[4] Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India and a favourite student of Pandit Sharma, was instrumental in getting his works published after his death.

[3] Pandit Ramavatara Sarma was born the son of a Bhumihar Brahmin Sanskrit guru, Dev Narayan Pandey, on 6 March in Chapra which lies on the northern bank of the river Ganges in the state of Bihar.

His father asked him to join him in his work when he was 12 so young Ramavatara headed for India's greatest seat of Sanskrit learning, Varanasi, and became a disciple of Gangadhar Shastri, the most famous guru of the day.

He took admission to Queen's College in Benaras which was patronised by Dr Annie Besant and completed his Sahityacharya the same year, topping the list.

But one of the professors at Queen's College, Dr Vennis, happened to comment that were he to acquire some knowledge of English he would fare better.

At this Ramavtar Sarma went right off to pawn his only prized possession, his lota and borrow a copy of the Encyclopædia Britannica which he read through once.

[2] He had a brilliant career as a student of Sanskrit in which he earned the oriental degrees of Kavyatirtha, Vyakarnacharya, Sahityacharya, etc., having received his education under the guidance of his father at an early stage and later under the tutorship of the famous Pandit Mahamahopadhyaya Gangadhar Shastri of Queen's College, Benares.

His guru had tears running down his cheeks at his disciple's show of erudition but he said, 'Since you have put me down in my own city, go, may none of your work be ever completed.'

This story was told me by his eldest and dearest daughter, Indumati Tewari who herself had two MA degrees from Benaras Hindu University, having topped both subjects, Sanskrit and Hindi.

However, when Dr Annie Besant tried to impose norms of attire on the lecturers, Ramavtar Sarma reacted,'Clothes are for comfort.

He went back home but the fledgling university at Patna needed someone to head its combined department of Hindi and Sanskrit and invited him over.

Meanwhile, the founder of world-renowned Benaras Hindu University was doing the rounds at Patna, hoping to rope in Ramavtar Sarma for his pet project at BHU, the first-ever college of Indology.

Ramavtar relented when he failed to win the well-known Premchand Raichand scholarship which went to Radha Kumud Mukherji, a much junior man.

However, as the royal cavalcade approached Ruia Hostel where Indology classes were held, Ramavtar Sarma went and stood on the verandah, clad in his dhoti and chauband.

Much later Indumati Tewari, his eldest daughter explained, 'That was a day for a dip in the Ganges and my mother gathered all us children and took us to Assi Ghat.

The Patna College Magazine dated 3 April 1929 wrote, that he was 'a consummate scholar of encyclopaedic knowledge, a powerful rationalistic thinker ... of marked poetic talents.

The Gaiwad Oriental Series Institute wrote, '(His death) removes from the field of Indology and ardent worker and a specialist in lexicography.'

An article on Ramavtar Sarma entitled 'India's Greatest Forgotten Genius' by Shruti Shukla first appeared in The Hindustan Times, Patna Edition, dated 5 September 1986.