'I work to promote Sanskrit'; Professor Rutger Kortenhorst on receiving Padma Shri Award

On Monday, President Ramnath Kovind presented Rutger Kortenhorst, an Ireland Sanskrit teacher at John Scottus Senior School in Dublin, Ireland, with the Padma Shri Award.  He was awarded the Padma Shri because of his dedicated work to propagate the Sanskrit language in Ireland.

“I work to promote Sanskrit because I love this language. I live in Ireland where we teach our students the Sanskrit language. Sanskrit gives people a deeper understanding of themselves. I am delighted and honoured to receive the Padma Shri Award,” Professor Rutger Kortenhorst was quoted as saying in a tweet by ANI. 

Rutger Kortenhorst was also honoured by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations with the 'World Sanskrit Prize' in 2020.

PM Modi praises Kortenhorst in his ‘Mann Ki Baat’

In an episode of the ‘Mann Ki Baat’ show broadcast on August 29, 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid respect to Rutger Kortenhorst. "Recently, I got to know about many such people who are engaged in the inspirational effort of teaching Sanskrit in foreign nations," Modi said in the programme. “Mr Rutger Kortenhorst, a well-known Sanskrit scholar and teacher in Ireland who teaches Sanskrit to the youngsters, is one of these individuals. The Sanskrit language is also essential in the development of cultural ties between India and Ireland.” he further added.

Sanskrit became a way of life for the Padma Shri awardee when he was just 21 years old. The Indian Embassy in Dublin published a press release that shared his journey as a Sanskrit propagator in Ireland. Kortenhorst was involved with the Advaita Vedanta Philosophy in the country. He became Dr Ramachandra Bhat's guest in Bengaluru in 2006 and 2007, where he got the opportunity to study Taittiriya Upanishad, Vyakarana, Vivekchudamani, as well as spoken Sanskrit. He learnt the language for several years before he decided to teach it in Ireland.

Not only that, Kortenhorst spent a majority of his summer holidays in India, where he stayed in Puducherry for some time.

One of India’s highest civilian honours 

President Ramnath Kovind bestowed roughly 128 Padma awards, India's highest civilian honour, in persons from many walks of life, on Monday. After the names were revealed on Republic Day two months ago, four Padma Vibhushans, seventeen Padma Bhushan, and 107 Padma Shri were awarded at a special ceremony. Nine of the 128 grantees were from outside the United States. Apart from Indian-origin awardees like Satya Nadella, Madhur Jaffrey, and Sundar Pichai, there were other recipients from Russia, Poland, Ireland, and Thailand. One of them is Rutger Kortenhorst, a lecturer who was given the Padma Shri for his work in popularising Sanskrit in Irish schools.