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Musafir Nama VIII is the thirteenth collection of poems coming from the prolific pen of Ajay Kumar Singh 'Musafir'. They deal with the whole gamut of human existence and the varied experience called life during our times.
Musafir's poetry is essentially didactic, the treatment being philosophical in nature. He prefers the rhyming scheme for the opportunities it provides by limiting the scope of expression, thereby providing a challenge to the poet to hone his craft and provide for meaningful poetry within the limits set by verse.
There is a certain randomness to the chain of poems which have been printed in the order of the date of composition, as the Musafir Nama series is essentially a collection of the poet's thought on a variety of different colours that is life.
His poetry reflects the liberalism he imbibed in reaction to, during the heyday of aggressive socialism which claimed for themselves the culmination of the intellectual efforts of the entire humanity. The sheer arrogance of the left, left a bad aftertaste and a suspicion that clothed in bombastic subterfuge there hid within a false philosophy which was a compromise between desire and honest academics. His poetry thus reflects the uncertainties of human existence and the beauty and grace that it engenders.
Ajay Kumar Singh 'musafir''
Ajay Kumar Singh 'Musafir' is a prolific poet who prefers and promotes the rhyming verse format. Born to Draupadi Devi nee Rai, from Khajraitha, Bihar, and Arjun Prasad Singh of Olipur, District Lakhisarai, Bihar, he studied in Bethany School, Darjeeling and St. Josephs College school Darjeeling, and graduated from Hansraj College, Delhi University (1984-1987) with a BA (Hons) in History and did his post-graduation from JNU, New Delhi (1987-1993) with an MA and an MPhil in International Relations. Thus during his formative years he was in exile from his beloved home Neel Kothi, Lakhisarai. Hence his intense longing for his hometown - Lakhisarai.
His literary journey was ignited by the two masters of Urdu Ghazal poetry, first by Meer Taqi Meer and Ghalib when Sanjeev Ranjan, raconteur par excellence, a friend and a mentor, took the trouble to explain Urdu ghazals, which till then was an insurmountable wall. This simply opened the floodgates. His other influences were William Shakespeare, William Wordsworth, Sir Walter Scott, Kabir, Tulsidas, Abdur Rahim Khan-i-Khanan, Rabindranath Tagore, Harivansh Rai Bachchan and Bollywood.
Indian History has been a passion ever since he began to understand its dynamics in the third year of his honours course in Hansraj College.
He adopted the pen name 'Musafir' meaning traveller as we all are Musafirs travelling from one place to another, one age to another, one world to another and one life to another.
He is currently a Civil Servant, resident in Gurgaon.
He has written The Donkey Chronicles (2017), Poems From Lakhisarai (2017), The Sounds of Silence (2017), Locating Lo-in-ni-lo (2018), Musafir Nama I 2017, II 2018, III 2018, IV 2019, V 2019, VI 2019, Asoka (2019), Musafir Nama VII (2020) and The Hansraj Years (2020). All except Locating Lo-in-ni-lo are poetry collections. He plans to write The Mystic Journey.
