IAF Veteran Anand Kumar Ashodhiya’s Literary Odyssey

Anand Kumar Ashodhiya is a retired Warrant Officer of the Indian Air Force (IAF) who transitioned from military service to a prolific career as a literary scholar, poet, and preserver of Haryanvi folk heritage. His "literary odyssey" is characterized by a commitment to documenting oral traditions and applying rigorous scholarly standards, such as Pingal Shastra (prosody), to regional literature. 

Key Literary Focus Areas

Cultural Preservation: Ashodhiya is known for documenting traditional Haryanvi folk epics (Ragnis), ensuring they are preserved with technical accuracy through prosodic reviews.

Linguistic Scholarship: He produces works in Hindi, Haryanvi, and English, often adapting ancient Indian epics and regional folklore for modern audiences.

Philosophical & Patriotic Themes: His poetry often blends spiritual depth with national pride, reflecting his background as a veteran. 

Notable Works

Ashodhiya has authored over 13 major works, including: 

Adhirājan (2022/2025): A folk epic written in the traditional Ragni form.

SĀKET (2025): An English trans-creation of a significant literary work.

Heer Ranjha (2025): A collection of Haryanvi Ragnis accompanied by analysis and Pingal reviews.

Ath Marjarika Uvach (2025): A symbolic Hindi epic exploring Indian history through 2025.

NISWARTHI UDYOGA PARVA (2025): An English rendering of the Mahabharata’s Udyoga Parva.

Antaryātrā (2026): An introspective work available as an English transliteration. 

Through his publishing venture, Avikavani Publishers, he continues to elevate Haryanvi literature by providing a platform for traditional art forms and modern free-verse poetry. 

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 About the Author: Anand Kumar Ashodhiya

Anand Kumar Ashodhiya is a distinguished Indian poet, literary translator, cultural analyst, and self-publishing editor whose work bridges folk tradition, modern ethical inquiry, and bilingual literary expression. A retired Warrant Officer of the Indian Air Force, Ashodhiya brings to literature the discipline of military service and the moral seriousness of lived national experience. His writing reflects a rare synthesis of patriotism, social conscience, spiritual reflection, and cultural preservation, firmly rooted in the soil of Haryana while speaking to a wider Indian and global readership.

Academically inclined toward literary criticism and folk poetics, Ashodhiya has emerged as a significant voice in Haryanvi and Hindi literary studies, particularly in the domains of ragni (folk ballad tradition), epic reinterpretation, and symbolic historiography. His work is marked by clarity of diction, restraint of emotion, and an ethical gaze that treats poetry not as ornament, but as moral testimony. He frequently employs folk metres, Pingal prosody, and symbolic frameworks to reinterpret classical and contemporary themes for modern audiences.

Ashodhiya writes fluently across Hindi, Haryanvi, and English, and his bilingual and transcreated works have expanded the reach of regional Indian literature into English literary discourse. He is the founder of Avikavani Publishers, his self-publishing imprint dedicated to preserving folk traditions, documenting cultural memory, and presenting Indian literary works with academic seriousness and global accessibility.

Among his notable published works is Antaryātrā — The Inner Journey (2026), a bilingual collection of Hindi poems with English translations that explores patriotism, social reform, moral conflict, and inward spiritual reflection. The book has been widely noted for poems on Kargil, Shaheed Udham Singh, corruption, communal violence, and childhood memory, positioning the collection as a form of ethical historiography.

His epic and folk-literary contributions include Ath Marjarika Uvach (ISBN: 978-93-5619-397-0, 2025), a large symbolic epic reinterpreting Indian history from antiquity to the contemporary era through an original system of literary symbols; Adhirājan (Second Revised Edition, 2025), a Haryanvi cultural epic; and Draupadi: Ek Lok Chetna — Ragni, Samiksha aur Punarpaath (ISBN: 978-93-344-4058-4, 2025), a landmark folk re-reading of Draupadi as a voice of resistance and moral agency.

In the field of translation and transcreation, Ashodhiya has produced SĀKET: An English Transcreation (ISBN: 978-93-5469-845-3, 2025), inspired by Maithili Sharan Gupt’s epic, rendered in Miltonic blank verse with Tagorian devotion. His English translation Kahaan Kahaan Paiband Lagau (ISBN: 978-93-5592-178-9, 2025), originally by Saroj Dahiya, has been praised for its cultural sensitivity and narrative fidelity. He also transcreated Niswarthi Udyoga Parva (ISBN: 978-93-5525-694-2, 2025), bringing a Haryanvi bhajan-based Mahabharata parva into English.

