Uday Prakash

Summary

Uday Prakash (born 1 January 1952) is a Hindi poet, scholar,[1] journalist, translator and short story writer from India. He has worked as administrator, editor, researcher, and TV director.[2] He writes for major dailies and periodicals as a freelancer. He has also received several awards for his collection of short stories and poems. With Mohan Das he received Sahitya Academi Awards in 2011.[3][4] He is the first author to return his Sahitya Akademi award on September 3, 2015 against the killing of M. M. Kalburgi that initiated a storm of national protests by writers, artists,scholars and intellectuals.[5]

Uday Prakash
Born (1952-01-01) 1 January 1952 (age 72)
Anuppur, Madhya Pradesh, India
EducationM.A., BSc
GenreNovels, poetry, translation articles, TV and films

Personal life edit

Background edit

Prakash was born on 1 January 1952,[6] in the backward village of Sitapur, Anuppur, Madhya Pradesh, India.[2] He was raised by and given primary education there by a teacher.[7][8] He graduated in Science and obtained his master's degree in Hindi Literature, receiving a Gold Medal from Saugar University in 1974.[2] From 1975 to 1976, he was a research student at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU);[9] He was imprisoned as a passionate communist party member.[10] He later lost interest in political ideology.[8][11]

Career edit

In 1978 Prakash taught as an assistant professor at JNU,[12] and its Imphal Center for Post Graduate Studies. In 1980 he left academia, to become Officer-on-Special-Duty with the Madhya Pradesh Department of Culture. At the same time, he was Controlling Officer of the Bhopal Rabindra Bhawan, and assistant editor of Poorvagraha, a journal of Hindi literary criticism. (He was later critical of the Hindi literary establishment including Ashok Vajpeyi, who he worked for at Poorvagraha.)[13]

From 1982 to 1990, Prakash worked in New Delhi newspapers; first as a subeditor of the Hindi news weekly Dinmaan,[14] and later as Assistant Editor of the Sunday Mail.[2] In 1987 becoming assistant professor at the School of Social Journalism (on deputation). In 1990 he joined ITV, (Independent Television), and became head of the PTI TV Concept and Script Department. Since 1993, he has been a full-time freelance writer.[2]

Prakash was the editor of the monthly English language magazine "Eminence" (published in Bangalore) until April 2000.

He also participated in the international poetry festivals and seminars.[15][16][17]

He has also made documentary films with Sahitya Akademi, like on Dharamvir Bharti.[18] Prakash returned his Sahitya Akademi award in 2015, to protest the murder of rationalist academic M. M. Kalburgi.[19]

Bibliography edit

Peelee Chhatri Wali Ladki (2001)[20] is Prakash's best known,[21][22] and longest continuous story.[23] Often called a "novella",[24][25][26] Prakash calls it "a long short story"[6]Cheeni Baba will be his "first novel".[27] His 2006 novella Mohan Das has been translated into English,[28] seven Indian languages,[29] and adapted by the author for the "Mohandas" screenplay (2009).[22][30][31]

Poetry collections

  • Suno kārīgara (1980), Abootar Kabootar (1984), Raat Mein Harmonium (1998),[32] EK Bhasha Hua Karati Hai (2009)[33]

Short story collections He is most famous as a short story writer, with well-known work like Warren Hastings ka Saand, and its stage version by director Arvind Gaur.[34]

  • Dariyayi Ghoda (1982), Tirichh (1990),[35] Aur Ant Mein Prarthna (1994),[36]
  • Paul Gomra Ka Scooter (1997).,[37] Duttatrey Ke Dukh (2002)
  • Areba–Pareba (2006),[38] Mangosil (2006)[37][39]

Non-fiction

  • Eeshwar Ki Aankh (critical writings, essays and interviews,[6] 1999)
  • Nai Sadi Ka Panch Tantra (Essays, Comments and Criticism, 2008)
  • Apani Unaki Baat (Book of Interviews)

Translations by Prakash

Prakash has translated works by many International poets and writers into Hindi, including Pablo Neruda, Federico García Lorca, H. Luis Borges, Paul Éluard, C.P. Cavafy, Adam Jędrzejewski, and Tadeusz Różewicz. Some notable examples:

