An award!

[pradeep chakravarthy]

Dear All

Delighted to inform you of this award! the ceremony details are in the attachment... Do come if possible and share with others!

The Tamil Heritage Trust (THT) is delighted to announce the winner of the THT-Prof. S. Swaminathan Heritage Award 2022 - Shri. Pradeep Chakravarthy. The award consists of a citation and a cash prize of Rs 25,000 which will be presented to the awardee on Tuesday, September 27th, 2022 in a formal ceremony at 5:30 PM. Shri. Pradeep Chakravarthy will also deliver the customary award lecture on the same evening on the topic - "Some aspects of Pandya society between 600 CE and 1300 CE with a specific focus on trade, commerce and women".

The winner was picked from over 25 nominations received, by an accomplished jury panel consisting of Dr. Sanjay Garg, Officer on Special Duty, Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav Secretariat, Ministry of Culture, Government of India, New Delhi, Dr. Kumud Kanitkar, independent researcher of Indology, author of the acclaimed "Ambarnath Shivalaya : A monograph on the temple of Siva at Ambarnath”, and winner of the “Ikuo Hirayama” prize-2013 by The Institut de France, Academie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, Paris, Shri P.L. Udayakumar, founder of the path-breaking civic activism project "Inscription Stones of Bangalore" and Shri. R. Kannan, co-founder of Tamil Heritage Trust and Board member, Natayarangam, Narada Gana Sabha's dance wing.

THT was founded as a non-profit Trust in the year 2010 with a vision to put the common man in touch with the rich storehouse of knowledge that is Indian heritage. The Trust which is entirely volunteer-driven attempts to deliver this through several initiatives - monthly public talks, annual thematic conferences, site seminars and study tours to places of historical interest, workshops on temple architecture and museum collections and an outreach effort through schools to sensitize young students to Indian heritage. 

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About the award winner - Pradeep Chakravarthy:

Pradeep was born in Palayamkottai in 1975. He studied in The School KFI, Madras Christian College (Best Outgoing Student of the Dept award), JNU (Recipient of the Ford Foundation Scholarship and London School of Economics. He has submitted his PhD with the Madras University on the social, cultural and economic life of the Pandyas as seen from their stone inscriptions.

 His purpose is to make insights from history on human thought and behaviour relevant for adults and children for their lives today. To this end, he has partnered in creating almost 20 tours to different districts of Tamil Nadu to showcase the heritage and crafts of that region. No other state in India has been so thoroughly covered in this respect. After an illustrious career in TVS, Cognizant, Infosys and McKinsey, he has been able to marry personal passion and profession by doing workshops and coaching based on insights from history.

He has 8 books to his credit. The latest being Leadership Shastra and a co-translation of select essays of U Ve Saminatha Iyer. A book on South Indian history for children is in the press. Earlier books include Temples of Tamil Nadu, Thanjavur and Temple Vahanas. He has several 100 articles in leading magazines and newspapers to his credit. He has curated exhibitions in the IIC, Delhi and is a regular speaker in the city on pre-colonial Tamil history. Pradeep has spoken on several occasions at the Tamil Heritage Trust in the past. His session on a poem of Kalamegha Pulavar for children he particularly remembers with fondness as being the first session he did for children on heritage!

 He is also in the process of opening the first heritage hotel of Tirunelveli-Tuticorin district to showcase the rich culture of the region. He is formally associated with the Sarasvati Mahal library in Thanjavur and Dakshinachitra.

Regards