Smiles Beyond The Twilight

Bijay Kishore Sundar Ray was born in 1949 and belongs to Bhubaneswar. He joined the Indian Administrative Service in 1972 and held important positions in the undivided Madhya Pradesh. When the State was bifurcated in November, 2000, Mr. Ray was allocated Chhattisgarh cadre. The burdens of administration never affected his love for literature. After a chequered career, Mr. Ray retired in 2009 in the rank of Chief Secretary to the Government of Chhattisgarh. A prolific writer, Ray has so far written one novel, two short story collections and five volumes of poetry in English. He is also the author of a satirical collection in Hindi, "Rasoi Ghar Ka Rajkumar". Besides, Ray regularly writes on contemporary affairs for newspapers and magazines. "A single- minded devotion to literature is a liberating experience", says Ray. His love for poetry is influenced by the writings of D.H. Lawrence, Andrew Motion, Octavio Paz and Pablo Neruda, apart from other eminent poets. His two poetry collections, "Passion's Flying Moments" and "Smiles Beyond The Twilight" highlight his commitment to love, relationship and an optimistic endeavour to destroy the dark tides of despair! There is an element of existentialism in all his poems. Mr. Ray lives in Raipur (Chhattisgarh) where he intends to pursue his literary activities.

Writing poetry is like waging a war to destroy an unbearable psychological decadence. It is a movement without a pause. Whenever I write a poem, I feel extraordinarily fresh. The day to day turbulence is transformed in to a piece of music through words that speak for themselves. Poetry is a process of discovery and every line of a poem refers to a mystic experience. "The restless city circles in my blood like a bee", wrote Octavio Paz. It's, in fact, the restlessness of a poet who is out to explore and experience! "Smiles Beyond The Twilight" is the outcome of a psychological process that turned me restless day and night. Well, look forward to my readers to respond to my restlessness. I take this opportunity to thank all my friends and well-wishers whose love and support enabled me to come out with this collection of selected poems.

**Contents and Sample Pages**