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.
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