Atal Bihari Vajpayee was born in Gwalior in 1924. After obtaining his MA degree, he worked as a journalist, and was editor of Rashtradharma and Panchajanya. He gave up journalism in 1951, when he became a founder-member of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, forerunner of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He was elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time in 1957, and thereafter re-elected eight times. In 1977, he was appointed external affairs minister in the Janata givernment and served in that capacity until 1980. His published works include the poetry collections Qaidi Kavirai Ki Kundaliyan and Meri Ikyavan Kavitaen; a collection of speeches, Lok Sabha Mein Atalji; and a book, New Dimensions of India's Foreign Policy.
Pavan K. Varma, a writer-diplomat and politician, is the national general secretary and national spokesman of the Janata Dal (United). He was till recently a member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha. A bestselling author, he has been ambassador to several countries as well as director of the Nehru Centre in London, official
spokesperson of the ministry of external affairs, and press secretary to the President of India.
Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the prime minister of India from 1998 to 2004, was a political worker for over five decades. But he was a poet for much longer. This collection of twenty-one poems, marked by disarming simplicity, passion and sincerity, highlights his concerns and convictions, both public and private. His themes range from social inequality and the evils of war to the perils of self-serving attitudes, and the supreme importance of love for our fellow human beings. Also in the collection are moving and very personal poems written at moments of crisis.
Twenty-One Poems provides a rare and rewarding glimpse into the mind of the leader of over a billion people. The English translations, by the bestselling author Pavan K. Varma, retain the simplicity and immediacy of the Hindi originals, which appear alongside the translations in this bilingual edition.