His poetry collection Prem Ke Sau Rang — Aadhunik Hindi Laghukavita (ISBN: 978-93-344-5526-7, 2025) presents love as social responsibility, sacrifice, and spiritual discipline.

For his contributions to Haryanvi literature and cultural preservation, Anand Kumar Ashodhiya has been honored with the Haryanvi Sahitya Ratna 2025 and Haryana Sanskriti Gaurav Ratna. Today, he continues to write, translate, and curate literature that serves as both art and conscience, reaffirming poetry’s enduring role in ethical and cultural life.

“For a full list of books, visit Books & Publications page.”

His complete bibliography is available on the Books & Publications page, while his digital presence is documented under Author Profiles & Media Presence.

For author biography, visit About the Author.
Media coverage and interviews are listed under Media Mentions.
For academic or publishing enquiries, please Contact.

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SĀKET: An English Transcreation — A Devotional Epic Reimagined

SĀKET: An English Transcreation — A Devotional Epic Reimagined

SĀKET: An English Transcreation — A Devotional Epic Reimagined

Between Translation and Revelation

In the evolving landscape of modern Indian English literature, SĀKET: An English Transcreation by Anand Kumar Ashodhiya stands as a rare and ambitious literary achievement. Inspired by Sākēt, the celebrated Hindi epic of Maithili Sharan Gupt, this work is not a literal translation but a poetic transcreation—a rebirth of ethical and devotional consciousness into the dignified cadence of English blank verse.

Ashodhiya positions himself at a unique literary confluence: the moral grandeur of Milton and the spiritual lyricism of Tagore. The result is a Miltonic–Tagorian devotional epic that transcends linguistic boundaries while remaining firmly rooted in India’s civilizational ethos.

The Epic Vision

Structured across eight Cantos, SĀKET traces the moral arc of the Rāmāyaṇa—from the harmony of Ayodhya to the redemptive solitude of exile. The poem privileges dharma as conscience, not conquest; restraint over triumph; endurance over spectacle.

“Let Beauty rise from service as from soil,
and Love be law, and law the heart of Love.”

Here, Rāma’s greatness lies in ethical restraint, and Sītā’s divinity in luminous endurance. The epic elevates dharma into poetic consciousness—transforming moral discipline into a form of beauty.

Language, Structure, and Style

Written in English blank verse, the poem adopts a solemn, meditative rhythm reminiscent of Paradise Lost, while retaining the tenderness and spiritual clarity associated with Gitanjali. Each Canto opens with an invocation, followed by contextual prose and sustained poetic movement—allowing accessibility without sacrificing epic depth.

Sanskritic resonances—Dharma, Sākēt, Rāma, Sītā—are carefully woven into the English idiom, ensuring cultural authenticity alongside universal readability. Symbolism drawn from Vedic and Bhakti traditions—the forest as prayer, exile as renunciation, love as law—anchors the poem in India’s moral imagination.

Comparative and Cultural Significance

SĀKET occupies a distinctive place in comparative literature:

• Like Milton, it affirms moral will and ethical freedom
  
  

• Like Tagore, it sanctifies beauty as devotion
  
  

• Like Maithili Sharan Gupt, it transforms myth into moral philosophy
  
  

This synthesis gives rise to a humanist devotional epic, where art and ethics coalesce into a single spiritual inquiry.

The inclusion of appendices, glossary, and contextual notes enhances its academic value, making the book suitable for scholars of comparative literature, Indology, and translation studies.

Book Details

Title: SĀKET: An English Transcreation
Inspired by: Sākēt by Maithili Sharan Gupt
Author: Anand Kumar Ashodhiya
Publisher: Avikavani Publishers
(Self-publishing imprint of Anand Kumar Ashodhiya)
Place of Publication: Shahpur Turk, Sonipat, Haryana, India
ISBN: 978-93-5469-845-3
Edition: First Edition, 2025
Presented by: Anand Kumar Ashodhiya for Avikavani Publishers

About the Author

Anand Kumar Ashodhiya is a poet, translator, literary critic, and cultural preservationist, widely known for his work in Hindi, Haryanvi, and English. A retired Indian Air Force Warrant Officer, he brings disciplined craftsmanship and ethical clarity to his literary pursuits.

As the founder of Avikavani Publishers, Ashodhiya is committed to preserving India’s folk and classical traditions through modern literary expression. His body of work includes epic poetry, folk raginis, critical reinterpretations, and English transcreations aimed at a global readership. His writing consistently explores themes of dharma, cultural memory, social conscience, and moral lyricism.

