Jagannath Prasad Das

Jagannath Prasad Das (Writer)
Jagannath Prasad Das
Born	(1936-04-26) 26 April 1936 (age 80) Puri, Odisha
Pen name	J.P., J.P.Das
Language	Odia, English
Nationality	Indian
Ethnicity	Odia
Citizenship	Indian
Alma mater	Utkal University (1953-55), Allahabad University (1955-57)
Period	1960s
Genre	Poetry, Short Story, Plays, Novel, Essays, Art History, Translation
Notable works	English: Puri Paintings, Odia: Prathama Purusha, Parikrama, Desha Kala Patra, Suryasta Purbaru
Notable awards	Sahitya Akademi Award, Saraswati Samman, Nandikar Award

Jagannath Prasad Das(J.P.) (born 26 April 1936) is an eminent litterateur from Odisha who has dominated the Odia literary scene for over forty years. His literary oeuvre comprise poetry, plays, short stories, novel, essays, children’s poems and nonsense verse. He has done translations of literary works from different languages into Odia and English. He has done extensive research into Odishan art and has published three works on the pictorial arts of the state. He has also done paintings, acted on stage and in films, and taken an active part in social and cultural movements. His writings have been widely translated into Hindi, English and other Indian languages, bringing him national recognition. He has been honoured with awards for his writings, the important ones being the Central Sahitya Akademi award for his poetry (which he refused), the Nandikar Award for plays, the Sarala Award for short stories and the Saraswati Samman for his poetry. He has been connected with literary, cultural, and charitable organisations and has been member/office holder of these bodies.

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 many important 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 a well-known figure in the cultural and social life of the city where he lives.

It would come as no surprise that Prof.Sumanyu Satpathy has titled a short biographical piece he has written on him The Artist as Polumetis , the Greek term meaning many-mindedness.

J.P.Das was born on 26 April 1936 to Shridhar Das and Indu Devi at Banpur in the Puri District of Odisha. His father Shridhar Das, an eminent literatteur, was then teaching at the Banpur High School. Banpur is a village and Das studied in the local ‘vernacular’ school. Shridhar moved to Cuttack as Professor in the Christ College there and the family moved there in 1948. J P enrolled in the Mission School (later called the Christ Collegiate School) and passed the matriculation examination from there (1951). He did his Intermediate in Arts from the Christ College (1953) and Bachelor of Arts (Honours) from Ravenshaw College, Cuttack (1955). He was a good student and secured high ranks in all the examinations. He moved to Allahabad to do his Master of Arts in Political Science which he passed in 1957 topping the list of successful candidates.