His translation of Milorad Pavić's novel Landscape painted with tea is forthcoming.[37]

Translations of Prakash's work

He is read in all Indian languages, and his translated fiction regularly features in English and German collections,[41] magazines, and complete texts:

  1. Rage, Revelry and Romance : Translated by Robert Hueckstedt, 2003[42][43]
  2. Der Goldene Gürtel : Translated by Lothar Lutze, 2007[44]
  3. Short shorts, long shots : Translated by Robert Hueckstedt and Amit Tripuraneni[11]
  4. The Girl With the Golden Parasol : Translated by Jason Grunebaum, published by Penguin India, 2008.[45] (Grunebaum received a 2005 PEN grant for the translation.[46][47]). It is available in other languages, including three separate Urdu translations,[37] and German.[48]
  5. Doktor Wakankar. Aus dem Leben eines aufrechten Hindus : Prize-winning translation of Aur Ant Mein Prarthana Translated into German (by Andre Penz).[36]
  6. The Walls of Delhi : Translated to English by Jason Grunebaum, 2012. A collection of three stories.
  7. Mohandas: Translated to Maithili by Vinit Utpal, 2013, published from Sahitya Academy, New Delhi, India

Films and media edit

'Sahitya Akademi film's on writers

Prakash has produced several films about important Hindi writers such as Ram Vilas Sharma.[49]

In an interview, Varun Grover, the lyricist of the 2015 movie Masaan, recounted that they had wanted to use one of Uday Prakash's compositions titled "Kuch Ban Jate Hain" (from Abootar Abootar).[50] The song was set to music, but at the end was not include in the film. Ultimately another song "Tu Kisi Rail Si" was used in its place (based on a poem by Dushyant Kumar).[51][52][53]