Conclusion

In an age marked by fragmentation and ethical uncertainty, SĀKET: An English Transcreation restores the forgotten harmony between beauty and virtue. It reminds readers that dharma is not imposed law, but love disciplined—and that devotion is not ritual, but moral awakening.

Through this work, Ayodhya emerges not merely as a city of myth, but as a state of being—a moral geography where duty becomes love, and love becomes dharma.

 

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NISWARTHI UDYOGA PARVA

NISWARTHI UDYOGA PARVA

NISWARTHI UDYOGA PARVA

An English Translation
A Metrical Rendering of the Udyoga Parva in the Haryanvi Folk Tradition

Book Details

• Title: Niswarthi Udyoga Parva
  
  

• Original Hindi Work: Niswarthi Udyoga Parva
  
  

• Original Author: Ashok Kumar Jakhar “Niswarthi”
  
  

• English Transcreation: Anand Kumar Ashodhiya
  
  

• Publisher: Avikavani Publishers
  (Self-publishing imprint of Anand Kumar Ashodhiya)
  
  

• Place of Publication: Shahpur Turk, Sonipat, Haryana, India
  
  

• ISBN: 978-93-5525-694-2
  
  

• Edition: First Edition, 2025
  
  

• Presented by: Anand Kumar Ashodhiya for Avikavani Publishers
  
  

About the Book

NISWARTHI UDYOGA PARVA: An English Translation is a significant literary and cultural work that brings together the classical ethical vision of the Mahabharata and the living folk-poetic tradition of Haryana. This volume offers a metrical English transcreation of the Udyoga Parva—the Book of Effort—rendered originally in the Haryanvi folk–bhajan style by Ashok Kumar Jakhar, known by his pen name “Niswarthi” (The Selfless).

The Udyoga Parva occupies a pivotal position in the Mahabharata. It marks the moment when all possibilities of peace and diplomacy have been exhausted, and righteous effort stands on the threshold of inevitable war. Rather than presenting this parva merely as a historical or political failure, Niswarthi reinterprets it as a profound meditation on selfless action (Niswartha Karma)—the moral duty to act rightly without attachment to outcome.

The Folk–Epic Synthesis

The defining literary achievement of this work lies in its folk–bhajan structure. By casting the philosophical and diplomatic tensions of the Udyoga Parva into rhythmic, devotional compositions, the original author transforms epic discourse into an accessible and performative form. The bhajan metre allows the epic to be sung, remembered, and lived within the oral cultural spaces of Haryana—village baithaks, satsangs, and community gatherings.

This approach democratises classical literature, bringing epic ethics out of scholarly exclusivity and into the collective consciousness of the people.

An Act of Cultural Transcreation

The English rendering by Anand Kumar Ashodhiya is not a literal translation but an act of cultural transcreation. The challenge lay in preserving three essential elements simultaneously:

1. The ethical depth of the Mahabharata narrative
   
   

2. The devotional bhava of the bhajan tradition
   
   

3. The metrical rhythm and oral cadence of Haryanvi folk poetry
   
   

Ashodhiya’s transcreation succeeds in maintaining the musical flow, moral gravity, and epic momentum of the original, making the work accessible to global readers while remaining faithful to its regional soul. The translation serves as a cultural bridge, introducing international audiences to a uniquely Haryanvi interpretation of the Mahabharata.

The work is also deeply rooted in parampara, respectfully dedicated to the translator’s cultural guru, Late Paleram Dahiya Halalpuriya, affirming its authenticity within the living folk tradition.

Cultural and Literary Significance

This volume stands as:

• A regional contribution to the global Mahabharata tradition
  
  

• A documentation of Haryanvi folk epic practice
  
  

• A model of ethical literature grounded in selflessness and duty
  
  

• A resource for scholars, performers, and cultural historians
  
  

It confirms that India’s regional poetic traditions are not relics of the past, but vibrant, evolving carriers of epic wisdom.

About the Translator

Anand Kumar Ashodhiya is a poet, cultural documentarian, translator, and publisher, and the founder of Avikavani Publishers. A retired Indian Air Force Warrant Officer, he has devoted his post-service life to preserving and reinterpreting Indian folk and classical traditions through literature.

His work spans Hindi, Haryanvi, and English, with a special focus on epic reinterpretation, folk poetics, and cultural transcreation. Ashodhiya’s translations are marked by ethical sensitivity, metrical discipline, and deep respect for oral traditions, making regional literature accessible to wider national and international audiences.

“Niswarthi Udyoga Parva” is not merely a translation—it is a testament to selfless effort, cultural continuity, and the enduring moral voice of the Indian epic tradition.

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