Google Doodle celebrates Nain Singh Rawat's 187th birthday: Who was he?

Disguised as a Tibetan monk, Rawat determined exact location and altitude of Tibetan capital Lhasa

Google on Saturday celebrated the 187th birthday of Nain Singh Rawat, a 19th-century Indian mountaineer who was the first man to survey Tibet and one of the first to explore the Himalayas for the British.  

 

The Doodle portrays Rawat as he might have looked on his travels — solitary and courageous, looking back over the distances he had walked, rosary beads in hand, and staff by his side.

Born in 1830 in Millam, Johar (present-day Uttarakhand, Rawat visited Tibet with his father where he picked up the local language and traditions.

Here are 10 things to know about the Indian explorer:

1. In the 19th century, the British were hungry for cartographic details of Tibet and wanted to understand the local customs but Europeans were not welcome everywhere at that time. Therefore, they took the help of trained locals to expedite their quest. Rawat was among the selected group of local explorers.

2. Rawat, who was among the selected group of local explorers, was recognised as a prominent explorer by highly educated and brave local men trained in geographical exploration.

3. Disguised as a Tibetan monk, Rawat walked from his home region of Kumaon to places as far as Kathmandu, Lhasa, and Tawang.

4. Rawat determined the exact location and altitude of Tibetan capital Lhasa, mapped the Tsangpo river, and described in mesmerising detail fabled sites such as the gold mines of Thok Jalung.

5. He maintained a precisely measured pace, covering one mile in 2,000 steps, and measured those steps using a rosary.

6. Rawat hid a compass in his prayer wheel and mercury in cowrie shells and even disguised travel records as prayers.

7. Rawat’s first exploration journey was with the Germans between 1855-1857. He travelled to Manasarovar and Rakas Tal lakes and then to Gartok and Ladakh.

8. He trained for two years at the Great Trigonometric Survey office in Dehradun, mastering the knowledge of surveying locations. His greatest journey is believed to be in 1873-75 where he voyaged from Leh in Ladakh to Assian via Lhasa.

9. Rawat was presented with an inscribed gold chronometer by the Royal Geographic Society in 1868 for his exploration. He was also conferred with the award of the Victoria or Patron’s Medal of the RGS in 1877 along with an inscribed watch by the Society of Geographers of Paris.

10. In 2004, a postage stamp, featuring his picture, was issued commemorating his role in the aforementioned survey. The erstwhile Indian government bestowed two villages as a land-grant to him.

Nain Singh Rawat died on February 1, 1882, at Moradabad due to cholera.