A cricket tournament in Varanasi, with a Sanskrit touch

Clad in traditional attire of dhoti and kurta, youngsters showed they were completely at ease on the cricket pitch as commentary in Sanskrit flowed as freely here as the runs off the bat.

They usually spend their days learning Vedic scriptures but young students of Sampurnanand Sanskrit Vidyalaya on Tuesday showcased their cricketing skills in a tournament that borrows heavily from ancient Indian traditions.

Clad in traditional attire of dhoti and kurta, the youngsters showed they were completely at ease on the cricket pitch as commentary in Sanskrit flowed as freely here as the runs off the bat. Each player had tripund (three lines of Shiva Linga) on their forehead as they batted, bowled and fielded with complete commitment under a bright and sunny sky.

The tournament is being organised by Sampurnanand Sanskrit Vidyalaya on the occasion of its 75th founding year and its head - Pawan Kumar Shastri - said that tradition and sports like cricket can be brought together in a beautiful confluence. This, according to him, is what brought about the idea of organising a cricket tournament in a traditional format. He added that five teams from various schools are participating in the tournament and that the crowd to watch the matches has been very encouraging.

Apart from the cricket tournament, Shastri said that Sampurnanand Sanskrit Vidyalaya is also organising a number of other events over the course of the next few days to celebrate its 75th founding year.