09-05-2005, 04:02 PM
<b>Age old mantra: Vedic ed schools</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->UJJAIN: Like a blast from the past, a rhythmic chanting of Vedic mantras greets anybody entering the Navi Mandal Veda Vidya Mandir in the heart of Ujjain.
Inside, 80 boys, between 8 and 18, in white dhoti and kurta with tricolour angavastrams recite the shlokas in unison.
Their heads are shaved, save for a tuft of hair tied in a knot at the back. There are no desks and chairs; pupils sit on the floor to study.
<b>In an age when children surf the Net and dream of careers in the Silicon Valley, these kids are preparing to become priests.</b>
In this ancient holy city, a three-hour drive from Bhopal, there are several schools where students are taught the Vedas so they may become priests in the temples or pundits of âdharmashastraâ...........
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Sitting in India these reporters have no clue about empty Silicon Valley office buildings.
Inside, 80 boys, between 8 and 18, in white dhoti and kurta with tricolour angavastrams recite the shlokas in unison.
Their heads are shaved, save for a tuft of hair tied in a knot at the back. There are no desks and chairs; pupils sit on the floor to study.
<b>In an age when children surf the Net and dream of careers in the Silicon Valley, these kids are preparing to become priests.</b>
In this ancient holy city, a three-hour drive from Bhopal, there are several schools where students are taught the Vedas so they may become priests in the temples or pundits of âdharmashastraâ...........
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Sitting in India these reporters have no clue about empty Silicon Valley office buildings.