I do dream that sometimes in the future, I wish to be able to teach Sanskrit in an ashram school or simply to those students who would learn to love it. Not sure if academic study or a personal study is best for this.
Self-learning is always better, as then one can follow a natural growth, following one’s interest. Learning in a standard way often gets boring and one loses interest, unless the teacher is really good. Much of what is learnt through someone is anyway generally forgotten. It is mainly the essence and, most importantly, what you put into practice that remains. So I would advise that, apart from self-learning, you should start communicating with people around you in Sanskrit, even if initially you make mistakes. This is how many residents here learn Tamil. The School itself largely follows this method, which I feel is the best.
Affectionately,
Alok Da
