The Centre of Oriental Literature of the Russian State Library prepared new videos for those who are fond of culture and art of African and Asian countries. Absolutely diverse materials are likely to satisfy the curiosity of most sophisticated audiences. Are you keen on oriental languages? Or would you like to enjoy the incredible poetry of the Ramayana or try to leaf through the text of the authentic Mahabharata? You are welcome to start your acquaintance with the ancient Indian written language with the lectures by the representatives of the Society of Sanskrit Lovers “Lessons on Ancient Indian Script” candidate of Philology Marcis Gasuns and Olga Litvinenko, teacher, calligrapher and sanskritist:  

Lecture one. Introduction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF5kCJebeeg.

Lecture two. Consonants: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEY0TcuLOyA.

Lecture three. Semi-vowels and sibilants: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWljzMJCKHM.

Lecture four. Vowels: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjFZs_sgRgc.

Lecture five. Ligatures: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjFZs_sgRgc.

Nikolay V. Polonsky, historian and teacher, specialist in ruling dynasties, member of History and Genealogy Society, Russian Noble Assembly and the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society, proceeds with his captivating story of the monarchies of the Persian Gulf. This time Mr Polonsky will tell us about ruling dynasties of the Kingdom of Bahrain, the present ruling family of which is so actively represented in social networks, which makes their life incredibly open to the public. The Bahrain of nowadays and the Bahrain in its historic retrospective is going to be in focus. There will be mentioned political interrelations and days of Bahrain in Russia, too. If you wish to get all that and far more, feel free to join lecture “The Kingdom of Bahrain – the Heritage of Centuries” on the link .

And finally, those ones who are interested in theatre and performing arts, will doubtlessly appreciate the performance of the three chapters of the “Book of Beauty” (“Sundarākāṇḍa”), the fifth book of the Ramayana, by drama actress Oksana Sobaka. Bilingua – play “Ramayana. Sundarākāṇḍa. Three Chapters” can be accessed over here.

All the video materials of the RSL Centre of Oriental Literature are available on the official YouTube channel of the Russian State Library.