Awards edit

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Arnab Chakladar. "A Conversation with Uday Prakash, part 4". Another Subcontinent. Uday Prakash: Basically, I see myself as a poet first.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Language is a Means of Existence". www.anothersubcontinent.com. Another Subcontinent. 6 September 2007. Retrieved 24 May 2010. in 1970 I saw electricity first come to my village—at the time I was quite grown up. Before that we lived in a situation where modernity had no meaning
  3. ^ "Sahitya Akademi awards announced". The Hindu. 21 December 2010.
  4. ^ "Uday Prakash, M P Veerendra Kumar among Sahitya Akademi Award winners". Net Indian. 21 December 2010.
  5. ^ Jyoti Malhotra (24 December 2015). "Write to protest". India Today. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  6. ^ a b c "Hindi Fiction Writer and Playwright, India".
  7. ^ Rahul Soni. "Exiled from Poetry and Country: Uday Prakash". p. 3. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
  8. ^ a b Kumar, Ashok (13 December 1999). "Uday Prakash, 47". India Today. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 27 May 2010. (from Faces of the Millennium Archived 11 August 2010 at the Wayback Machine.)
  9. ^ "Exiled from Poetry and Country". Pratilipi bilingual quarterly magazine. December 2009. p. 5. Retrieved 24 May 2010. I read, in its library, a story... I can never forget that story.
  10. ^ Sengupta, Amit (25 February 2006). "The Sharp-Eyed Seer". Tehelka Magazine. I never got a job in the academic structure, they divided all the jobs between the Left and the Right
  11. ^ a b Udaya Prakāśa (2003). Short shorts, long shots. Katha trailblazer series. New Delhi: Kathā. p. 12. ISBN 978-81-87649-73-1. OCLC 55629602. He is a humanist, as many communists have always been
  12. ^ a b "UDAY PRAKASH (India)". Foundation of SAARC Writers and Literature. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
  13. ^ Prakash, A.; Rajesh, Y. P. (1 November 1995). "The Literary Mafia". Retrieved 24 May 2010. 'Nobody takes Vajpeyi seriously in Hindi literature. History will remember him as a culture czar who doled out patronage,' says Prakash
  14. ^ "Uday Prakash's Profile". Muse India. 1 November 1995. Retrieved 24 May 2010. one of the most popular as well as controversial writers in Hindi
  15. ^ "No. It's now the language of liberation". The Economic Times. Economic Times Debate. 27 April 2009. Retrieved 24 May 2010. 98% of the apex body of the organisers of VHS belonged to one Hindu caste and its sub-castes. That was the fact about this world language!
  16. ^ "Outgoing Visitors Programme". Annual report 2007. Indian Council for Cultural Relations. Archived from the original on 7 August 2009. Retrieved 24 May 2010. Shri Uday Prakash, Eminent Writer
  17. ^ "Saarc festival of literature". Archived from the original on 22 April 2012. Retrieved 26 May 2010.
  18. ^ "'youtube link'". YouTube. Archived from the original on 15 December 2021.
  19. ^ "'The writer feels more isolated than ever before': Hindi writer Uday Prakash". Indian Express. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
  20. ^ Prakash, Uday (3 March 2001). पीली छतरी वाली लड़की [The Girl With the Golden Parasol]. Vani Prakashan. p. 156. ISBN 81-7055-754-2. Archived from the original on 4 March 2012. Retrieved 27 May 2010.
  21. ^ Prakash, Uday (17 June 2006). "The one from the tribe". Tehelka Magazine. Anant Media. Uday Prakash is a celebrated Hindi writer best known for Pili Chatri Wali Ladki
  22. ^ a b Ghosh, Avijit (3 September 2009). "Mohandas – Hindi – Movie Reviews". The Times of India. Retrieved 27 May 2010. dares to raise uncomfortable questions that feel-good Bollywood prefers to ignore these days.
  23. ^ Ramesh, K. K. (31 May 2008). "Parasol With Wings". Tehelka Magazine. 5 (21).
  24. ^ Sen, Swagata (26 December 2005). "Page-turners". India Today.
  25. ^ "Acta Orientalia Review". Acta Orientalia. 67. Novus Press: 371. 2006. OCLC 145082687. the novella deals with the impact of globalisation on Indian society
  26. ^ Ines Fornell. "Das Mädchen mit dem gelben Schirm und andere Werke von Uday Prakash" [The Girl With the Golden Parasol and other works by Uday Prakash] (in German). Retrieved 26 May 2010.
  27. ^ "CULTURE & SOCIETY first look". Tehelka Magazine. 5 (12). 29 March 2008.
  28. ^ Translated by Pratik Kanjilal, published in "The Little Magazine", New Delhi
  29. ^ Subel bhandari (22 May 2009). "Yangesh: Uday Prakash's interpreter". República. Retrieved 24 May 2010. Uday Prakash, known for his style, has his book translated in eight different languages already – Other translations by: Haider Jafri Syed (Urdu), Yagyesh (Nepali), Rabinder Singh Bath (Punjabi), Vanita Sawant (Marathi), Manu Dash (Oriya), R.P. Hegade (Kannada), and Venugopalan (Telugu)
