A university founded by a group of enthusiastic Indian Americans two years ago to teach Sanskrit and dispel the image of Hinduism as a superstitious religion has found few takers in the US.
Faculty members far outnumbered students during the Hindu University's first convocation Wednesday at Orlando, reported the Orlando Sentinel.
Only two students graduated this year, it said. But only one of them, Jessica Sayles, turned up. Despite all this, the organisers held a typical Hindu ceremony, lighting the traditional lamp and invoking the goddess of learning, Saraswati, to bless the university's efforts as others chanted hymns.
Today the total number of students in the university, both full- and part-time, is around 60. Among them, 15 are from Orlando and 45 from other parts of the US and India.
Several Indian Americans had taken a keen interest in setting up the university, which they hoped would create an interest among members of the community who have lost touch with their culture.
The university was started by a few Hindu enthusiasts in an old house with a staff and a faculty of two. In 2002, a neighbour donated an adjoining 2.5 acres that added 5,000 sq feet of modular classrooms and offices.
It is now housed on a 10-acre site. A two-story administrative building is to be built soon.
Moving on with the times, it has even started an innovative course using ancient Hindu philosophy on "How to be an effective CEO: Leadership Lessons from Hindu Tradition".