3D241756978%26trk%3Dnav_responsive_tab_profile&data=02%7C01%7Cchristophe.vielle%40uclouvain.be%7C40256ed0ddeb4838a5e308d7d04fdf88%7C7ab090d4fa2e4ecfbc7c4127b4d582ec%7C0%7C0%7C637206913780321769&sdata=iF5MqCLKGXMFUJoorer1hZm9YPL8osDRUJ8QVwumGnM%3D&reserved=0> Modern Yoga Research <https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.modernyogaresearch.org%2Fevents%2F&data=02%7C01%7Cchristophe.vielle%40uclouvain.be%7C40256ed0ddeb4838a5e308d7d04fdf88%7C7ab090d4fa2e4ecfbc7c4127b4d582ec%7C0%7C0%7C637206913780331763&sdata=e7IdTC4ss7TQE3ZO%2FrmwERkxdkIEgQaH2wbDT9HM0t0%3D&reserved=0>
>>>> 
>>>> bodhapūrvam calema ;-)
>>>> 
>>>>  
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> On Tue, Mar 24, 2020 at 6:38 PM Matthew Kapstein via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info <mailto:indology at list.indology.info>> wrote:
>>>> This reminds me that one of my teachers, the great Prof. Padmanabh Jaini, lost several students in the late 70s because the job market seemed particularly bad. They switched to law and easily passed the special examinations, the "Law Boards," for entering American Law Schools. Jaini joked that the field could be saved and even expanded by converting Sanskrit to a pre-law required course.
>>>> 
>>>> Matthew Kapstein
>>>> Directeur d'études, émérite
>>>> Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Paris
>>>> 
>>>> Numata Visiting Professor of Buddhist Studies,
>>>> The University of Chicago
>>>> From: INDOLOGY <indology-bounces at list.indology.info <mailto:indology-bounces at list.indology.info>> on behalf of Christophe Vielle via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info <mailto:indology at list.indology.info>>
>>>> Sent: Tuesday, March 24, 2020 4:32 AM
>>>> To: Tieken, H.J.H. <H.J.H.Tieken at hum.leidenuniv.nl <mailto:H.J.H.Tieken at hum.leidenuniv.nl>>
>>>> Cc: indology <indology at list.indology.info <mailto:indology at list.indology.info>>
>>>> Subject: Re: [INDOLOGY] The study of Sanskrit as the epitome of uselessness
>>>>  
>>>> The Classicist Nuccio Ordine has published a stimulating (useful) essay "De l'utilité de l'inutile" (English translation: The Usefulness of the Useless").
>>>> where Sanskrit studies, together with Classics, are given as an example of (useful) usefulness, cf. p. 95 of the Engl. Transl.:
>>>> https://books.google.com/books?id=NCArDgAAQBAJ <https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.be%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DNCArDgAAQBAJ%26pg%3DPA95%26lpg%3DPA95%26dq%3Dnuccio%2Bordine%2Bthe%2Busefulness%2Bof%2Bthe%2Buseless%2Bsanskrit%26source%3Dbl%26ots%3DJmMiqWAORS%26sig%3DACfU3U0_SDl4ZpYaNsGhUnflgLpFvJYTDg%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DX%26ved%3D2ahUKEwj-rMSM5bLoAhXEMewKHYVdDp4Q6AEwAXoECAoQAQ%23v%3Donepage%26q%3Dnuccio%2520ordine%2520the%2520usefulness%2520of%2520the%2520useless%2520sanskrit%26f%3Dfalse&data=02%7C01%7Cchristophe.vielle%40uclouvain.be%7C40256ed0ddeb4838a5e308d7d04fdf88%7C7ab090d4fa2e4ecfbc7c4127b4d582ec%7C0%7C0%7C637206913780331763&sdata=q2LGOUxS9kLJgmxM36DwTNlDcDoe%2FnnX7DievE5sxH0%3D&reserved=0>
>>>> See also it in his oral presentations:
>>>> https://uclouvain.be/en/research-institutes/incal/conference-du-pr-nuccio-ordine.html <https://uclouvain.be/en/research-institutes/incal/conference-du-pr-nuccio-ordine.html>
>>>> Quel danger courons-nous actuellement ? Dans une université-entreprise, quand un professeur de sanskrit aura deux étudiants, le Conseil d’administration de l’Université pourra dire que celle-ci ne peut pas se permettre le luxe de payer un professeur de sanskrit pour deux étudiants. Demain, cela sera pour dix étudiants en grec, et après-demain pour quinze étudiants en latin.
