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{{Short description|Telugu poet and writer (1942-2011)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2026}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Vegunta Mohan Prasad
| image = Vegunta Mohan Prasad.jpg
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1942|01|05|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh]], India
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2011|08|03|1942|07|15|df=y}}
| education = Master of Arts, PGDTE
| alma_mater = [[Andhra Christian College]], Guntur <br /> [[Banaras Hindu University]] <br /> Central Institute of English and Foreign Languages (CIEFL)
| occupation = Professor, poet, critic, translator, writer
| employer = P. B. Siddhartha College of Arts and Science, Vijayawada
| spouse = Sujata
| children = Mamata
}}

'''Vegunta Mohan Prasad''', (5 January 1942 – 3 August 2011) was a [[Telugu language|Telugu]] poet, critic, translator and writer. He was known by his pen name 'Mo'.<ref name="hindu">{{cite news|last1=MURTHY|first1=NEERAJA|title=The voice from within|url=http://www.thehindu.com/books/article2281475.ece|access-date=27 July 2014|work=The Hindu|date=21 July 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Mohan Prasad gets Tanikella Bharani Puraskaram|url=http://www.siasat.com/english/news/mohan-prasad-gets-tanikella-bharani-puraskaram|access-date=27 July 2014|publisher=The Siasat Daily}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title='మో' నిర్నిద్ర నిషాదం|url=http://pustakam.net/?p=7717}}</ref>

==Personal life and career==
Mohan Prasad was born in Lam, [[Guntur District, Andhra Pradesh]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Final Tribute to Mo, author of Chiti – Chinta|publisher=[[Andhra Prabha]]|date=19 September 2011}}</ref> He completed schooling in Andhra Pradesh and graduated with a B.A from the [[Andhra Christian College]], Guntur. He obtained his [[Master of Arts]] in English from the [[Banaras Hindu University]] and PGDTE from Central Institute of English and Foreign Languages (CIEFL).<ref name="jagran" /> In 1967, he married Sujata, the daughter of Bondalapati Sivaramakrishna and Sakuntala Devi of Desi Kavita Mandali.
Mo taught English literature as a profession. He was the Head of the Department of English in P. B. Siddhartha College of Arts and Science in [[Vijayawada]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Young Headmaster gets writers grant from ASRC|publisher=[[Nai Dunia]]|date=6 May 1969}}</ref>
Mo had deep interest in literature and upon his retirement, he took up the role of Director of Anusrijana,<ref>{{cite web|title=AUTHOR'S PROFILE|url=http://www.museindia.com/authprofile.asp?id=737|publisher=Muse India|access-date=27 July 2014|archive-date=9 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140809000047/http://www.museindia.com/authprofile.asp?id=737|url-status=dead}}</ref> the translation wing of [[Dravidian University]], where he organized translations of about a hundred classic works from regional languages into English.<ref>{{cite web|title=Poet Leaves A Message As He Leaves The World|url=http://www.mohanfoundation.org/activities/activities_print.asp?id=486|access-date=27 July 2014}}</ref>

==Literary contributions==
Mo published volumes of [[Telugu poetry]], literary appreciation, and translations of Telugu poetry into English and vice versa.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sandhya Bhasha – Vegunta Mohan Prasad|date=29 April 2010 |url=http://lokabhiramam.blogspot.in/2010/04/sandhya-bhasha-vegunta-mohan-prasad.html|access-date=27 July 2014}}</ref> Recognition as a poet came with the publication of Chiti-Chinta, in 1969. This Tense Time, published by Mo in 1982, is one of the first comprehensive volumes of modern Telugu poetry in English translation and was reviewed by the British poet and literary critic Derek Stanford. Between Chiti – Chinta in 1969 and Mo –Nishadam in 2010,<ref>{{cite web|title=MO's 'Nishadam' Telugu Poetry book introduction|url=http://enblog.kinige.com/?p=37|access-date=27 July 2014|archive-date=27 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140727095305/http://enblog.kinige.com/?p=37|url-status=dead}}</ref> he was prolific in his literary contributions in the form of poetry, appreciations and translations.

