By Vivek Pattanayak in Bhubaneswar, March 11, 2025: For more than half a century I knew him from the time, he entered the civil service although his family and my family had friendship over more than a century. His uncle Narsingh Rath and my uncle, Subhas Kishore Ray were together in the Prince of Wales Military School before they were both deployed in the Second World War.

His father, Durga Nanda, a former member of the Indian Forest Service of the British India, who had held unbroken record in the Forest Institute of the United Kingdom for decades was close friend of my father-in-law, Gopal Chandra Patnaik of Patnaik & Co. My father, Dr Gopal Chandra Pattanayak and his maternal grandfather, Ananta Ram Rath had close association over half a century in public life.

My maternal grandfather, Bira Kishore Ray, the first Chief Justice of the Odisha High Court and his grandfather Narayan Nanda and his brother Kapileswar Nanda, Minister in the first government when Odisha became a separate Province worked towards good governance during the formative period of new Odisha.

I knew his brother-in-law Dr. Baidyanath Mishra, an eminent physicist of India, an associate of Ilya Prigogine, the Nobel Laureate of the Solvay Institute of Brussels. He and his wife had hosted me during my sojourn in Belgium. When I had my postings in erstwhile Sambalpur and Bolangir districts, I knew his close relatives including his nephews and nieces and his siblings.

One trait which distinguished himself from many other public servants was that he could speak the truth, nothing but the truth, bluntly without mincing words on any issue. “Satya” was personified in him. “Prakash” was innate to his character. He was regarded as a civil servant who would give transparent and candid advice without any hesitation, however unpleasant it may be to the superiors whether political or bureaucratic.

Whichever assignment he held, he credited himself with outstanding achievements. As in the Indian Administrative Service one moves from one discipline to another at a periodic interval it is always a challenge to master the new area of work. One reason as to why he was so confident, capable, and efficient civil servant as he always mastered the subject which came along with his new job. He never hesitated to make bold decisions even during the thick of crisis.

Satya Prakash was not only a strict and tough official in every sense of the term with impeccable integrity, great devotion to duty and commitment for cause, his human quality was simply remarkable and exemplary. He could go to any extent in the defense of an honest person. As a model civil servant, he remained politically neutral all through his long sparkling career.

As a student of political science, he had developed specialization in the Chinese studies. He worked in close collaboration with Professor Manoranjan Mohanty, a recognized expert on the Chinese affairs. His interest on China remained till the end. Had he not joined civil service he would have easily become an eminent Sinologist.

Satya, born on March 19, 1952, earned his Master’s in Political Science from the University of Delhi and briefly served as a lecturer before joining the IAS in 1975. He is survived by two sons and a daughter-in-law. His last rites will be conducted at Satya Nagar crematorium, according to family members.

His spirituality made him a rare human being. Till the end of life, he earmarked a certain period of time in a day for meditation. He had developed a rare skill and ability of healing other people’s physical pain.

Apart from being a brilliant student, he was a good footballer in college and also remained a cricketer even after his student days. As a medium-pace bowler, he received accolade from the distinguished cricketers like L. I. Parija, a very well-known Ranji Trophy player of the early fifties. Till the end he remained physically active playing tennis and going for long and brisk walks.

His standards of conduct would remain as a beacon light for the young civil servants. He was a devoted husband, loving father, and a very sincere friend.

For his admirable qualities, he will be missed by his friends, colleagues, and family apart from the State and the society.