>>>> 
>>>>> Le 24 mars 2020 à 09:49, Tieken, H.J.H. via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info <mailto:indology at list.indology.info>> a écrit :
>>>>> 
>>>>> Dear List members,
>>>>> Last night I started reading Ever After by Graham Swift. On p. 3 of the pocket edition (Vintage International) of 1993 we hear the protagonist think:
>>>>> 
>>>>> "Before they [academics] are sixty, they are emulating one of the many varieties: ... the wide-eyed, latter-day infant, helpless in all mundane matters but possessed of a profound understanding of Sanskrit."
>>>>> 
>>>>> A few months ago I was reading Nader tot U (1969) by Gerard van 't Reve gain. One of the characters has to fill in a profession on an official paper. In the end he decides to fill in "indoloog", which is considered to be better than "general in the Hungarian army" or "stratenmaker of zee" (general dogsbody) (p. 113). There is some confusion if indoloog refers to a civil servant in the Dutch Indies here (Indie verloren, rampspoed geboren) or to an indologist, which is later resolved by remarks about gurus and bhakti. I was amazed to see that I had bought the book in the summer of 1970, just a few months before I started with the study of Sanskrit.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Are there more accidental references of this type to sanskritists or indologists in literature?
>>>>> (Leaving aside Lee Siegel's novel about Professor Roth being killed by Monier-Williams Sanskrit dictionary.)
>>>>> 
>>>>> With kind regards Herman
>>>>> 
>>>>> Herman Tieken
>>>>> Stationsweg 58 <https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Fmaps%2Fsearch%2FStationsweg%2B58%2B%250D%250A%2B2515%2BBP%2BDen%2BHaag%2B%250D%250A%2BThe%2BNetherlands%3Fentry%3Dgmail%26source%3Dg&data=02%7C01%7Cchristophe.vielle%40uclouvain.be%7C40256ed0ddeb4838a5e308d7d04fdf88%7C7ab090d4fa2e4ecfbc7c4127b4d582ec%7C0%7C0%7C637206913780341764&sdata=STlWaWsjDPhBnLYa5Ke%2B4zVFn1amtKs5szWk%2FjMFWE0%3D&reserved=0>
>>>>> 2515 BP Den Haag <https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Fmaps%2Fsearch%2FStationsweg%2B58%2B%250D%250A%2B2515%2BBP%2BDen%2BHaag%2B%250D%250A%2BThe%2BNetherlands%3Fentry%3Dgmail%26source%3Dg&data=02%7C01%7Cchristophe.vielle%40uclouvain.be%7C40256ed0ddeb4838a5e308d7d04fdf88%7C7ab090d4fa2e4ecfbc7c4127b4d582ec%7C0%7C0%7C637206913780341764&sdata=STlWaWsjDPhBnLYa5Ke%2B4zVFn1amtKs5szWk%2FjMFWE0%3D&reserved=0>
>>>>> The Netherlands <https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Fmaps%2Fsearch%2FStationsweg%2B58%2B%250D%250A%2B2515%2BBP%2BDen%2BHaag%2B%250D%250A%2BThe%2BNetherlands%3Fentry%3Dgmail%26source%3Dg&data=02%7C01%7Cchristophe.vielle%40uclouvain.be%7C40256ed0ddeb4838a5e308d7d04fdf88%7C7ab090d4fa2e4ecfbc7c4127b4d582ec%7C0%7C0%7C637206913780351759&sdata=rKd2IbPaMOdA1ismT9Iag1wljwqrvfOXmurawU6MHDk%3D&reserved=0>
>>>>> 00 31 (0)70 2208127
>>>>> website: hermantieken.com <https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fhermantieken.com%2F&data=02%7C01%7Cchristophe.vielle%40uclouvain.be%7C40256ed0ddeb4838a5e308d7d04fdf88%7C7ab090d4fa2e4ecfbc7c4127b4d582ec%7C0%7C0%7C637206913780361756&sdata=MP1CBeAat2LFaniQsnXypru0oM%2BYpMzHkLm726%2FVeZg%3D&reserved=0>_______________________________________________
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>>>>> https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Flistinfo.indology.info&data=02%7C01%7Cchristophe.vielle%40uclouvain.be%7C2ebe73edfa3d487755a208d7cfd05574%7C7ab090d4fa2e4ecfbc7c4127b4d582ec%7C0%7C0%7C637206365998000549&sdata=B9%2FyGKbIEipYn6NFLro1fpP9%2FGr6HMQ%2F4maeh1BWxaU%3D&reserved=0 <https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Flistinfo.indology.info&data=02%7C01%7Cchristophe.vielle%40uclouvain.be%7C40256ed0ddeb4838a5e308d7d04fdf88%7C7ab090d4fa2e4ecfbc7c4127b4d582ec%7C0%7C0%7C637206913780361756&sdata=lqUgZHM751R9mEo5cnH3vc1aqcXSgrRSlOIXqZ934KY%3D&reserved=0> (where you can change your list options or unsubscribe)
