K. J. S. Chatrath joined the Indian Administrative Service in Odisha in 1967 and retired from Bhubaneswar in 2003. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Paris South, France, for his thesis on the ‘Indo- French Diplomatic Relations’. He has authored/edited 24 books-mostly on the Indo-French interface. Out of these, ‘India in the Debates of the French Parliament’ carried a Foreword by His Excellency the French Ambassador in India and its first copy was received by the Hon’ble President of India. The first copy of his book ‘Vers la Lumiere: A Study of the French School System’ was received by the Hon’ble Vice-President of India. ‘Reminscences: Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration’, Mussoorie, of which he was the Co-Editor, was released in September 2010 by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India. Another of his books, ‘Homage to brave Labour Force members of World War-I from Odisha commemorated in Mazargues Military Cemetery, France’ was released by the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Odisha in 2017.
‘France- A Brief Bibliography’, ‘A Glance at France’, ‘The French Collection’ and ‘The Last Post: Inscriptions on French Graves in India’ etc. are some of his other books. He has published three colourful coffee table books- ‘Priceless Icons in the Crypt of St. Alexander Nevski Cathedral, Sofia, Bulgaria’; ‘Colourful Caminito (Buenos Aires, Argentina)’ and ‘Recoleta Cemetery, Argentina: An Open Air Museum’.
He publishes a blog http://allochatrath@blogspot.com. He can be contacted at chatrath@gmail .com.