Preface Raghavakavyamauktikaṁ (Part I) is a collection of Professor V. Raghavan's poems, lyrics and hymns including stray verses, which have not been included in any other work by him published in book-form. It has been a stupendous work to select, arrange and translate them for this Anthology. I remember the evening on the day of 22nd August, 2017, when I sat with Smt. Nandini Ramani, the illustrious daughter of the great poet, to collect the matter for it. There was a vast mass of files piled before us - comprising of various writings of Professor V. Raghavan. Nandini ji had preserved it intact for all these decades after the demise of her father. Going through the pages in these files, which also included very small slips, hand written notes etc., besides the off prints of Raghavan's writings published in Saṁskṛtapratibhā, printed hand outs and booklets of Kavi Kokilamanjarī, I was wonderstruck by the way Prof. Raghavan worked. He made optimum use of his creative genius, and recorded the lines of poetry that came to him on any piece of paper available during his travels, participation in various programs and other occasions, and then meticulously keeping the files of such papers. For two and half years, the material handed over to me by Smt. Nandini has been with me. I have been trying to arrange the loose papers, to decipher the handwriting of Prof. Raghavan and some of the obscure passages of his poems whenever I could find time for this.
Introduction Professor V. Raghavan has been one of the savants of twentieth century. One of the most dynamic men of our age, he was a multi-faceted and institution-like personality. He was an eminent poet, an erudite scholar, a prolific author, a cultural activist and a great lover of Sanskrit. A Bibliography of his writings in book form which was released on his 60th birth day comprises 300 pages! Nandini Ramani, his daughter, has given a list of 190 books, monographs, booklets and compilations by Raghavan in her monograph on her father. Raghavan struggled hard to carve a niche for himself in academic circles and rose to heights that have remained unattainable after him. Above all he bore a spiritual personality, combining the best of Indian tradition with a sense of modernity.
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