28 January 2007
A Passion For Spiritual Service
Dr. Kallay Prasanth is a multi-faceted personality. A professor, scholar, writer and musician, all rolled into one, he is also an erudite discourser of spirituality and religion.
Dr. Kallay Prasanth was born on March 23, 1964 in Madras to Dr.KL.Kanth and Mrs.Rama. His father was a medical practitioner of great caliber. He died young. Kallay Prasanth, thanks to the valiant efforts of his mother, completed his school education at the Kesari Higher Secondary School in Mylapore. He joined Vivekananda College for his higher studies and completed M.A. in Sanskrit language in 1986. Later he got his M.Phil degree on Kalidasa’s drama ‘Abhjnanasakuntalam’. University of Madras awarded Ph.D. to him in 1995 after the completion of his work on Sanskrit rhetorics, called ‘Alankaramuktavali-a critical edition and study’. He joined the faculty of Sanskrit of the prestigious Vivekananda College in 1988 at the age of 24. He married Sumathi in 1990 and has a son by name Pradyumna.
Besides being a scholar in Sanskrit, he received training in the art of Carnatic vocal music from the late Parur Sri. R.Venkataraman for ten years and in the art of Bharatanatyam from Smt. Jayalakshmi Arunachalam for about five years. He gave a few vocal recitals too.
Kallay Prasanth authored a few books such as ‘Poojai Agaradhi’, a collection of Sanskrit terms related to pooja (worship) and gave the meanings in Tamil, Sankshepa Ramayanam’, a translation into English from the Sanskrit original, ‘Gandhi and Spirituality’, a work on the spiritual teachings of Mahatma Gandhi, ‘Sri Krishna Panchakam’, a collection of verses in Sanskrit, ‘Bharata Dasakam’, entire Mahabharata condensed into ten verses in Sanskrit, ‘Natya Rasangal’, a Tamil work on the sentiments or rasaas connected with dramaturgy and ‘Sumamala’, a collection of poems in Telugu.
Kallay Prasanth in the last two years has been giving discourses on subjects relating to spirituality and religion such as the Bhagavad Gita, the Upanishads, the Ramayana, Vivekachudamani, Bhajagovindam, Narayaneeyam, and works of Sri Sankara etc.
Prasanth says that this has been his passion and he would spend the rest of his life spreading the message of spiritual content embedded in our scriptures and religious texts. He calls what he does as spiritual service as India has been a land that always gives spiritual gift to others.
Prof. Dr. Kallay Prasanth resides at 5, Sai Arumugaa, 22, 3rd Main Road, Vijaya Nagar, Velachery, Chennai-42 and he can be contacted at 22590984 and 9841493304.