>>>> 
>>>> –––––––––––––––––––
>>>> Christophe Vielle <https://uclouvain.be/en/directories/christophe.vielle>
>>>> Louvain-la-Neuve
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> INDOLOGY mailing list
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>>>> indology-owner at list.indology.info <mailto:indology-owner at list.indology.info> (messages to the list's managing committee)
>>>> http://listinfo.indology.info <https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Flistinfo.indology.info%2F&data=02%7C01%7Cchristophe.vielle%40uclouvain.be%7C40256ed0ddeb4838a5e308d7d04fdf88%7C7ab090d4fa2e4ecfbc7c4127b4d582ec%7C0%7C0%7C637206913780371749&sdata=Q7zBMfPg%2F%2F57fY4O1xulSzvn%2BXq5lKATOlWKlbcaEsA%3D&reserved=0> (where you can change your list options or unsubscribe)
>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>> http://listinfo.indology.info <https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Flistinfo.indology.info%2F&data=02%7C01%7Cchristophe.vielle%40uclouvain.be%7C40256ed0ddeb4838a5e308d7d04fdf88%7C7ab090d4fa2e4ecfbc7c4127b4d582ec%7C0%7C0%7C637206913780381743&sdata=mHMSAIjJyHJSjTszNgvK2PgN3WqNGrj8%2BnNmAEoib4U%3D&reserved=0> (where you can change your list options or unsubscribe)
>>> 
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>> http://listinfo.indology.info <https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Flistinfo.indology.info%2F&data=02%7C01%7Cchristophe.vielle%40uclouvain.be%7C40256ed0ddeb4838a5e308d7d04fdf88%7C7ab090d4fa2e4ecfbc7c4127b4d582ec%7C0%7C0%7C637206913780381743&sdata=mHMSAIjJyHJSjTszNgvK2PgN3WqNGrj8%2BnNmAEoib4U%3D&reserved=0> (where you can change your list options or unsubscribe)
>> _______________________________________________
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>> http://listinfo.indology.info <https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Flistinfo.indology.info%2F&data=02%7C01%7Cchristophe.vielle%40uclouvain.be%7C40256ed0ddeb4838a5e308d7d04fdf88%7C7ab090d4fa2e4ecfbc7c4127b4d582ec%7C0%7C0%7C637206913780391742&sdata=HoPxtPE6jj4BPmv0ukr%2FzyOsPKowrDZKdrgOcDOnGek%3D&reserved=0> (where you can change your list options or unsubscribe)
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>> 
>> 
>> -- 
>> Deven M. Patel
>> University of Pennsylvania
>> 
>> _______________________________________________
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>> http://listinfo.indology.info <https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Flistinfo.indology.info%2F&data=02%7C01%7Cchristophe.vielle%40uclouvain.be%7C40256ed0ddeb4838a5e308d7d04fdf88%7C7ab090d4fa2e4ecfbc7c4127b4d582ec%7C0%7C0%7C637206913780401732&sdata=ZSR3Emda%2FoS5y5GKBZSmoxoDyF5vC%2FqxtrsIhmPED0w%3D&reserved=0> (where you can change your list options or unsubscribe)
>> 
>> 
>> -- 
>> Patricia Sauthoff
>> (she/her/they/them)
>> Postdoctoral Fellow
>> AyurYog.org <https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fayuryog.org%2F&data=02%7C01%7Cchristophe.vielle%40uclouvain.be%7C40256ed0ddeb4838a5e308d7d04fdf88%7C7ab090d4fa2e4ecfbc7c4127b4d582ec%7C0%7C0%7C637206913780401732&sdata=yMx2KwEOAh6Gdf%2F4ghQ6eHyupQdMZUiePRDVpmeG9%2BI%3D&reserved=0>
>> Department of History and Classics
>> University of Alberta
>> Edmonton, Canada
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> 
> –––––––––––––––––––
> Christophe Vielle <https://uclouvain.be/en/directories/christophe.vielle>
> Louvain-la-Neuve
> 
> 
> 
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> _______________________________________________
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