Thamaa hua Aakash by Niraj Kumar

 

About the book

Thamaa hua Aakash (The sky stood still) is a collection of Hindi poems, written in last 4-5 years, and during the existential turmoil the world has faced, and is still facing.
The poems are in clusters. Khabari (Newsmaker) poems are snippets of things, good, bad or ugly,
unfolding around us. The unprecedented exodus of migrant labourers, the student unrest in a
certain institution, the almost lost struggle with COVID, till the vaccines came along, children we
were unable to save on some excuse or the other, our brave soldiers attaining martyrdom, death of
an ex-prime minister who was a poet and a philosopher, etc.
There are short sketches, of mind and matter, in the Laghu Kathayen series. Having come from
Bihar-Jharkhand ancestry, the eastern dialect is close to his heart, and the author has put some
poems, emanating from our closely guarded, day to day lives, in the Purabia section. An extension of
this can be seen in the Gud Kathayen (jaggery tales) section.
However, some poems have escaped this process of clustering, and demand independent voice, of
their own. So, a call has been taken, and they are, just, Nirbandh, literally, un-labelled.
I am grateful to my wife, Dr Shikha Mathur Kumar, who is my colleague as well as a prolific painter,
for allowing me to use one of her works for the cover design. I grateful to my son, Samvit, for his
insights. I am grateful to my co-workers, Mr. Sundaresh and Mr Raman, for providing necessary
support to make this work a reality. I am grateful to Blue Rose publishers and its very supportive
editorial team for bringing out this poetry collection.
This book is dedicated to Shashwat, (10/10/2001-04/03/2019) my younger son, who we lost to
severe illness followed by his heroic struggle for 14 years.

Niraj Kumar
Kolkata,
January the 3 rd , 2022.

About the author

 Born in 1965 in Jharkhand. Father, Shri Gyanendra Kumar Sinha comes from the line of citizens of the erstwhile republic of Vaishali, who, later migrated and settled on the banks of Sone rover, near western Patna, Bihar. Mother, Smt Maya Sinha comes from one of the Zamindar families of Hisua, in the Magadh area of Bihar. He author was raised mostly in Ranchi, and in Bokaro Steel City, where his father worked. Graduated in Geology Honours from Science College, Patna, and joined MSc. Geology in Patna University, dropped out to join Civil Services in 1992. Married in 1994 with fellow civil servant, Dr Shikha Mathur. Serving in Indian Postal Service, associated with release of perfumed postage stamps on sandalwood, rose, and jasmine. Instrumental in launch of Dhai Akhar, a campaign to foster letter writing, especially among children and teenagers. Also associated with the launching of a national scholarship programme for children to encourage the hobby of stamp collection.
Served on deputation in the Department of Heavy Industries, as Director (Automotive), part of the
team that created the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan 2020, and , later, FAME India. Part of
the team of automotive sector representatives and officials that participated in several meetings
under the aegis of United Nations Economic Commission for Europe in Geneva. Represented India Post in international postage stamp exhibitions in Spain, Singapore, Brazil etc.
Did MBA in International Marketing from Pondicherry University in 2019.
First poetry collection, Paanv Pagdandi Thaur (memoirs of the footloose), came in 2013, was
launched by the then Minister of Heavy Industries, and, Shri Ashok Chakradhar , the eminent poet.
Currently serving as Post Master General, Kolkata Region, Kolkata.

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