VIJAYAPURA: “Guru Brahma, Guru Vishnu, Guru Devo Maheshwara,” the teacher’s voice trails off after chanting the Sanskrit verse in clear, flawless diction. Then, he goes on to ask students their name, and about their village, town or taluk and they promptly give replies in Sanskrit. He corrects any grammatical error. He winds up the language class with “Jayatu Sanskritam, Jayatu Manukulam” (Victory to Sanskrit, victory to humankind).Meet Shakeel Ahmed Moulasab Angadi, who has been teaching Sanskrit in North Karnataka for 26 years. The 55-year-old professes lifelong love for Sanskrit. And he has come up with interesting games and engaging competitions in the ancient Indian language to celebrate “Sanskrit week and month” which started on Aug 9, called World Sanskrit Day or Vishva Samskrita Divas.After passing Class X, Angadi started working in Vrushabha Lingacharya Sanskrit Pathshala, Bolegaon in Indi taluk.Angadi drew the attention of Vrushabha Lingacharya Swamiji of Bathanal Mutt for his active participation in all religious activities of the mutt and the school. Later, the Swamiji encouraged Angadi to pursue PU Sahitya course under Prahlad Bhat at Laxminarasimha Sanskrit Pathashaale at Jamkhandi.“The cultural influence of Swamiji was a big motivation for me. I’ve been teaching at Bolegaon Sanskrit Pathshala for 26 years. Sanskrit is a life language for me,” he says.Angadi says he follows Islamic traditions at home, and teaching Sanskrit has never caused any conflict. “In fact, many Islamic religious heads have appreciated my work as a teacher,” he said. His children Arfat, Arbaz, Alfiya, and Tasfiya are also studying Sanskrit.Prabhusarangadev Shivacharya, Sarangamath-Gachhinamath, Sindagi, said Angadi is a model for communal harmony. “He has shown there is no religious barrier to learning any language,” he said.