Would you like to have some Alookam and Raktphalam for dinner? Don’t worry, these are nothing but Sanskrit names for potatoes and tomatoes. The Nishatganj vegetable market of Lucknow has taken up a unique challenge of making their customers learn a few basics from the ancient language of Sanskrit by placing placards of Sanskrit names in front of all the vegetables.
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The mundane Aloo or potato is known as ‘Alookam’ and tomato is ‘raktphalam’. Bitter gourd or karela is known as ‘karvelah’ and carrots are ‘gunjanakkam’. While garlic is ‘lashuman’, onions are known as ‘Palanduh’ and ginger is ‘adrakam’.
Sounds interesting doesn’t it? Sonu, a vegetable seller, explained this unique experiment and said: “We thought of popularising Sanskrit and though none of us are familiar with the language, we decided to go ahead.”
Ravindra Sharma, a regular buyer at the vegetable market, lauded the initiative and said: “It is a great effort to popularise the language which is a part of our history. I have learnt the Sanskrit names of a few vegetables too.”.
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While some customers are learning the Sanskrit names of vegetables, some have termed the initiative as a sham and a publicity stunt.
A publicity stunt or a simple effort to attract sellers, we laud the information and entertainment these vegetable vendors are putting into our everyday chore. Buying veggies was never this fun!
So if you are heading to the Nishatganj vegetable market, make sure you master your Sanskrit basics. Only then will the vendors give you Palanduh and Adrakam for your meal.
