Suswagatam! This cab driver speaks Sanskrit

A video of an Ola driver speaking fluent Sanskrit recently went viral, with many on social media commending him for his command over a language seen as a preserve of the elite.

Mallappa V P holds a Master's degree in Sanskrit from Sri Chamarajendra Samskrita Graduation and Post Graduation Centre, Chamarajpet.  Keen to keep his interest in the language alive, Mallappa imparts his knowledge to high-school students at Venkat International Public School, Rajajinagar.

He supplements his income by driving an Ola  cab in the evening, something he has been doing for a year and a half now.

A customer was taken by surprise when he heard Mallappa speaking Sanskrit.  "He overheard me talking to someone in Sanskrit and started talking to me in the language. He asked me to welcome him and talk a bit in Sanskrit and shot a video. He sent it out on Whatsapp and Facebook and people picked it up after that," he says.

Mallappa is fluent in Sanskrit and Kannada.  "I have been learning Sanskrit since I was a
child. I love the language because it holds the key to the rich knowledge in our scriptures," he says.

No one else in his family knows the language. "But my colleagues and classmates at the centre do. So I talk to them once in a while. And if customers speak to me in this tongue, I have a chat with them, too," he says.

Mallappa says Sanskrit deserves prominence in education. "It helps us understand our culture better," he says.

When asked which other languages he spoke, Mallappa says with a laugh, "I know the language of music too; I believe it is something everyone should know. I play the keyboard and tabla. I perform at programmes where I play Sanskrit songs or devotional numbers."