Kashmir’s past is full of extraordinary personalities who not only because of their achievements but also because of their personalities deserve to be held up as examples for the future. Their character and work has had an enriching effect not only on Kashmir but also on the world of science and universal knowledge and have earned international respect as a result. One such name is that of Sir Marc Aurel Stein. His name is linked forever with the Silk Road of Cnetral Asia-one of the great romantic and evocative images of the East. The range and importance, style and success of Stein’s archaeological finds have indeed immortalized him in the annals of human history, but what lifts his achievements into a special category is the historical vision as a Sanskrit scholar that to the end motivated his questing. Explorer, archaeologist and geographer, Stein is always acknowledged immediately, but a Sanskritist seldom, perhaps never. Even though Aurel Stein was the first among Europeans to understand the ethos of Kashmir’s culture and recognize the value of its contribution to the history of world culture, yet his biographers have given only scanty accounts of his life and labours in Kashmir. What the reader is now bolding is not a biography of Sir Aurel Stein, nor is it a book on Kashmir history. In fairness it may be considered a memoir to Sir Aurel Stein’s Kashmir Life. It is a homage to his achievements as a Sanskrit scholar and his relations with his adopted home-Kashmir and its native scholrs. The book is a comprehensive research document which obliterates the gulf of time and distance that had so far obscured Stein’s life and labours in Kashmir. It brings the spotlight on Stein’s lesser known aspects and thus is an attempt to make known aspects and thus is an attempt to make him a better known figure than he is today. To sum up. The book shifts the focus on aurel Stein from Central Asia to Kashmir and thereby breaks a new ground in Stein Scholarship.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR S.N. Pandita
A well-known researcher and author of Western Indologists and sanskrit Savants of Kashmir, S.N. Pandita is grandson of Professor Nityanand Shastri whom Sir Aurel Stein referred as the "Crest Jewel amongst the scholars of Kashmir". S.N. Pandita, with his pioneering research work in the field of history of scholarship in Kashmir during the late 19th and 20th century under the Dogra rule has introduced a new subject in Kashmir studies. A young researcher and avid writer of articles and papers, S.N. Pandita has attended more than 43 seminars and conferences including 5 national seminars. He has published a large numbers of papers, some of which are found as chapters in various books. Besides, he has delivered many lectures on topics in the filed of his specialisation both in India and abroad including the one delivered at the prestigious Nehru Centre, London. He is well known in the cultural and literary circles of Kashmir for his deep and first hand knowledge on Sir Aurel Stein's labours in Kashmir. In recognition of his work he was invited by the University of Pecs, Hungary to participate inan International Centenary Seminar on Sir Aurel Stein and is now invited by the De Montfort University, Leicester, U.K. to present the results of his new research work on the same subject. S.N. Pandita hold the rare distinction along with Sir Aurel Stein and Dr. M.M. Parker to have made comprehensive status assessment of one of the largest Sanskrit manuscript storehouses of ancient Sanskrit Manuscript Library, Jammy. Recipient of an International award given by Shogden Tibetan Internaitonal Society and Atisha Award by Atisha Trust for Excellence in research in the area of cultural heritage, S.N.Pandita is presently engaged in the preparation of 'Index Code List' of Sharada Manuscripts of Kashmir lying in various international libraries. His other two works viz: Nityanand Shastri: A Portrait through Letters and Profiles and 'Pentad of Codices', an account of history of five rare oriental manuscripts are also nearing completion. Described as 'rare researcher', S.N. Pandita is Founder Member and Secretary of N.S. Kashmir Research Institute, New Delhi. Besides, he also holds membership of various cultural and academic bodies which includes that of Kashmir Education, Culture and Science Society where he is also a member of the working group on International Research and Library Committee.
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