Tapan Kumar Pradhan
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Tapan Kumar Pradhan (born 22 October 1972) is an Indian poet, writer and translator from
Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...
. He is best known for his poem collection "Kalahandi" which was awarded second place in
Sahitya Akademi The Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India. Founded on 12 March 1954, it is supported by, though independent of the Indian government. Its off ...
's Golden Jubilee ''Indian Literature'' Translation Prize for Poetry in 2007. His other works include "Equation", "I, She and the Sea", "Wind in the Afternoon" and "Dance of Shiva".


Early life and education

Pradhan was born on 22 October 1972 at Shahid Nagar in
Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar () is the capital and the largest city of the States and territories of India, Indian state of Odisha. It is located in the Khordha district. The suburban region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Chakra ...
,
Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...
, and spent his childhood in Kalahandi,
Nuapada Nuapada is a town in western region of Odisha state of eastern India. It is the headquarter of Nuapada district. Nuapada district was carved out of the undivided Kalahandi district on 27 March 1993. It is on the western border of Odisha with C ...
,
Keonjhar Kendujhar, also known as Keonjhar, is a town with municipality in Kendujhar District in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the administrative headquarters of the Kendujhar district, and it is one of the fifth scheduled areas of Odisha ...
and
Laxmisagar Laxmisagar (ଲକ୍ଷ୍ମୀସାଗର) is a famous place in Bhubaneswar, the capital of Odisha. Etymologically the name is derived from the words "Laxmi", meaning the Hindu Goddess of Wealth, and "Sagar", which in Sanskrit means the sea o ...
. He studied at Laxmisagar Highschool, BJB College and
Utkal University Utkal University (UU) is a public university in Bhubaneswar, Khordha, Odisha, and is the oldest university in the state, and the 17th-oldest university in India. The university was established in 1943 and was operating from Ravenshaw College ...
. He also studied briefly at
University of Hyderabad The University of Hyderabad (UoH) is a prestigious public central research university located in Gachibowli, Hyderabad, Telangana, India. Established in 1974, this mostly residential campus has more than 5,000 students and 400 faculty, from ...
, TISS and
IIT Kanpur The Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT- Kanpur or IIT-K) is a public institute of technology located in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. As an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), it was declared an Institute of National Importance by th ...
where he discontinued. His father Arakshit Pradhan was an engineer under
Government of Odisha The Government of Odisha and its Districts of Odisha, 30 districts consists of an executive branch, executive, led by the List of Governors of Odisha, Governor of Odisha, a judiciary, and a legislative branch. Like other states in India, the ...
but left job in protest against rampant corruption in Government projects. After Arakshit Pradhan left for
Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...
, the family was brought up by his wife Kumudini Pradhan.


Award-winning works

In 2007, Pradhan received the Indian Express Citizen for Peace prize from
Shyam Benegal Shyam Benegal (14 December 1934 – 23 December 2024) was an Indian film director, screenwriter and documentary filmmaker. Often regarded as the pioneer of parallel cinema, he is widely considered as one of the greatest filmmakers post 1970s. H ...
for his essays on communal harmony. He has also won First Prize in All-India Inter-bank Hindi Essay Competition for 2007–08, a prize he also won in 2006–07 for his essays on micro-finance and financial inclusion. He also won First Prize in the RBIA Silver Jubilee essay competition on Future of Central Banking conducted by Reserve Bank of India in 2007–08. He was the First Prize winner in RBI Brand Building Competition, 2007 for his bold satirical essay "Dreaming the RBI Brand", which created shock waves in the Reserve Bank fraternity. During his student days he had won many literary prizes including Upasika Kamaladevi Award for essays on Buddhism, Shatadru prize for short story and Ankur prize for poetry etc. He was
Utkal University Utkal University (UU) is a public university in Bhubaneswar, Khordha, Odisha, and is the oldest university in the state, and the 17th-oldest university in India. The university was established in 1943 and was operating from Ravenshaw College ...
literary champion during 1993–94. Pradhan's poem "The Buddha Smiled" won commendation first prize in All India Poetry Competition 2013 conducted by Poetry Society (India).


Other literary works

Pradhan's works encompass both secular and spiritual literature. His poems, essays, sketches and short stories have been published in the journals ''Indian Literature'', ''Journal of Poetry Society'', ''The Statesman'', ''Times of India'' and ''The Samaja''. His book “Kalahandi” has been included in literature syllabus of several colleges and universities. He has also co-authored, edited and commented on the spiritual works of
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
Christian poet Antony Theodore and mystic Kashmiri poet Lalitha Iyer showing the underlying unity of all world religions. His skillful translation of Urdu poetry helped Munawwar Rana's
ghazal ''Ghazal'' is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry that often deals with topics of spiritual and romantic love. It may be understood as a poetic expression of both the pain of loss, or separation from the beloved, and t ...
s reach global audience.


