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This is an anthology of ninety selected poems from India-the land of the exquisitely crafted poetry in marble, the Taj Mahal. These poems inspire, edify, enlighten, and challenge readers to explore themselves, their environment, the world around them-and even the unseen. A summary biography of each of the thirty poets ranging from the ancient to the modern is followed by selected poems by these individual authors. Sages and Nobel laureates, as well as royalty and the intelligentsia are included in this collection of bygone poets spanning 25 centuries-from the 5th century B.C. to the 21st century A.D. Most of these poems were originally written in one of the diverse languages of India, including Sanskrit, Hindi, Tamil, Bengali, and Urdu, and were skillfully translated into the English language by these poets themselves, or by other poet-scholars.

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Victor S. Sohmen is a university professor of management and leadership. He attended a military school in South India, where he was introduced early to the beauty of poetry. He is a former foreign-going ship captain and winner of the Canadian Governor-General´s Gold Medal for Academic Excellence (1996). He lives in Philadelphia with his family.

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