Award for Gokul Sinha
Born in 1940 in Maharani Division of Margaret’s Hope Tea Garden, Tung, eight kilometers from Kurseong and Sonada, Gokul Sinha has done his Ph.D. from the University of North Bengal as an independent scholar. He did his schooling from St. Alphonsus' School, Kurseong, and Intermediate, Bachelor's, Master's (Nepali) as a non-collegiate student.
In 1957, after undergoing Teachers’ Training in Kalimpong, he started his teaching career as Head Master from Rangbull Junior Basic School, near Darjeeling. Later, he served the Central Tibetan School Administration in Changlang, Arunachal Pradesh and Kalimpong for about twenty five years. In 1985, he joined Siliguri College where from he was superannuated in 2000. Later, he served Salesian College, Sonada; and Darjeeling Government College for a decade as a guest lecturer in the postgraduate Department of Nepali. Presently, he is working as Senior Linguist in a DIT sponsored project in the Department of Nepali, North Bengal University.
He started writing since 1957 and has a score of books and a galore of assorted articles in Nepali, English and Hindi to his credit. His early literary career abounds with poems and short stories, and later with essays, criticisms and linguistics. He has translated the Quran (1980, the first ever in Nepali), the Bible (2000 & 2002, in association with the World Bible Translation Centre) and the Gita (2008, in Jhyaure, a Nepali folk meter) besides Ghalib (1987), Tagore (1997), Devkota (2009) and many other texts and authors. His latest work is 'The Ramayana of Bhanubhakta' (2015), the first ever English translation of the Bhanubhakta Ramayana.
‘A Treatise on Nepali Language’ (1978) and ‘Role of the Gorkhas in Making of Modern India’ (2006) are his original works in English. He has edited and compiled ‘A Lexicon of Linguistic and Literary Terms’ (2004), ‘An Intensive Course in Nepali’ (2003) and ‘Nepali Annotated Cultural Vocabulary’ (2008) besides six literary journals, two commemorative volumes, one anthology of poems, and dozens of texts translated from Nepali to English, and vice-versa. Further, he has contributed on ‘A Critical Inventory of the Ramayana Studies in the World’ Vol. I & II (1991 & 1993), ‘Medieval Indian Literature’ (1990) and ‘Masterpieces of Indian Literature’ (1998) taking up their Nepali sections. Among many presentations, ‘Myths in Contemporary Indian Literature’ (2003) and ‘Nepali Ramayanas: Versions and Variations’ (2000) are his well known papers presented in national and international conferences. So far he has written preface for more than twenty five books on varied subjects.
He has been honoured with Bhanubhakta Award, Siliguri; Parasmani Award, Kalimpong; Arugi Award, Kurseong; Nepali Sahitya Sammelan Felicitation, Darjeeling; Bhasa Sangrami Felicitation, Sikkim; 6th Badrinarayan Pradhan Memorial Award, Bakhrakot, Doars, etc.
At present he lives in Rangbull, Darjeeling and divides his time with his son, daughters.