Human rights and crusade against corruption

In 2009, Pradhan petitioned the
Central Information Commission The Central Information Commission is a statutory body, set up under the Right to Information Act in 2005 under the Government of India to act upon complaints from those individuals who have not been able to submit information requests to a Ce ...
of India to increase transparency in the Performance Appraisal System in RBI. Pradhan was first person in RBI and public sector employee to obtain his PAR report through RTI Act. As against CIC's view that PAR was "confidential personal information", Pradhan contended that PAR is the appraisal committee's ''impersonal'' evaluation of the ''public'' service rendered by ''public'' servants in their ''impersonal'' capacity in a ''public'' organisation; and hence there was nothing "personal" about PAR. Following his petition, RBI began disclosing PAR reports to all employees before moving over to a more objective method of appraisal called Performance Management System. In the words of Smt Usha Thorat, the ex-Deputy Governor of RBI, Pradhan makes "ingenious use of the RTI Act" to redress individual grievances.


Professional career

Under UGC Fellowship, Pradhan was awarded the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in 2001 for his dissertation on ''Structural and Economic Dimensions of Communal Conflict''. He has researched the Kandh-Pana conflict in
Kandhamal Kandhamal district also known as Phulbani district is a district in the States and territories of India, state of Odisha, India. The District headquarters is the city of Phulbani. It is a district full with natural beauties includes wild animals ...
district,
Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
-
Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
relations in
Bhadrak Bhadrak is a city of Odisha state in eastern India. The city is the district headquarters of Bhadrak district. According to legend, the city derives its name from the Goddess Bhadrakali, whose temple is on the banks of the Salandi River. Hi ...
and
Harijan Dalit ( from meaning "broken/scattered") is a term used for untouchables and outcasts, who represented the lowest stratum of the castes in the Indian subcontinent. They are also called Harijans. Dalits were excluded from the fourfold var ...
-
Savarna ''Savarna'' is a genus of Southeast Asian cellar spiders that was first described by B. A. Huber in 2005. Species it contains ten species, found only in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand: *''Savarna bannang'' – Yao & Li, 2020 – Thailand * ...
caste A caste is a Essentialism, fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (en ...
dynamics at Brahmabarada in
Jajpur Jajpur (also known as Jajapur) () is a town and a municipality in Jajpur district in the Indian state of Odisha. It was the capital of the Kesari dynasty, later supplanted by Cuttack. It is the headquarter of Jajpur district. Etymology a ...
district of
Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...
. He taught Sociology at
Fakir Mohan University Fakir Mohan University (FM University) is a state university located at Nuapadhi, Balasore, Odisha, India. It is named after Odia writer Fakir Mohan Senapati. History This university was established by the Government of Odisha, under Section ...
, Balasore, before joining
Reserve Bank of India Reserve Bank of India, abbreviated as RBI, is the central bank of the Republic of India, and regulatory body responsible for regulation of the Indian banking system and Indian rupee, Indian currency. Owned by the Ministry of Finance (India), Min ...
in 1999 as a Grade-B officer. In 2014, Pradhan left RBI to join
Government of Odisha The Government of Odisha and its Districts of Odisha, 30 districts consists of an executive branch, executive, led by the List of Governors of Odisha, Governor of Odisha, a judiciary, and a legislative branch. Like other states in India, the ...
as Director and Additional Secretary in Finance Department. He established transparent score-based ranking of banks on
Financial Inclusion Financial inclusion is the availability and equality of opportunities to access financial services. It refers to processes by which individuals and businesses can access appropriate, affordable, and timely financial products and services—which ...
parameters for awarding of Government business.


Personal life

In 2001 Pradhan married Suvashree, a trained
Odishi Odishi ( ka, ოდიში ) was a historical district in western Georgia, the core fiefdom of the former Principality of Mingrelia, with which the name "Odishi" was frequently coterminous. Since the early 19th century, this toponym has been ...
dancer. The couple have a son and a daughter.


Bibliography

*''Kalahandi - The Untold Story'' (2020) *''I, She and the Sea'' (2019) *''Wind in the Afternoon'' (2017) *''Kandhamal Riots - Origin & the Aftermath'' (2015) *''भारत में कृषि पर्यटन व कृषि वाणिज्य - चुनौतियाँ तथा संभावनाएं (2009) *''Structural & Economic Dimensions of Communal Conflict in India'' (2002)


Edited works

*''Psalms of Love'' (2021) *''I Am Your Baby, Mother'' (2020) *''Songs of Lust and Love'' (2020) *''Jesus Christ in Love'' (2019) *''Songs of Sadness'' (2019)


Translations

*''Kalahandi'' (2007) :- from Odia କଳାହାଣ୍ଡି by author *''Ghazals'' (2022) :- from Urdu غزلیں by Munawwar Rana


Journal articles

* * * * * * *


Books on the author

*


See also

* Sahitya Akademi Golden Jubilee Awards * Sahitya Akademi Award to Odisha Writers * Antony Theodore * Rana Nayar


Notes


External links


Pradhan's Landmark RTI Queries
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pradhan, Tapan Kumar Indian poets Poets from Odisha Odia-language writers English-language poets from India Indian male poets 21st-century Indian poets 21st-century Indian writers Living people Indian academics Utkal University alumni 1972 births All India Poetry Prize 21st-century Indian translators People from Bhubaneswar