This Padma Shri awardee studied Hindi in Russia, then spent her life teaching it

There are journeys that begin with a destination, and there are those that begin with a question. For Dr Liudmila Khokhlova, a Russian lady, the question seems to have been Hindi.

She was born in Russia in 1945. India was thousands of kilometres away, and Hindi was hardly the obvious choice for a young Russian student. Yet, at Moscow State University, she chose to study the language. In 1970, she completed her master’s degree in Hindi language and literature.

4 years later came a doctorate in Indian linguistics, with her research comparing Hindi and Rajasthani.

In June this year, President Droupadi Murmu conferred the Padma Shri on Khokhlova for her contribution to Literature and Education.

The award recognised an academic career devoted to Indian languages and Indological studies.

“When I came to know that I had received such a big award, of course I was very happy. I felt very proud. But I feel that I have not done such a big thing that I should receive such a big award,” she said in Hindi.A RUSSIAN SCHOLAR AND THE LANGUAGE OF INDIA

At Moscow State University, Khokhlova has taught Hindi and Punjabi to students at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Her academic interests have also taken her into the history and structure of New Indo-Aryan languages, Hindi-Urdu grammar, syntax and linguistics.

The subjects may sound distant from ordinary conversation. Yet, at the centre of them is something rather simple: how people speak, how languages change and how one civilisation comes to understand another.

Over the years, her scholarship has covered Hindi, Punjabi and other Indian languages.

According to the Government of India’s Padma Awards citation, she has written six books and 92 research papers in Russian, English and Hindi.

Her work has taken her beyond Russia as well. She undertook academic visits and training at Jawaharlal Nehru University in 2007 and 2013, and at the University of Hyderabad in 2016. Her association with Indian academic institutions has included lectures and other scholarly engagements.WHEN HINDI LED TO PUNJABI

Khokhlova's intellectual journey did not stop with Hindi.

Her work eventually reached into Punjabi and the history of Sikhism. She translated Guru Nanak’s Jap Ji from Punjabi into Russian and also translated Jap Sahib, associated with Guru Gobind Singh.

For an Indian reader, these texts carry histories and traditions that may feel close at hand. For a Russian reader, encountering them in Russian opens another door.

Translation, in such a case, is more than the transfer of words from one language to another. It is an attempt to carry an idea across a distance.

Her contribution to Punjabi studies was recognised in 2005, when she received an award from Punjabi Sath in London. Two years later, the Government of India honoured her for her contribution to Hindi studies in Russia.

The Padma Shri now adds another chapter to that long record.- EndsPublished By: Rishab ChauhanPublished On: Sep 22, 2026 17:40 IST