At a time when many youngsters while away their time on social media, Sagar Pradhan prefers penning books. Sagar’s latest book, Internet of Things, has already created a lot of buzz among technology buffs.
Born and brought up in Kendrapara district of Odisha, Sagar’s works have been recognised by many national and international organisations and he has also won several awards. He is also a member of International Association of Engineers & IAENG Society of Computer Scientists. A regular travel and tech blogger, he is quite popular among netizens.
Born to Bidulata and Tapan Kumar Pradhan, Sagar completed his schooling from Mallikeswar Government Nodal High School, Kendrapara. An alumnus of BPUT, he shifted to Bengaluru after securing a job with Infosys Technologies. After working for five years at Infosys, Sagar moved to Cognizant as a senior associate.
However, getting a lucrative job wasn’t Sagar’s only objective in life. He was always inclined towards writing and decided to start writing on information and technology. His recent book Internet of Things has been well received and Sagar sounds happy with the response it has generated. “The book deals with computing concepts and describes how everything today is connected to the Internet. Today, IoT plays an important role and has made things easier. IoT can convert any gadget to smart like smart watch, smart TV and smart air conditioner. Much like smart watches and smart TVs, we will also see smart homes, smart roads and smart hospitals in future,” says the young author.
One of the biggest reasons for the success of his recent book is the relevance of the subject, says Sagar. “IoT has huge potential and is fast changing our lives. That’s the reason the book has struck a chord with today’s tech-savvy generation. The book is also used as reference material by quite a few IT institutes,” he says. Besides, the book has also been appreciated by a number of international research organisations like IoT Council (Europe), IOTSPHERE (USA) and IAENG (Hong Kong).
Sagar has also tried his hand at fiction and one of his books, A Cup of Tea with Life, was also a success. However, he is more passionate about information and technology, which made him shift to non-fiction. “I wanted to be both an engineer and an author. I always keep myself updated about technological changes happening across the world. Three years ago, I decided to start writing non-fiction,” he says.
Sharing an interesting story, Sagar says, “When I was in school, I used to take notes, write it in my own style and then memorise that. Later, I found that my juniors were using my notes and found them quite helpful. I thought ‘Why not start writing?’ This would be the best way to spread knowledge and help people. My manuscripts later turned into books.”
Sagar draws inspiration from former President of India the late Dr APJ Abdul Kalam and is an ardent admirer of authors such as JK Rowling, Dan Brown, Manoj Das, Pratibha Ray and Shiv Khera.
Getting felicitated by the Governor of Odisha Ganeshi Lal for his book Internet of Things has been one of the highpoints of Sagar’s life. “It was a big moment for me when our Governor Ganeshi Lal patted my shoulders and said, ‘Don’t think you are unknown to me. I have read all your books.’ Then he showed me a list of all my books,” says Sagar, who has also authored Basic Java (2015).
Already busy with another book, Sagar says, “My next book is on Artificial Intelligence and is expected to release mid-2019.” He also has plans of starting an academy in his village in a few years’ time. “I have learnt how to make machines and use them. Now, I want to teach and share my knowledge with others,” he says.
SOYONG, OP
