Jagannath Prasad Das

This article is about the author. For the psychologist, see Jagannath Prasad Das (psychologist).

Jagannath Prasad Das
Jagannath Prasad Das
Born	(1936-04-26) 26 April 1936 Puri, Orissa Province, British India
Pen name	J.P., J.P.Das
Language	Odia, English
Nationality	Indian
Alma mater	Utkal University (1953–55), Allahabad University (1955–57)
Period	1960s
Genre	Poetry, short Stories, plays, novels, essays, art history, translation
Notable works	English: Puri Paintings, Odia: Prathama Purusha, Parikrama, Desha Kala Patra, Suryasta Purbaru

Jagannath Prasad Das (born 26 April 1936) is an Indian writer, poet, painter, playwright and novelist who writes in Odia.

Life

Starting his career with a brief teaching assignment as assistant professor in the University of Allahabad, he joined the Indian Administrative Service and had held positions in the Government of Odisha and the Central Government. He has chosen to settle down in Delhi after taking premature retirement from Government service and is involved in the cultural and social life of the city where he lives.

Translations and Editing

Besides translating some of his own work in Odia into English, he has also translated other works in different languages into both Odia and English. He has translated Odia Women Poets’ Work into English (with Arlene Zide), Catherine Clement’s poems from French into English (with the poet), Gulzar’s poems from Urdu into English, Swedish poet Werner Aspenstrom’s poems into Odia, a medieval Odia text Lakshmipurana into English and the poetry of Odia Dalit poet Basudev Sunani into English.

He edited the first ever anthology of Odia Short Stories in English translation. He has edited an anthology of poetry from different Indian languages (with K.Satchidanandan), and a volume of essays, Films for Children.

Fellowships

Das has been awarded the following Fellowships for research and creative writing:

• Homi Bhabha Fellow (1979–1981) for research on Pata Paintings of Odisha
• Emeritus Fellow of the Ministry of Culture, Government of India (1994–1996)
• K. K. Birla Foundation Fellowship in Comparative Literature (1996–1998)

Awards

• Vishuva Award from Pajatantra Prachar Samiti – 1976 and 1984
• Odisha Sahitya Akademi Award – 1975 (for Je Jahara Nirjanata)
• Sahitya Akademi Award – 1990 (for Ahnika). He did not accept the award.
• Sarala Award – 1998 (for Priya Vidushaka)
• Nandikar Playwright Award – 2000
• Saraswati Samman – 2006 (for Parikrama)

Books by J P Das in Odia

Odia poetry

• Prathama Purusha – 1971
• Anya sabu Mrtyu – 1976
• Je Jahara Nirjanata – 1979
• Anya Desha Bhinna Samaya – 1982
• Jatrara Prathama Pada – 1988
• Ahnika – 1990
• Sthirachitra – 1991
• Sacharachara – 1994
• Smrtira Sahara – 1995
• Parikrama – 1998
• Asamaya – 2004
• Kabita Samagra – Ink Odisha, Bhubaneswar, -2011

Odia Short Stories

• Bhavanatha O Anyamane – 1982
• Dinacharya – 1983
• Ame Jeunmane – 1986
• Sakshatkara – 1986
• Priya Bidushaka – 1991
• Shesha Paryanta – 1995
• Icchhapatra – 2000
• Indradhanu, Akhi O Kabitara Dirghajibana – 2009

Odia plays

• Suryasta Purbaru – 1977
• Saba Shesha Loka – 1980
• Asangata Nataka – 1981
• Purbaraaga – 1983
• Sundara Das – 1993

Odia novel

• Desha Kala Patra – Prachi Prakashan, Bhubaneswar, 1991

Children's literature (Odia)/nonsense rhymes

• Alimalika – Publication Division, Ministry of I and B, Government of India, 1993
• Alukuchi Malukuchi – Lark, 1993/Timepass, Bhubaneswar, 1993
• Anabana – Ink Odisha, Bhubaneswar, 2008
• Anamana – Timepass, Bhubaneswar, 2016

Translation into Odia

• Svapna-bichara – 2000

Anthologies of Poetry and Short Stories in Odia

• Chha'ti Jhia – 1987
• Premakabita (poetry) – 1991
• Shreshtha Kabita (poetry) – 1993
• Purbapara-1(Samagra Kabita 1970–79) (poetry) – 1995
• Purbapara-2(Samagra Kabita 1980–94) (poetry) – 1996
• Rangalipi – 1997
• Kathajatra (short stories)- 2000
• Kabita Samagra (poetry) – 2011
• Shreshtha Galpa (short stories)- 2014

Books by J P Das in English

Research works

• Puri Paintings: The Chitrakara and His Work, Arnold-Heinemann, 1982
• Chitra-Pothi: Illustrated Palm-leaf Manuscripts, Arnold-Heinemann, 1985
• Palm-leaf Miniatures (with Joanna Williams), Abhinav Publications, 1991

Essays

• Reflections on Literature and Culture, Sikshasandhan, 2009

Works edited

• Oriya Short Stories, Vikas Publishing House, 1983
• Films for Children, Vikas Publishing House, 1987
• Kavita 93 (with K. Satchidanandan), Virgo Publications, 1993

