The Prakrits were Middle Indo-Aryan languages spoken between about 500 B.C. and 500 A.D. The name Prakrit (prākṛta) means ‘derived’, a name contrasting with Sanskrit (saṃskṛta) ‘complete, perfected’, reflecting the fact that the Prakrit languages were considered historically secondary to, and less prestigious than, Sanskrit.

LOST IN TRANSLATION

In grad school, I took two quarters of Sanskrit.
Two students from India, surnamed "Srivastava" (= "well-born"),
Enrolled in the first course.

They had taken the class
Because they thought it would be easy,
Like someone from Mexico taking Spanish 1.
After all, Hindi was their native language.

The class emphasized grammar,
Including the notion of "hypercorrection,"
In which Sanskrit grammarians "regularized"
The vernacular language to make it more "consistent,"
Much as my English teachers had done years previously
With the “future perfect tense” and irregular verbs.

No one on the planet ever spoke Sanskrit at home,
Nor will I ever have used the future perfect tense
(Except in this sentence).
The Srivastava sisters struggled with the formalized grammar.
They didn't make it to Sanskrit 2.

Hypercorrection will outlive us all,
No matter how well-born we are.