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Uday Prakash

ウダイ・プラカシュ

Uday Prakash

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1952-01-01 （Sitapur, Anuppur, Madhya Pradesh, India）
Nationality
India
Languages
Hindi, English
Residence History
Sitapur (birthplace) → Bhopal (worked at Rabindra Bhawan) → New Delhi (worked in newspapers and television)

Career

Occupations
poet, short story writer, novelist, journalist, translator, editor, scriptwriter, TV director, researcher, academic (former)
Active Years
1975-
Affiliations
Madhya Pradesh Department of Culture, Rabindra Bhawan (Bhopal), Newspapers (Dinmaan, Sunday Mail, etc.), Independent Television (ITV) / PTI (Concept & Script Dept.), Sahitya Akademi (collaborated on films)
Influenced By
Pablo Neruda, Federico García Lorca, J. L. Borges
Influenced
Contemporary Hindi writers (broader generation), Younger playwrights and screenwriters (through stage/film adaptations)
Nominations
DSC Prize 2013 shortlist (The Walls of Delhi), Jan Michalski Prize 2013 finalist (The Walls of Delhi)

Education

Dr. Hari Singh Gour University (Saugar University)
Hindi Literature (postgraduate)
Degree: M.A.
Period: 〜1974
Year of Graduation: 1974
Country: India
Received Gold Medal in Hindi Literature
Unknown (undergraduate)
Science (BSc)
Degree: B.Sc.
Period: 〜1972
Year of Graduation: 1972
Country: India
Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU)
Research student (social/journalism studies)
Period: 1975–1976
Year of Graduation: 1976
Country: India
Was a research student

Awards

Bharat Bhushan Agrawal Puraskar
1980
Result: winner
Shrikant Verma Memorial Award
1990
Work: Tirichh
Result: winner
Muktibodh Samman
1996
Work: Aur Ant Mein Prarthna
Organization: Madhya Pradesh Sahitya Parishad
Result: winner
Sahityakaar Samman
1999
Organization: Hindi Akademi
Result: winner
Pahal Samman
2003
Result: winner
SAARC Literary Award
2009
Organization: Foundation of SAARC Writers and Literature
Result: winner
Sahitya Akademi Award
2011
Work: Mohan Das
Organization: Sahitya Akademi
Result: winner
DSC Prize for South Asian Literature
2013
Work: The Walls of Delhi (translated)
Organization: DSC Prize
Result: shortlist
Jan Michalski Prize for Literature
2013
Work: The Walls of Delhi (translated)
Organization: Jan Michalski Foundation
Result: finalist

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Mohan Das

2006 Novella / Short fiction 120 pages

A novella that depicts the contradictions of society through the perspective of an ordinary man facing poverty and injustice; it explores the protagonist's struggles and systemic cruelty.

povertysocial injusticehuman dignity
Adaptations
  • [Film (screenplay adaptation)] Mohandas (2008)
Translations
  • Original Hindi
  • English translations (e.g. Jason Grunebaum)

The Girl With the Golden Parasol

2001 Long short story / Novella-like 156 pages

One of his best-known long short stories, delicately portraying local society and the inner lives of characters.

rural societypersonal memoryclash of modernization
Translations
  • Translated into English, German, Urdu, etc.

Aur Ant Mein Prarthna

1994 Short story collection 200 pages

A collection of stories portraying marginalised people in society with warmth and often caustic clarity.

marginalizationsocial critiqueethics

The Walls of Delhi

2012 Short story collection (translated) 160 pages

A translated collection of three stories set in Delhi that portray class, violence, and everyday life across the city.

urban lifeclassviolence
Translations
  • English translation by Jason Grunebaum

Bibliography

  • Suno Kaarigara (1980)
  • Abootar Kabootar (1984)
  • Raat Mein Harmonium (1998)
  • The Girl With the Golden Parasol (2001)
  • Dariyayi Ghoda (1982)
  • Tirichh (1990)
  • Aur Ant Mein Prarthna (1994)
  • Mohan Das (2006)
  • Areba–Pareba (2006)
  • Ek Bhasha Hua Karati Hai (2009)

Adaptations

  • Mohandas (film adaptation of Mohan Das; screenplay adapted by the author)
  • Warren Hastings ka Saand (stage adaptation directed by Arvind Gaur)

Translations by Author

  • Translations into Hindi of works by Pablo Neruda and others
  • Translations of Federico García Lorca, J. L. Borges, Paul Éluard, etc.

Translations of Works

  • Rage, Revelry and Romance (2003, English translation by Robert Hueckstedt)
  • Der Goldene Gürtel (2007, German translation by Lothar Lutze)
  • The Girl With the Golden Parasol (English translation by Jason Grunebaum)
  • The Walls of Delhi (English translation by Jason Grunebaum)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Realist, concise and direct prosePoetic and rhythmic expressions in short fictionSocially critical and human-centred perspectives
Recurring Motifs
urban marginalitypoverty and inequityindividual vs. institutionsmemory and loss

Legacy

Uday Prakash is a prominent contemporary Hindi writer known for short and novella-length fiction portraying urban life and marginalised people. He gained international recognition through translations and has had works adapted for stage and film. His public acts, such as returning the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2015, also drew widespread attention.

Academic Societies

  • Foundation of SAARC Writers and Literature
  • Sahitya Akademi (associated)

In Popular Culture

  • The film Masaan's team considered using one of his poems
  • Stage and film adaptations of his short fiction (e.g. Mohandas)

Quotes

  • Basically, I see myself as a poet first.
    Source: A Conversation with Uday Prakash (Another Subcontinent) (2007)

Trivia

  • Received a Gold Medal in Hindi Literature in 1974.
  • Reportedly imprisoned during involvement with communist politics in earlier years.
  • Won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2011 for Mohan Das and returned the award in 2015.