Works translated

• Growing an Indian Star (with Catherine Clement), Vikas Publishing House, 1991
• Under a Silent Sun (with Arlene Zide), Vikas Publishing House, 1992
• Autumn Moon, Rupa Publishing House, 1999

Books by Das translated into English

• First Person – Tr: Deba Patnaik, Arnold-Heinemann, 1976
• Love is a Season – Tr: Poet, Arnold-Heinemann, 1978
• Timescapes – Tr: Poet, Arnold-Heinemann, 1980
• Silences – Tr: Poet, Vikas, 1989
• Diurnal Rites – Tr: H. Panda, Sahitya Akademi, 1994
• The Unreal City – Tr: Durga P. Panda, Har Anand, 1997
• Lovelines – Tr: Poet with Paul St-Pierre, Virgo, 2001
• Alimalika – Tr: Poet, Writers Workshop, 2004
• Dark Times – Tr: Poet with Paul St-Pierre, Virgo, 2004
• Poems – Tr: Poet, Grassroots, 2004
• Nanasense – Tr: Sumanyu Satpathy, NBT, 2013

Short stories

• The Magic Deer – Tr: Author, Vikas, 1983
• The Forbidden Street – Tr: Author, Vikas, 1988
• Spider's Web – Tr: KK. & Leelawati Mahapatra, Vikas, 1990
• The Prostitute – Tr: Bibhuti Mishra and others, Har Anand, 1995
• The Pukka Sahib – Tr: Bikram K Das, Harper Collins, 2001
• Stories – Tr: Paul St-Pierre, Leela and K K Mahapatra, Grassroots, 2003
• Dear Jester – Tr: R K Swain and Paul St-Pierre, Rupa, 2004
• The Will – Tr: Ashok Mohanty, Sahitya Akademi, 2007

Plays

• Before the Sunset – Tr: Author, Arnold-Heinemnn, 1978
• Two Plays – Tr: Author, Writers Workshop, 1983
• The Underdog – Tr: Ravi Baswani, Vikas, 1984
• Absurd Play – Tr: Author, Writers Workshop, 1989
• Sundardas – Tr. Paul St-Pierre and others, NSD and Har Anand, 2002
• Miss X – Tr: Author, Rupa, 2002

Novel

• A Time Elsewhere – Tr: Jatindra K. Nayak, Penguin, 2009

Collections of his works by others

• J. P. Das Omnibus, Ed: Paul St. Peirre, Har-Anand, 2012
• Complete Plays, Ed: N. K. Bhattacharjee, Har-Anand, 2012
• Selected Short Stories, Ed: Mauricio Aguilera, Har-Anand, 2013
• Selected Poems, Har-Anand, 2014

Books on J P Das

• Words on Canvas: J.P.Das and His Work – ed. Ganeswar Mishra (Orissa Lalit Kala Akademi, 2005)
• Srijan Jatra (Odia) – by Ganeswar Mishra (Vidyapuri, Cuttack, 2010)
• Priya JP (Odia) – ed. Sumanyu Satpathy (Shiksha Sandhan, Bhubaneswar, 2011)
• Jagannath Prasad: Bandhutara Aasara (Odia) – ed. Ganeswar Mishra (Timepass, Bhubaneswar, 2013)
• Bahudha (Odia) – by Sumanyu Satpathy, 2014
• "Bharatiyatara Anweshi JAGANNATH PRASAD DAS" (Odia) – Translated and Edited by Dr Rabinarayan Moharana (Lark Books, Bhubaneswar, 2014)
• "Mukhashala" (Odia) – Compiled and Translated by Dr Rabinarayan Moharana (Ink Odisha, Bhubaneswar, 2015)
• "JP JIBANEE" (Odia) – A biography of Dr Jagannath Prasad Das. The book is written by Dr Rabinarayan Moharana and has been published under the auspices of Utkal Sahitya Samaj, Cuttack and by M/s Jagannath Rath, Binod Bihari, Cuttack (Odisha). First Edition : 2019.
• "Jane JP Aneka Jeebana" (Odia)- A biography of JP, a multifaced literary person of Odisha. This book is written by Dr Rabinarayan Moharana and has been published by Pakshighara Prakashanee, Bhubaneswar. First Edition : 2021

References

• Authorspeak, Sahitya Akademi, 2006 pages 105-110
• Going Through Hells, Muse India, Issue 5, Jan–Feb 2006
• The World of J.P.Das – by Sachidananda Mohanty, The Hindu, March 4, 2007
• JP Revisited – by Ashok Choudhury, Creative Mind, Vol V, 2008
• Out of Orissa – by Humra Quraishi, Sunday Tribune, April 18, 2010
• Taking Stock – by Suresh Kohli, The Hindu, February 4, 2012
• The Measure of Life – by Jitendranath Mishra, The Nation, Bangkok, March 26, 2012
• Indian Literature: An Introduction – Delhi University, page 315

Videos

• Documentary on J.P.Das, Sahitya Akademi (30 minutes)
• Jaipur Literature Festival, January 22, 2011 (discussion on A Time Elsewhere)
• Think Literature, Bhubaneswar, December 24, 2013