This is the first English biography of the Belgian Jesuit, Padma Bhushan recipient and renowned scholar of Hindi, Awadhi and Sanskrit: Father Camille Bulcke (1909–1982). Father Bulcke came to India when it was still a British colony, found spiritual inspiration in the life and compositions of the great Indian poet Goswami Tulsidas, and emerged as one of the renowned exponents of the Ramkatha (The Story of Rama) and the Hindi language. This book attempts to read and critically examine his life, while also analysing his writings on comparative religious studies. In doing so, it provides a brief overview of the world of Hindi literature and its development in postcolonial India through the contributions of Father Bulcke, and highlights the cultural and religious encounters between the West and the East, Europe and India, Christianity and Hinduism.

‘Father Camille Bulcke was an exceptional missionary who devoted his entire life to serving Hindi. Buckle's lifelong association with Ramcharitmanas and its remarkable creator, Tulsidas, brought some of the finest writings on the genesis and development of Ramkatha. As a distinguished lexicographer, Bulcke compiled an excellent English–Hindi dictionary, which is very useful even after so many decades. This book offers a fascinating account of Bulcke's life, his times and his contribution to India and the Hindi world.'

Emmanuel Baxla - Fr Camille Bulcke Research Centre

‘After my arrival in India in 1965, I lived in the same house (Manresa) as Father Bulcke's in Ranchi, and he directed me in my study of Hindi and Sanskrit. Once a week we went for a 20-kilometre cycle ride, regularly overtaken by dangerous trucks. He told me he would cycle in the middle of the road: ‘You still have a longer life to live than me.' This snehi, loving and humane Father Bulcke emerges beautifully in this book, as much as the great scholar and the ascetic Jesuit. The backdrop descriptions of his native Flanders, his Allahabad maika and the Ranchi guru-ship are most interesting. His hearing impairment made his life at times lonely, but he found a firm footing in spirituality, both Christian and Rama-oriented, although some may argue that the juxtaposition of Christ and Tulsidas as the idols of Bulckeji is too simplistic. The synthesis of Bulckeji's life in the conclusion is a remarkable piece of balanced scholarship.'

Winand M. Callewaert - Katholieke Universiteit Leuven

‘This critical biography of the remarkable Camille Bulcke is both an appreciative assessment of his extraordinary contributions to Ramayana scholarship, lexicography and inter-religious understanding and a nuanced appraisal of his complex and at times contradictory motivations as a devout Catholic missionary, born-again Indian and scholar and votary of Tulsidas, who served his adopted nation and its people with wholehearted devotion. In the polarised and politicised climate of twenty-first-century India, Baba Bulcke's unflinching commitment to active prem—for desh, bhasha, samskriti and log—transcending religious and class barriers, is inspiring even in its imperfections.'

Philip Lutgendorf - University of Iowa

‘This is a lovely book. It reveals, layer by layer, the profound forms of knowledge and respect that can connect people of very different religious traditions, through examining the life of Camille Bulcke, a Flemish Jesuit and scholar sent to India in the 1930s as a missionary, but whose embrace of Hindi and respect for Hinduism and the work of Tulsidas on Ramcharitmanas were transformative for both Indian and European audiences. Ravi Dutt Bajpai and Swati Parashar have not only provided a penetrating biography of this priest, his love for the Hindu saint and poet Tulsidas and the limitations of his cosmology, but have also brought the reader into the linguistic, theological, poetic and methodological forms that engage and enliven connections across worlds. The divinities must be pleased.'

Cecelia M. Lynch - University of California, Irvine

‘Amidst the turbulence of today's world, where uncertainty looms large, the solace and enlightenment drawn from history are invaluable. Father Camille Bulcke emerges as a beacon from not-so-distant times, his life a testament to the virtues of compassionate transgression and intellectual endeavour. Hailing from Belgium, this Jesuit missionary transcended boundaries as a noted Indologist and Ramkatha exponent, leaving behind a legacy rich in social understanding. In an era marked by entrenched ideologies, figures like Father Bulcke are scarce. Their commitment to dialogue and understanding stands in stark contrast to prevailing hardline positions. Bajpai and Parashar's book pays fitting tribute to Father Bulcke, capturing the essence of his mission: fostering harmony amidst cultural diversity and divergent belief systems.'

Priyankar Upadhyay - Peace Research Institute Oslo

‘A portrait of a charming man and engaged scholar who was a bundle of contradictions-devoted to Tulsidas but also to the idea that Christianity is the only path to salvation.’

Ruth Vanita - author of The Dharma of Justice in the Sanskrit Epics (2021)