Prabha Pant

Prabha Pant (born 7 July 1962) is an Indian academic, author, poet, and folklorist. She is a Professor and the Head of the Hindi Department at Motiram Baburam Government Post Graduate College in Haldwani, Uttarakhand. Pant writes about the Kumaoni language, regional oral traditions, Hindi fiction, and children's literature. In 2022, she received the Gajanan Madhav Muktibodh Puraskar from the Madhya Pradesh Sahitya Academy for her short story collection Meri Pratinidhi Kahaniyan. She received a Ph.D. from Kumaun University, Nainital, in 1992. She has a daughter, Yashasvi Nanda, who in January 2025 accepted the inaugural Santosh Srivastava Katha Samman on her mother's behalf.

Literary works Pant writes in both Hindi and Kumaoni. This text has been translated into English (as Folklores of Kumaon), Sanskrit, Nepali, and Rajasthani. It is also part of the folklore and culture studies curriculum at Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). She also wrote a biography of the British Gandhian social activist Catherine Mary Heilman, titled Karmayogi Sarla Behn. Published by the National Book Trust of India, this biography is cited in academic research on Gandhian activists, education, and ecofeminism in colonial India. Her children's literature includes poetry and story collections like Bacche Man Ke Sacche and Pari Hansavali. The latter was published by the Publications Division of the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India.

Selected works

Folklore, history, and biographies Karmayogi Sarla Behn (कर्मयोगी सरला बहन; Biography of Sarla Behn). National Book Trust of India, 2016. Kumauni Lok Kathaen (कुमाउनी लोक कथाएं; Kumaoni Folktales). New Delhi: Minal Education Books, 2017. Uttarakhand Ki Lok Kathayen (उत्तराखंड की लोककथाएं; Folktales of Uttarakhand). Hum Aur Humara Kumaun (हम और हमारा कुमाऊँ; We and Our Kumaon). Folklores of Kumaon (English translation by Dinesh Kumar Mali). White Falcon Publishing, 2024.

Fiction (Stories) Meri Pratinidhi Kahaniyan (मेरी प्रतिनिधि कहानियां; My Representative Stories). 2021. Faans (फांस; The Noose).

Poetry Tera Tujhko Arpan (तेरा तुझको अर्पण; Yours is Dedicated to You). Main... (मैं...; I...).

Children's literature Pari Hansavali (परी हंसावली; The Fairy Hansavali). Publications Division, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, 2014. Bacche Man Ke Sacche (बच्चे मन के सच्चे; Children are Pure of Heart). Bachpan Jeene Do (बचपन जीने दो; Let Childhood be Lived).

Awards Santosh Srivastava Katha Samman (2024): Awarded by the Madhya Pradesh Rashtrabhasha Prachar Samiti and Hindi Bhavan Nyas for the story collection Faans. Gajanan Madhav Muktibodh Puraskar (2022): Awarded by the Madhya Pradesh Sahitya Academy for the story collection Meri Pratinidhi Kahaniyan. Shri Motilal Rathi Smriti Samman (2021): Awarded by Sahitya Mandal Shri Nathdwara, Rajasthan. Mahadevi Varma Puraskar (2018): Awarded by Samanvay, Allahabad. Pawas Samman (2018): Awarded by the Madhya Pradesh Rashtrabhasha Prachar Samiti. Acharya Narendra Dev Alankar (2015): Awarded by Acharya Narendra Dev Shikshanidhi, Nainital.