Vandana Kumari Jena - An IAS Officer's Literary Journey To Social Awakening

Vandana Kumari Jena belonged to the Indian Administrative Service (Odisha cadre -1979 batch) and retired as Secretary to Government of India, Department of Land Resources, Ministry of Rural Development in 2015. She is presently based in Mumbai. During her years in the Indian Administrative Service work pressures forced creativity to take a backseat but she persevered in her literary pursuits.   Vandana grew up in an academic environment as her father was a Professor and her mother was a Reader. She had an outstanding academic career, with a First Division and Second Position in the Delhi University both in BA Honours (Political Science) and MA Political Science. During her Masters in Development Administration in Birmingham University (UK) she received the Birmingham Chambers of Commerce Prize for standing first in the University.     She has served in insurgency prone districts of Ukhrul and Churachandpur in Manipur as Sub-Divisional Officer and Deputy Commissioner respectively. Subsequently she served as Revenue Divisional Commissioner (Southern Division) Odisha which included Naxal affected districts of Gajapati, Raigarh, Koraput and Malkangiri. These stints broadened her horizons and gave her a new perspective.   She spent almost her entire career in the social sector and worked in the fields of education, health, women and child development and youth development. She spent over a decade in the field of education, particularly adult education as Director as well as Director General National Literacy Mission.     Her experience as an administrator for nearly thirty-six years has played a major role in influencing her, and this is reflected in her writings, as most of the women in her stories are empathetic, empowered and evolved. It has also enabled her to craft characters who are realistic and whose lives resonate with the readers. The richness of her field experience has influenced not only her way of thinking but also her way of writing. She has seen poverty and deprivation, violence and insurgency, crime against women and the efforts for their rehabilitation. She has seen the dilemmas women face and the informed choices they make. Much of it is reflected in her writings.   Her literary journey began in 1984 when she began writing middles in leading newspapers like The Times of India, Hindustan Times, The Statesman, The Indian Express and The Pioneer. She has published over 200 middles in all the leading newspapers. Her short stories have been published in over twenty anthologies. She has won several prizes for her short stories.   Her first novel 'The Dance of Death' was published in 2008 (Har Anand Publications.) Her first collection of short stories titled, 'The Incubation Chamber' was published in 2014 (Lifi Publications). She published her third collection of short stories, 'The Future Is Mine,' (Prabhat Prakashan) and her book of middles titled 'In the Middle ‘ (Prabhat Prakashan) in 2015. In 2018 her book 'One Rotten Apple and other stories,' was published. (Niyogi books). She published her novel, 'Clueless' in 2019 (Lifi Publications). Her latest collection of short stories, 'Over the Edge' published by Rupa Publications in 2022 is a stirring melange of agony, ecstasy, suspense and whimsy. Insurgency is the back drop of two chilling short stories, 'Blood Wins' and 'The Ambush.' 'A storm is brewing,' a tale of love and longing, has surrogacy at the heart of the story. She has crafted stories that are contemporary, edgy and yet deeply moving. Most of them have a twist in the tale which will undoubtedly keep the readers on the edge.