Sāṅkṛtyāyana, R.

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Rāhula Sāṅkṛtyāyana(1893 - 1963)

Rahul Sāṅkṛityāyana is called the Father of Indian Travelogue Travel literature. He played a pivotal role in giving travelogue a "literature form" and was one of the most widely travelled scholars of India, spending forty-five years of his life on travels away from his home.

He traveled to many places and wrote many travelogues, approximately in the same ratio. He is also famously known for his authentic description about his travel experiences. For instance, in his travelogue "Meri Laddakh Yatra," he presents overall regional, historical, and cultural specificity of that region judiciously. He became a Buddhist monk (Bauddha Bhikkhu) and eventually took up Marxist Socialism. Sāṅkṛityāyana was also an Indian nationalist, having been arrested and jailed for three years for creating anti-British writings and speeches. He is referred to as the "Greatest Scholar" (Mahapandit) for his scholarship. He was both a polymath as well as a polyglot. The Government of India awarded him the civilian honor of the Padma Bhushan in 1963. (Source Accessed Jan 13, 2020)

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