Rahul Sankrityayan was an Indian writer. He had knowledge of many languages, due to which his writings were also multilingual. Sankrityayan understood many languages including Bhojpuri, Hindi, Sanskrit, Pali, Magahi, Urdu, Persian, Arabic, Tamil, Kannada, Tibetan, Sinhalese, French and Russian. Still, most of his works are in Hindi and Bhojpuri. Rahul Sankrityayan is also considered by many scholars as the “Father of Indian Travelogue”.
Rahul was born on april 9, 1893. His Original name was Kedarnath pandey, which he received at birth. Due to his faith in Buddhism, he changed his name to Rahul. Because of his ‘Sankriti’ gotra, he was called Sankrityayan. He was born in Pandaha village of Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh. Rahul Sankrityayan got married at a very young age but he never knew anything about his child-wife Santoshi. Late in life, he married Kamala Sankrityayan, an Indian writer, editor and scholar of Hindi and Nepali. The Sankrityayan couple had two children. One son – Jeta and one daughter Jaya Sankrityayan. He died on April 14, 1963 at the age of 70.
Rahul Sankrityayan Biography
| Name | Rahul Sankrityayan |
| Childhood Name | Kedarnath |
| Birth | 9 April, 1893 |
| Birth Place | Pandaha, Azamgarh UP |
| Death | 14 April, 1963 |
| Father | Pandit Govardhan Pandey |
| Degree | Mahapandit |
| Major Works | Wandering scriptures, my journey to Ladakh, Volga to Ganga, my life journey |
| Language | Easy, natural and practical Hindi language |
| Style | Descriptive, analytical and satirical style |
| Liteary Period | Modern Period |
| Geners | travelogue, story, sketch, autobiography, biography |
Father of Indian Travelogue
Rahul Sankrityayan is also considered by many scholars as the “Father of Indian travelogue”. He traveled to many places and wrote many travelogues. He was one of India’s most traveled scholars. He is known for his authentic descriptions of his travel experiences. Wandering was his nature.
Based on his experiences, he wrote a book for the convenience of wanderers, whose name is – ‘Ghumakkad Shastra’. He had gained immense knowledge and unique experiences through wandering. He did not give as much importance to formal education as he did to the education gained through wandering. ‘Volga to Ganga’ is a famous book of his. Volga to Ganga is a collection of 20 historical non-fiction short stories written by Rahul Sankrityayan. As a wanderer, Sankrityayan traveled to Russia, Korea, Japan, China and many other distant countries, where he mastered the languages of these countries and became an expert in cultural studies.
Read this article in hindi- https://hindi.ultranewstv.com/personality/rahul-sankrityayan/