  30. ^ Ankit Ajmera (6 September 2009). "The bigger picture". DNA India. It was the mystery element in the story that really intrigued me
  31. ^ "Mohandas team".
  32. ^ Prakash, U. (1998). Raat mein harmonium. Vani Prakashan. ISBN 978-81-7055-625-1.
  33. ^ Prakash, Uday (2011). Ek bhasha hua karti hai. ISBN 9789380146003.
  34. ^ a b "Uday Prakash's Warren Hastings ka Saand (Asmitatheatre)". Asmitatheatre. Archived from the original on 21 March 2009. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
  35. ^ Prakash, Uday. Tirichh. ISBN 978-81-7055-169-0. (alternatively: "Trich")
  36. ^ a b Prakash, U. (2006). Aur Anth Mein Prarthana. Vani. ISBN 978-81-8143-600-9. - (Doktor Wakankar : Story of an Upright Hindu). The German Translation placed third by the international jury in the 2009 World Book Fair, Frankfurt, in the 'Best Seven' from Latin America, Africa and Asia category.
  37. ^ a b c d Arnab Chakladar. "A Conversation with Uday Prakash part 3". Retrieved 24 May 2010.
  38. ^ Prakash, Uday (2006). Areba-Pareba. Yatra Buksa. ISBN 978-0-14-306191-5. (Or "Areba Pareba")
  39. ^ Gokhale, Namita (17 June 2006). "Master takes". Tehelka Magazine.
  40. ^ Tully, Sir Mark; Jacob, Satish (April 1991). Amritsar: Mrs. Gandhi's Last Battle (first ed.). South Asia Books. ISBN 978-0-8364-2826-1.
  41. ^ For example: The Walls of Delhi (Jason Grunebaum translation) in Uday, Prakash (August 2009). Sawhney, Hirsh (ed.). Delhi Noir. Akashic Noir. Akashic Books. p. 246. ISBN 978-1-933354-78-1.
  42. ^ Prakash, Uday (2003). Rage, Revelry and Romance. Srishti. p. 216. ISBN 81-88575-10-0. collection of thirteen stories
  43. ^ Rage, revelry & romance. New Delhi : Srishti Publishers & Distributors. OCLC 55077657.
  44. ^ Prakāśa, Udaya (April 2007). Der Goldene Gürtel [The Golden waist-chain]. Moderne indische Literatur (in German). Heidelberg: Draupadi. ISBN 978-3-937603-14-8. Aus dem Hindi von Lothar Lutze
  45. ^ Jason Grunebaum (1 March 2010). "From The Girl with the Golden Parasol by Uday Prakash". The quarterly conversation. Retrieved 24 May 2010. Uday Prakash has been publishing fiction and poetry for over two decades in addition to an active career as a journalist, translator, playwright, producer, director and writer for film and television
  46. ^ "2005 PEN Translation Fund Grant Recipients". Retrieved 24 May 2010. This wildly postmodern narrative tells, among others, the uproarious tale of a young man's all-consuming passion for the Bollywood starlet featured in the poster on his bedroom wall.
  47. ^ "Jason Grunebaum". Archived from the original on 12 May 2012. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
  48. ^ As Das Maedchen mit dem gelben Schirm : Translated by Ines Fornell, Heinz Werner Wessler and Reinhald Schein (Peeli Chhatari Wali Ladki)
  49. ^ Udaya Prakāśa (2003). Short shorts, long shots. p. 212. ISBN 978-81-87649-73-1.
  50. ^ "Hindi Kavita – Kuch ban jaate hain – Uday Prakash: Varun Grover in Hindi Studio with Manish Gupta". Hindi Kavita. 25 October 2015.
  51. ^ Lakhani, Somya (11 September 2016). "Secret Love: How Hindi poetry has become 'cool'". The Indian Express. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  52. ^ Pal, Sanchari. "Meet the NRI Who Returned To India To Make Millions Fall in Love with Hindi Poetry". www.thebetterindia.com. The Better India. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  53. ^ Grover, Varun. "How the magic of Dushyant Kumar's poetry inspired this Bollywood lyricist". The Indian Express. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  54. ^ a b "उदय प्रकाश / Uday Prakash". Pratilipi bilingual quarterly magazine. Awarded for the poem "Tibet"
  55. ^ Amaresh, Datta (1987). The Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature. Vol. 1. New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi. p. 301. OCLC 34346316. [awarded to] the best poem of the year penned by a young author (of not more than 35 years of age).
  56. ^ Press Institute of India (1990). "AWARDS". Vidura. 27. C. Sarkar: 52.
  57. ^ "About Uday Prakash". anothersubcontinent.com. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
  58. ^ "Hindi Literature".
  59. ^ "Saarc literary awards". Retrieved 24 May 2010.
  60. ^ Supriya Nair (21 November 2012). "DSC Prize 2013 shortlist announced". Mint. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
  61. ^ "Edition 2013". Jan Michalski Foundation. Retrieved 14 September 2013.

External links edit

  •   Media related to Uday Prakash at Wikimedia Commons
  • Official website
  • Uday Prakash at Kavita Kosh Archived 23 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine