Ananta Press is delighted to congratulate young author Pradev Karan on being officially selected as a Winner of the Ananta Press Sahitya Ratna Award for his heartfelt book, Being a Big Brother (B³). This recognition celebrates not only the warmth and value of the book, but also the remarkable confidence of an eleven-year-old author who has chosen to share his personal experiences with honesty, simplicity, and courage.
Being a Big Brother is a deeply relatable non-fiction book based on Pradev’s own journey of becoming an elder brother. Through family adventures, playful moments, disagreements, emotional situations, and everyday memories, he shows readers what growing up within a loving family truly feels like. The book does not attempt to make childhood look perfect. Instead, it presents childhood as it naturally exists, filled with laughter, confusion, learning, affection, responsibility, and gradual emotional growth.
The Ananta Press Sahitya Ratna Award recognises books and authors whose work carries originality, literary value, emotional depth, and the power to create a meaningful connection with readers. Each nominated work is considered by a six-member committee that studies the book’s message, presentation, relevance, reader impact, and contribution to literature.
Being a Big Brother stood out because it brings forward a voice that is often spoken about but not always heard directly. It is the honest voice of a child describing his own experiences, feelings, observations, and relationships.
One of the greatest strengths of the book is its authenticity. Pradev writes from his own understanding instead of presenting childhood through an adult interpretation. His thoughts and memories give the book a natural freshness. Young readers can recognise their own emotions in his experiences, while parents can gain a better understanding of the inner world of children. This balance gives the book value for readers of different ages.
The award committee also appreciated the important themes explored throughout the book. Sibling love forms the heart of the narrative, but the book also speaks about kindness, empathy, responsibility, resilience, emotional awareness, communication, and family values.
Pradev shows that becoming a big brother is not only about having a younger sibling. It is also about learning to care, share, adjust, protect, forgive, communicate, and grow. These lessons are presented through simple experiences rather than heavy instructions, making the message easy for children to understand and remember.
The book carries a positive social and literary contribution because it encourages children to express themselves. It reminds young readers that their emotions, experiences, and stories matter. Pradev’s achievement can inspire other children to write, speak honestly, and believe that age should never become a barrier to creativity. His work proves that meaningful literature can come from genuine observation and heartfelt expression.
Being a Big Brother also encourages families to value everyday conversations and small moments. Family memories are often created not only during major occasions, but also during ordinary days, shared jokes, misunderstandings, arguments, apologies, and moments of support. By recording these experiences, Pradev has created a book that can help families reflect on their own relationships and appreciate the emotional bonds that hold them together.
For its originality, honest child-centred voice, emotional warmth, clear values, and ability to connect children and parents, Being a Big Brother has earned a deserving place among the winners of the Ananta Press Sahitya Ratna Award.
The committee recognises Pradev Karan as a promising young literary voice whose work reflects imagination, sensitivity, courage, and maturity beyond his years. His book proves that children do not have to wait until adulthood to share meaningful stories or create an impact on readers.
Ananta Press warmly congratulates Pradev Karan and his family on this wonderful achievement. May this award encourage him to continue observing, imagining, writing, and sharing his voice with the world. We wish him great success in his literary journey and proudly recognise his valuable contribution to children’s expression, family literature, and contemporary non-fiction.
Jury Feedback
The following feedback paragraphs have been prepared as individual jury feedback drafts based on the book’s subject, themes, message, and literary qualities.
Glenville Ashby
Being a Big Brother is a warm and honest book that allows readers to see family life through the eyes of a child. I found the natural voice of Pradev Karan to be the strongest quality of the book. He does not try to sound older than his age, and this gives every story sincerity and charm. The small incidents, disagreements, jokes, and family adventures feel familiar, making the book easy to connect with. I especially appreciated how Pradev presents responsibility as something learned slowly through everyday experiences. The book shows that being an elder brother includes love and protection, but also patience, adjustment, and understanding. It can help young readers recognise their own feelings and can help parents listen more carefully to their children. The writing carries a positive message without becoming too serious or instructional. This is a meaningful contribution from a young author, and it deserves recognition for its emotional honesty, simplicity, and ability to inspire children to value their own voices.
Kavya Pandey
What touched me most about Being a Big Brother was the way it celebrates ordinary family moments. Pradev Karan understands that childhood memories are not always created through large events. They are often formed through conversations, playful arguments, shared adventures, mistakes, forgiveness, and small acts of care. His book gives importance to these moments and turns them into meaningful stories. The theme of sibling love is presented with honesty because the relationship is not shown as perfect all the time. There are disagreements and challenges, but there is also learning and emotional growth. This makes the book realistic and useful for children. Pradev’s age adds special value to the work because readers hear a child speaking in his own words. The book can encourage young people to write about their lives without feeling that their experiences are too small. It also reminds adults to respect the thoughts and feelings of children. I believe the book is gentle, sincere, relatable, and worthy of this literary recognition.
Apeksha Gupta
Being a Big Brother has an innocent and refreshing quality that is difficult to create through an adult perspective. Pradev Karan writes directly from experience, and this makes the book emotionally truthful. His observations about becoming an elder brother reveal kindness, curiosity, confusion, responsibility, and gradual maturity. I liked that the book does not simply tell children how they should behave. Instead, it shares situations from which readers can understand the importance of empathy, patience, and communication. The language and storytelling are approachable, which makes the book suitable for young readers and families. At the same time, its message is meaningful for parents because it offers a closer look at how children understand relationships and changes within a family. Pradev’s work also has an inspiring purpose. It shows other children that they can express their ideas and create something valuable at a young age. The book deserves appreciation for its originality, emotional warmth, family values, and its positive contribution to children’s confidence and creative expression.
Kavita Kaushik
I found Being a Big Brother to be a thoughtful and joyful account of childhood, family relationships, and personal growth. Pradev Karan writes with a simplicity that makes the book feel like a sincere conversation with the reader. His experiences as an elder brother are presented through real emotions rather than ideal situations. He shows affection, excitement, disagreement, responsibility, and learning as natural parts of family life. This honesty makes the book especially relatable for children who have siblings or are adjusting to changes at home. The book also carries valuable lessons about kindness, resilience, understanding, and forgiveness, but these lessons develop naturally through the stories. They are not forced upon the reader. I also appreciate the way the book can bring parents and children together. Families may recognise similar experiences and begin conversations about feelings, responsibilities, and relationships. Pradev’s achievement is admirable because he has transformed personal memories into a book with wider emotional value. His voice is genuine, promising, and deserving of encouragement and recognition.
Neel Preet
Being a Big Brother is special because it gives childhood the freedom to speak for itself. Pradev Karan does not depend on complicated language or dramatic ideas to hold the reader’s attention. He finds meaning in family life, sibling interactions, humorous incidents, challenges, and emotional discoveries. This simplicity is not a weakness. It is the literary strength of the book because it preserves the honesty of a young author’s voice. I was impressed by the way Pradev connects the role of an elder brother with responsibility, care, empathy, and self-development. He understands that growing up happens through both happy and difficult experiences. The book encourages children to accept their emotions, learn from mistakes, and communicate with their families. It can also help adults remember that children observe and understand more than they often express. By sharing his personal journey, Pradev has created a bridge between young readers and parents. The work is original, positive, and inspiring, and it can motivate many children to believe that their stories deserve to be written and shared.
Deepak Seth
Pradev Karan’s Being a Big Brother is a sincere book with a clear heart and a valuable purpose. It records the experience of becoming an elder brother from the viewpoint of an eleven-year-old, which gives the work freshness and originality. The stories reflect the many sides of sibling relationships, including affection, fun, disagreements, adjustment, protection, and emotional learning. I appreciated that Pradev does not present himself as someone who always knows the right answer. He shows growth as a process and allows readers to see how responsibility develops through experience. This makes the book believable and encouraging. Young readers can relate to the situations, while parents can understand how family changes may appear in a child’s mind. The book also supports important values such as kindness, empathy, resilience, communication, and respect. Most importantly, it sends a strong message that children should not underestimate their thoughts or creative abilities. Pradev has made a meaningful literary beginning, and this award can inspire him to continue writing with the same honesty, imagination, and emotional sensitivity.
