"Reviewing a book of poems is difficult; and writing a ‘Forward’ even more complicated. I read the book thrice. The first reading was an enjoyable experience. The second one gave me better insight. But it was the third reading which threw open newer and even revolutionary vision that was there for all to see and feel between the lines. Congratulations to Mr. Amit Kumar Mall for his brilliant penmanship. The words flow like a river. Free and unencumbered. As you read on, you begin to marvel at the writer’s inner feelings that swing from hope to despair and from realism to utopian flights of imagination. At times, you feel like empathizing with his lonely, melancholic moments. True, life is mixture of different experiences. A poet pens his experience in the form of a verse. Honestly, boldly and beautifully. All mortals can’t do that. And Mr. Mall is a wonderful poet. Indeed. Allow me to quote a few lines from his book: “It’s a New custom of our age, Zeitgeist…. Wars are waged for the sake of peace.” In the next few pages, the poet encounters an altogether different feeling and sounds a warning. He writes: “Stop playing The game of scripting destinies The crown is trampled, overrun When time changes” While congratulating the writer for his extraordinary work of art, I would love to quote Franz Grillparzer who wrote: “Prose talks and poetry sings”. Yes, Mr. Mall sings. Very well. Go on. And sing more and more. Good luck Ambikanand Sahay Former Resident Editor The Times of India"
