He is known as the pioneer of modern Garhwali poetry and for his contribution to Indian folk-lore, specially that of Garhwal, Uttarakhand.
Born in Dhal Dung village, patti Badiyar Garh in the princely state of Tehri Garhwal in 1875, Tara Dutt Gairola had a long and productive law career in Dehradun and Srinagar.
In his spare time, he collected heroic ballads and devotional songs performed by the 'Hurkiyas', the local bards of Uttarakhand.
[1] This book collates the English translations of a form of Garhwali and Kumaoni folk heroic ballads called 'Veergatha'.
Gairola is also known for 'The Songs of Dadu’ with a historical Introduction by Tara Dutt Gairola and a foreword by Annie Besant published in Benares City: The Indian Bookshop, Theosophical Society, (1929) Tara Dutt Gairola edited the first ever Garhwali poetry collection ‘Garhwali Kavitavali’ consisting of a collection of poems by various modern Garhwali poets.