Professor (Dr) Satyapal Shrivatsa was born on June 11, 1932 at village Surari, tehsil Billawar in Kathua district of Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir State. During his over 40-year long professional career, which he had started as a teacher in a very remote village, he rose to become a renowned Professor.

In the literary field, he continued his odyssey defying time and age. He was a karmyogi in true sense, who remained active till he breathed his last.

An illustrious scholar, an author par excellence and an avid learner, he gained prominence in the field of literature with his distinctive and highly inspirational works. One can briefly sum up the profile of this eminent literary scholar yet his persona is beyond this customary frame of renowned literary figures.

Prof Shrivatsa was truly an original writer whose wide knowledge and works transcended linguistics, having grip on four languages. Apart from vast knowledge of Hindi and English literature, Prof Shrivatsa also had a grip on Sanskrit like his mother tongue Dogri. He wrote several books in Dogri and translated Shakespearean classics like“Macbeth”.

His books and immaculately done translational works continue to inspire generations of Hindi, Sanskrit and Dogri lovers.He encouraged the younger generations to explore new possibilities and carry out research in the literary world of classics. He was a fatherly figure who taught hundreds of students every year during his career as a teacher in various colleges of the State and simultaneously rose to become a renowned author.

Prof. Shrivatsa was the master of oriental literature with a global outlook who enthused not only his contemporaries but equally inspired the youngsters. An affable person, Prof Shrivatsa enjoyed a comfortable relationship with students all through his life, a rarest quality that made him highly popular among the younger generations who were drawn towards his literary achievements. He was a teacher,student, friend and a guide to them.

Prof Satya Pal Shrivatsa carved a niche for himself in an era when things were tough and places remote. Having passion for learning and writing, Prof Shrivatsa beat both and battled against all odds of his time. If writing was his passion, translating the literary works was his forte. This strength and specialty won him many prestigious awards at national and state level.

What made him different was his distinctive style of writings and the immaculately done pieces of translation works that were propelled to perfection by dint of his determination and dedication, the qualities that enabled him to emerge as renowned scholar. The doyen of Dogri literature left a vacuum in the field of literature when he left for heavenly abode on December 13, 2016 after a brief illness.