Rahul Sankrityayan
Indian scholar and author (1893–1963) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Mahapandit Rahul Sankrityayan?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
Rahul Sankrityayan (born Kedarnath Pandey; 9 April 1893 – 14 April 1963) was an Indian author, essayist, playwright, historian, scholar of Buddhism who wrote in Hindi and Bhojpuri. Known as "father of Hindi travel literature", Sankrityayan played a pivotal role in giving Hindi travelogue a literary form. He was one of the most widely travelled scholars of India, spending forty-five years of his life on travels away from his home in locations like Russia, Tibet, China, Central Asia, etc.[1]
Rahul Sankrityayan | |
---|---|
Born | Kedarnath Pandey (1893-04-09)9 April 1893 Pandaha, Azamgarh, United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, British India |
Died | 14 April 1963(1963-04-14) (aged 70) Darjeeling, West Bengal, India |
Occupation |
|
Nationality | Indian |
Subject | Buddhism, Communism, History, Indology, philology, philosophy, Tibetology |
Notable works | Volga Se Ganga, Madhya Asia ka Itihas, Meri Jeevan Yatra, Ghumakkad Shastra |
Notable awards | 1958: Sahitya Akademi Award 1963: Padma Bhushan |
Spouse | Santoshi, Ellena Narvertovna Kozerovskaya, Kamala Sankrityayan |
Knowing around 30 languages including English, Hindi, Bhojpuri, Tibetan, Sanskrit, Pali, Russian, Arabic, etc., Sankrityayan almost always wrote in Hindi.[2] The honorific mahapandit ("Great scholar" in Hindi) has been applied before his name since his lifetime.
Sankrityayan wrote extensively, his collection of works spanning more than 100 books on various subjects like Indology, Communism, Buddhism, and philology as well as various short stories, novels and plays. He was awarded the 1958 Sahitya Akademi Award for his 2 volume "Madhya Asia ka Itihaas" (History of Central Asia).[2][3] The Government of India awarded him the Padma Bhushan, the country's third-highest civilian award, in 1963.[4] He died the same year, aged 70.