Income Tax Commissioner Srujani Mohanty has come up with her debut book, a collection of poems, Ash In The Sky. The book, published by Bhubaneswar-based Mahanadi Books, was released by Padma Shri Bibek Debroy, economist, author and bureaucrat, at the India International Center this Sunday.
Noted bureaucrats, including Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik, economist Dr Devesh Roy, filmmaker Siddharth Gigoo, among others were present on the occasion.
Comprising 82 poems spread over four sections, one each on Love and Relationships, Nature’s Vista, Japan Diary and Soul’s Stirrings and Sojourns, the book seeks to revisit the art of romantic lyricism. Through the lyrics the author celebrates motherhood and close ties with parents as well as nature, in equal measure.
“I am a die-hard romantic and you will see this reflected in my work,” says Mohanty, adding that the book has poems she wrote over the last 25 years. “I think the Japan Diary section is the pinnacle of my work. The three years I spent in Tokya, Japan really had a great effect on me, and I have reproduced all that in the book,” she adds.
“The narration of relationships reminds the reader of the intellectual transfers akin to the ones that we read in Jhumpa Lahiri’s Namesake,” says Dr Roy.
Appreciating the poems, Gigoo remarks, “Her poems are beautiful, especially those inspired by Japan. I can relate with her because through her writings she shows that she has a very different view of the world around her. Some of her poems are really heart-touching.”