Lalit Gupta
The passing away of Prof. Ved Kumari Ghai marks the end of an era. The life saga of the daughter of the soil, a scholar extraordinaire, social worker, and an eminent Jammuite, will remain a source of inspiration for generations to come. Following a brief illness, the 91-year old Professor of Sanskrit, erudite academician, Indologist, epigraphist, and polyglot breathed her last at Sainik Colony, Jammu, on May 30, 2023.
Ved Kumari Ghai was born in the progressive family of Barkat Ram Ghai and Vidyawati Ghai on 16th November 1932, in Pratap Garh Mohalla of Jammu. She did her schooling at the Arya Samaj School, in Jammu, where her mother was the principal. Along with Matric, she also studied Sanskrit and passed the examination of ‘Pragya’. During her college days, she qualified for the examination of ‘Prabhakar’. Since there was no provision for post-graduation studies in Sanskrit at Jammu, she completed her M.A. in Sanskrit at Jalandhar from Punjab University in 1953 and got first position. She did her M.A. in Ancient Indian History and Culture in 1958 and her Ph.D. in Sanskrit in 1960 from Banaras Hindu University (BHU) under Prof. Suryakant Tripathi. It was at BHU that she also had the privilege of the guidance of Vasudev Sharana Agarwal, the world-famous scholar of cultural history, Sanskrit and Hindi literature, numismatics, museology, and art history. She got married to Dr. Ram Prasad, a Sanskrit scholar of eminence.
Back in Jammu, the couple was steeped in Jammu’s ancient tradition of Sanskrit poetics and learning by Dogra intellectual-scholar like Pandit Kaka Ram Shashtri. Ved Kumari Ghai started her career as a professor of Sanskrit at Government College for Women, Parade,
Jammu. She was one of the founder teachers of the Post Graduate Department of Sanskrit in Jammu University. She taught in the department for a period of 30 years until her retirement on 31 December 1991. She also taught Panini’s Sanskrit grammar and literature at the Institute of Indian Studies, Copenhagen University, Denmark in 1966-1967 and 1978-1980. In Denmark, she also did research in Dogri Phonetics. She also played an important role in the establishment of the Department of Dogri at Jammu University.
As an academician/teacher, she touched the lives of many students and guided a number of Ph.D. scholars. She led many of students to become the torchbearers of Sanskrit teaching in colleges and the universities of Jammu and Kashmir and other parts of the country.
Books: Bestowed with a sharp sense of analysis and clarity of expression, she was a polyglot, who other than Sanskrit, English also had equal command over Dogri and Hindi. She wrote 30 books amongst which are Kashmir Darpan, Kashmir ka Sanskrit Sahitya ko Yogdan. She is particularly world famous for her scholarly translation in Hindi and English of Nilamat Purana, the 6th century BCE Sanskrit manuscript that throws light on the socio-cultural history of Kashmir and adjoining areas. As a creative writer in Sanskrit, she created new genres by her writings.
She, together with her scholarly husband Prof. Ram Pratap, has co-authored books like Bhallatshtak, Urmika (a collection of Sanskrit poems), and Mere Geet Tumhaaray Hain (Hindi). Prof. Ram Pratap has been awarded Abhinava Gupta Alankaran, by the Executive Council of AIOC on 12 October, 2006, in Jammu University.
Ved Kumari Ghai contributed scores of scholarly chapters, hundreds of research papers, and articles in books and academic journals in different languages. She has also made a silent but pivotal contribution to the struggle for recognition of Dogri as one of the national languages. Her books in Dogri include Narendra Darpana, a Dogri translation of Vedic hymns in verse, and Dogri translations of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras.
Contributions beyond Academia: A staunch Gandhian, who wore Khadi all her life, Ved Kumari Ghai was not only an iconic scholar and academician but a dedicated and active social worker. She worked extensively as the founder-president of Vasudhaiva Kutumbhkam Society which imparts free education, books, and uniforms to slum and poverty-stricken children. Besides, she also worked at Neha Ghar, a home for destitute women, and also for Gandhi Seva Sadan, Jammu, where she remained its Chairman for 22 years. She was a member of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board as well as the Amarnath Shrine Board.
She was the moving force behind setting up in 1969, a Naturopathy Institution at Ambphalla, Jammu, under the aegis of the family trust established in the memory of her parents.
Awards & Honours: For her significant contribution to the field of literature and education, Prof. Ved Kumari Ghai was awarded the country’s fourth highest civilian award, the Padma Shri Award at a Civil Investiture Ceremony, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi on 31 March 2014.
She was also bestowed with a Certificate of Honour by the President of India for her scholarship in Sanskrit and Gold Medal in 1995 by Jammu and Kashmir Government for social work. Her other honors include President’s Award for Sanskrit in 1997, the Dogra Ratan Award in 2005, the lifetime achievement award in 2009, and Stri Shakti Puraskara in 2010.
Condolences: The passing away of Prof Ved Kumari Ghai who made indelible contributions to the field of Sanskrit scholarship and learning, Indology, epigraphy, and social work, has been widely mourned. The eminent personalities, who have sent condolences on her ‘nirvana’, include Shri Narendra Modi, Prime Minster of India, Dr. Jitendera Singh, Minister of State, (Independent Charge) in PMO’s Office, Manoj Sinha, Lieutenant Governor of Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir, Dr. Karan Singh, Former Union Minister and Rajya Sabha Member, Prof Umesh Rai, Vice Chancellor, University of Jammu.
A number of organizations and NGOs of Jammu who condoled her death are Dogri Sanstha, J&K, Dharmartha Trust, Shri Gandhi Seva Sadan, Arya Samaj, Trikuta Nagar, and Members of Central Govt. Pensioners’ Welfare Association. Prof Ved Kumari Ghai is survived by her husband, Prof Ram Pratap, Bhavana, and Virbhanu (daughter-in-law and son respectively), Dr. Richa, and Dr. Pawan Arora (daughter and son-in-law respectively).
The true daughter of Saraswati, she earned recognition and praise from scholars around the world for her devotion to culture, social work, and indigenous traditions of Kashmir and Jammu, and above all the enrichment of Sanskrit learning in our times. Prof Ved Kuamri Ghai, who was a unique amalgam of ‘Maitri’ (loving kindness), ‘Karuna’ (compassion), and ‘Mudita’ (joy), will surely be will be remembered for generations to come.
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