For his fifth volume of verse, Ashok Sawhny has brought his poetic skills to bear on a wide variety of subjects, from the diversions of the West to shady politicians on the Indian subcontinent. If the overall tone of this collection is elegiac, it is because the author, as a grandparent observing the world from his conservatory or writing den, has seen much of life, and seen much of it go wrong. Of course, family is a plus point, a blessing; but what of man's dealings with nature? What of his restless, destructive greed - so admirably depicted in the disturbing poem 'Temptation'?
While reminding us of the genuine rewards of the natural world and the passions that can lift us off the dusty ground to undreamt-of pinnacles, the author's satirical side is clear in his forty-three stanza poem 'Nonsensical Verses'. Of the longer poems, 'Would I Go Live Elsewhere?' reflects a settler's contentment, while in many of the shorter pieces there is a quiet optimism, a gentle affirmation of faith that speaks to the heart:
If in all of this I see, disguised,
The Unseen Hand, I am not surprised.
ASHOK SAWHNY was born in Lahore, Punjab, in 1937. The family moved to New Delhi, India after Partition in 1947. Schooled at Modern School and graduating in Economics from St Stephen's College, Delhi, he worked with Indian Industry until 1977 and then started his own International Trading Company, Monarch International, of which he is president. His love for art, literature and the finer side of life finds expression in his previous books The Sands of Time, As Time Goes By and Fruit Salad. He also writes in Urdu language.