Dr. Kshitij Mohan (January 26, 1945 January 2, 2010) was a senior executive with the U.S. Government and a corporate leader with major organizations in the healthcare industry. He maintained a life- long love of literature and the arts, and wrote poetry in Hindi and English. An earlier volume of his poems, Ashes of Gold, was published in 1969.
It is with a great deal of pride and gratification that I hum- bly offer this Foreword for this marvelous book of poetry by Kshitij Mohan, a bosom friend of mine.
1 first came to know Kshitij when I joined Patna Science College, back in the summer of 1961, as a B.Sc. student. I was taking a little stroll, chit-chatting about life in Patna University with an old friend, who suddenly exclaimed, "Here comes Kshitij Mohan. If you don't know him, you will, soon enough. Everybody in Patna University worth his salt knows Kshitij Mohan." I looked, with a degree of awe, at the young man of about 18, a life-size engineering protractor resting on his left shoulder - like a rifle on a soldier - and an air of uncommon self-confidence mixed with abundant abandonment upon his smiling face. My friend's prediction proved to be true before long. Kshitij was enrolled as a Physics Honors student, as was I. We soon became close friends.
It was a privilege to know and be a close friend of Kshitij Mohan, or Kayem, the pen-name he used as a writer and edi- tor of a literary newsletter he published. A brilliant student, he also managed a host of side-activities: debate, poetry, jour- nalism, and superb leadership in many an issue pertaining to the student body of Patna University. And he managed to ex- cel in all his worthy endeavors.
As the yellow and orange of the ascending sun peaked through the pinnacles of the Himalayas, my children Vivek and Kavita, my grandson Anant, and I gathered on the banks of the Ganges to perform the last rites for my husband Kshitij Mohan. It was a rainy morning. The Ganges flowed with full force, piercing the hearts of the mountains. Seraph-like clouds hovered overhead and watched with misty eyes the religious performance of the old priest. The only things that broke the serenity of the occasion were the sound of the rain, the serenade of the Ganges, and the chanting of the shlokas.
I chose this name for Kshitij's book for several reasons, some that will be obvious to readers, and some that are less obvious. "Tamam Shud" is the name of one of his poems. It was published originally in 1969 as the final poem of his book Ashes Of Gold, and it also is included in this new collection of his poems. The combination of the Urdu-Hindi words reflects Kshitij's early years in Aligarh, a city whose language, culture, and food is heavily influenced by its Muslim and Hindu population. The meaning of the words, "tamam shud," "absolute purity," also means a complete, full, and beautiful life, and reflects Kshitij's philosophy of living life to the fullest.
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