==Awards==
Recognition and awards for Mo's works include:
* Devarakonda Balagangadhara Tilak Award (1969),
* Free Verse Front Award (1970),
* Writers Grant from ASRC (1976), Nutalapati award (1993),
* Telugu University (for best poetry) in 1994
* A.P State Government Official Languages Award (2001), Surapaneni award (2002)<ref name="jagran">{{cite news|title=Vegunta Prasad awarded Surapaneni award for his contribution|publisher=[[Dainik Jagran]]|date=11 December 2002}}</ref>
* Yagalla Foundation annual award (2001).
* Telugu University lifetime achievement (2005)
* In 2011, he was awarded the Tanikella Bharani Sahitya Puraskaram for his book Mo – Nishadam.<ref name="hindu" />

==Bibliography==
Poetry and Literary Appreciation:
* Chiti – Chinta (1969). Telugu poetry.
* Silent Secret (1976). English poetry.
* Bathikina Kshanalu (1990). Telugu poetry.
* Rahastantri (1992). Telugu poetry.
* Punarapi (1993). Telugu poetry.
* Saandhya Basha (1999). Telugu poetry.
* Karachaalanam (1999). Essays on 20th century British, American, Australian, French, Italian, German and Indo-Anglian poetry.
* Needalu Jaadalu (2002). A volume of literary criticism.
* Vennela Needalu (2003). A volume of literary criticism.
* Mo Nishadam (2010). Telugu Poetry.
* Saraamsam (2013). Anthology of selected poetry published posthumously.
* Mo Nishadam (2013). Translated into Kannada by C. Raghunath

==Translations==
* Shakespeare Rupaka Pravachanalu (1993). Selected plays of Shakespeare translated into Telugu.
* Swasakalau (1994). Translation of Segments – a semi-autobiographical long poem composed by Tripura.
* Dream Script (2003). Translation of Ajanta's Swapnalipi commissioned by Sahitya Akademi
* Swarajyam (2011). Translation of [[Mahidhara Rammohan Rao]]’s ''Kollayigattitheynemi''. Published by Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|978-0198077374}}<ref name="thehindu">{{cite news|last1=RAMASWAMY|first1=GITA|title=A forgotten masterpiece|url=http://www.thehindu.com/books/article2953680.ece|access-date=27 July 2014|work=The Hindu|date=3 March 2012}}</ref>
* Seeds of Black Soil. Translation of Chandra Latha's Telugu novel Regadi Vitthulu
* Sikhamani selected poems (2010)

==Edited anthologies==
* This Tense Time (1981). Anthology of selected Telugu poems published from 1915 to 1980 translated into English.
* Kommalu Remmalu (2005).

==Books published on Mo==
Namo (2011): Tributes to Mo from friends and family.

==Death==
Mo died on 3 August 2011 due to brain hemorrhage.<ref>{{cite news|title=Telugu Poet "Mo", passed away|publisher=[[Arunachal Front]]|date=5 August 2011}}</ref> He has donated his organs - kidneys, liver and eyes - to Mohan Foundation.<ref>{{cite web|title=వేగుంట మోహనప్రసాద్, Vegunta Mohan Prasad|date=3 August 2011 |url=http://telugueminentpersons.blogspot.in/2011/08/vegunta-mohan-prasad.html|access-date=27 July 2014}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.mohanfoundation.org/ Mohan Foundation]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prasad, Vegunta Mohan}}
[[Category:1942 births]]
[[Category:2011 deaths]]
[[Category:Writers from Vijayawada]]
[[Category:Poets from Andhra Pradesh]]
[[Category:Telugu poets]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian poets]]
[[Category:Writers from Guntur district]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian poets]]
[[Category:Telugu–English translators]]
[[Category:English–Telugu translators]]

Vegunta Mohan Prasad - Revision history

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