19-year-old literary prodigy at UPES receives award from Uttarakhand CM

UPES student Aditya Vats receives the Sahitya Vidhya Samman from Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami

UPES student Aditya Vats has several feathers in his hat. He is a prolific writer, former debating and skating champion, singer, social worker, part-time teacher, and civil services aspirant

“Work until your signature becomes your autograph” – that’s the motto 19-year-old Aditya Vats lives by.

The 1st Year MBA Integrated student of UPES is well on his way to achieving his life goal as he became a proud recipient of the fifth highest award in literature in India – the Sahitya Vidhya Samman. He received the honour in August this year from Uttarakhand Chief Minister Shri Pushkar Singh Dhami and former Education Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank for his contribution to literature.

Vats, who is also pursuing a B.A. (Hons) in Public Administration through open learning, has several accomplishments to his name.

Apart from earning an Honourable Mention and two Best Delegate awards at Model United Nations summits in 2021 and 2022, the civil services aspirant bagged the prestigious Spectrum India award in the same years for literature in the category of ‘Budding Writer’.

Vats, a product of St Joseph’s Academy in Dehradun, has been writing for the past six years. Many of his works have been anthologies such as The Enchanting Words and The Zenith of Writing.

A history buff, Vats pored deep into the annals of the Indian subcontinent for The Art of Indian History and scoured the archives from the Uttarakhand region for his hardcover The Garhwal Diaries.

“The Garhwal Diaries is a pioneering attempt in which the complete history of Uttarakhand, from Stone Age to 1949, when Tehri Garhwal state was integrated with the Indian Union, has been compiled in one single volume,” Vats says, describing his book.

“This book covers the British rule, the role of women in the Indian freedom movement, and many other regional aspects which have been the outcome of many years of keen observation of the linguistic and cultural phenomena of the whole Himalayan region – from Ladakh in the west to Bhutan in the east – and an intensive study of ancient Indian literature and historical incidents that have taken place in these central Himalayan regions,” Vats adds.

Among his other works are A Pinch of Life, The Laws of India, The Heart Speaks, The Last Call, Obscurities of Entity, and Bonds of Love.

Vats likes to credit his maternal great-grandfather for his writing prowess.

“I give the credit to my maternal great-grandfather, Shri Hari Prasad Aviksit ji, who had been a prolific writer. He had worked with Shri Harivansh Rai Bachchan ji who would visit our home sometimes,” Vats says.

Vats himself has worked with eminent author Ruskin Bond, at the latter’s cottage in Landour Cantt, Mussoorie, in connection with his books on Indian and Garhwal history.

Vats is also thankful to his parents for “keeping their faith in me and supporting me when I penned my first story”.

Vats’ prolific skills, however, are not limited to writing. The self-confessed nature enthusiast loves to sing, skate, debate, take heritage walks, and participate in social work as well as cultural campaigns when not committing his hours to serious study or forming writing clubs.

This former state-level debating champion has been volunteering for NGOs. His diverse interests led him to explore  certificate courses in Food and Health from Stanford University, California.

He describes himself as an active supporter of the Swachh Bharat Mission, a country-wide campaign initiated by the Government of India in 2014. Vats and his family have been a part of many local afforestation campaigns to convert barren lands into refreshing green covers.

This one-time district skating silver medallist is hungry for success and has no plans to stop until he makes it to the top.

His next goal? Cracking UPSC IAS Exam.