Lakshmi Kant Mukul is an Indian writer, poet, critic, rural historian and serious scholar of folk culture, born on 08 January 1973 in a rural family in Maira village, District Rohtas, Bihar province, India. His literary journey began in 1993 as a Hindi poet and since then, he has published three books in Hindi and has been published in more than two dozen anthologies and hundreds of journals. Apart from Hindi, he also writes extensively in Urdu and Bhojpuri and also translates them into English himself. His two published poetry collections are- “Lal Chonch Wale Panchhi” and “Ghis Raha Hai Dhan Ka Katora”. His published book on rural and local history is- “Yatrion Ke Najriye Mein Shahabad”. He has received many awards for his work, including Aarambh Samman for his poetry writing in Hindi language, the prestigious Hindi Sevi Samman of Bihar Hindi Sahitya Sammelan. His English poetry has been published in many international anthologies and translated into many languages. The notable achievements of his literary career are – recognition as a farmer poet and expertise on the changes taking place in the rural environment in the global era. Having studied law, he has adopted the modern style of farming. postal address -LAKSHMI KANT MUKUL Village _ Maira, PO _ Saisar, SO _ Dhansoi, Buxar, Bihar [ INDIA] Mob.no._6202077236 Postcode – 802117 Email – kvimukul12111@gmail.com mob.no
Since my teenage years, I’ve been addicted to reading books, particularly novels, because they allow me to explore worlds that were previously difficult for me to recognize in my limited reality at the time. I often turned to novels to heal or recover from certain illnesses and ailments that would suddenly overtake me. I remember one time when I was struck by a high fever, which confined me to bed for several days, shivering beneath the covers, eating or drinking nothing but water, with sweat pouring from my face. Then my eyes fell upon a novel stacked atop its counterparts in the corner of my room. I forced myself to walk weakly over to it, held it up, and began reading it while lying on my sickbed. Its title remains etched in my memory to this day: “Spotted Dog Running at the Edge of the Sea ” by Chingiz Aitmatov. As soon as I finished, my fever subsided, and I awoke feeling well, as if it had provided me with the energy of recovery.
However, sometimes I long to get hold of a particular novel, because its author is a famous writer. This writer may have won an important international literary award, or they may have a surprising title, such as “How a Ghost Fetus Forms in a Goose’s Belly.” I think that’s a shocking title, isn’t it?! Perhaps one day I will use it in one of my novels—who knows? Titles like this when my appetite to immerse myself more in reading. But sometimes—I say sometimes, thank God—I fall into the trap of boredom, this heavy thing that tries to creep in and prevent me from continuing my reading pleasure.
The reason for my boredom may lie in the novel’s emptiness and its lack of an amazing opening that can captivate its reader and keep him in his chair until the end, so that he remains throughout the reading searching for the hidden link between it and the events of the novel. An opening like, “After many years, in front of the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía remembered that distant day when his father took him to introduce him to ice,” or “Suddenly, as if a hurricane had planted its roots in the centre of town, the banana company arrived, pursued by a storm of leaves.” Openings like these made me fall in love with García Márquez’s novels. They are rich, they awaken my curiosity, and therefore they leave no pore for boredom to creep in.
Another reason that opens the door to boredom for me is a slow or overly descriptive beginning. I remember almost choking when I started reading Tolstoy’s The Brothers Karamazov. The author elaborated on the introduction, detailing the family backgrounds and philosophical analyses of the characters, using complex language. This made it seem truly overwhelming, especially for first-time readers—and classic literature lovers will surely hate me.
Another reason that makes reading a novel boring for me is the postponement of the main event, leaving the reader feeling as if the dramatic action is absent or flat from the start. For example, in Thomas Hardy’s The Return Home, the actual events begin about 100 pages into the novel, and this is not something readers can easily tolerate. If we leave aside the many reasons for boredom with reading and try to find a cure for it, then certainly every reader has their own way of doing so.
As for me, the cure I rely on consists of several steps, the first of which is postponing reading, not abandoning it. As soon as I feel that this novel is boring, I put it on the table, whispering to it, “I will meet you tomorrow.” Yes, tomorrow. In my opinion, it is not appropriate to leave a novel you have started reading without completing it for more than two days. So, when the next day arrives and my sacred time comes—I mean, the one designated for reading—I prepare a cup of tea and begin talking to myself, gently encouraging it to complete what I started the day before, saying, “Since I do not believe in the existence of coincidence, then certainly the arrival of this novel to me does not fall within the circle of coincidence. Rather, it wants to tell me something.” If I am unable to convince it of what I have told it, I continue talking to it in a language that carries within it a kind of focused motivation based on imagination, saying, “Perhaps this novel is hiding its secrets from the recipient.” It takes patience to master it.
After a conversation that may last ten to fifteen minutes, I sit on the couch and begin reading. Boring novels force their readers to sit on couches. Otherwise, how can you adjust your posture whenever you want, and how can you relax in any position you wish if you’re not sitting on a couch?
Sitting on a chair doesn’t allow you to do that. And every time I finish a few pages, I insist on continuing reading to reach the lost secret I’ve longed to discover. It’s inconceivable that a novel written in, say, a hundred pages should be devoid of an important sentence. If I reach the middle and don’t find what I’m looking for, I remove the lens of the explorer to continue reading with the eye of a critic. At that point, I ask myself, “Why was this novel written?” Or, “What did its author intend by writing it?” I cannot imagine him waking up one morning and saying to himself, “Today I intend to write a novel that will annoy readers, without any real purpose.”
In this case, the annoyance itself is the purpose or goal behind writing this novel, isn’t it? If this seems to me to be the case, I have no choice but to connect the events of the novel with my imagination, and I try to become one of its heroes. Of course, I will choose to be the main hero, upon whose character development the dramatic escalation of the event is built. I begin to project my own feelings onto his character, and then I will become emotionally attached to the novel, ensuring that I will not stop reading until I discover the ending of my chosen character.
Even if the novel’s ending is superficial, lacking psychological, philosophical, or symbolic depth, or a traditional ending in which the hero marries or dies, or the narrator provides us with a religious or moral sermon, saying, for example, “And so we learned that greed is useless,” or the novel’s ending is a direct report, such as, “Those events were lessons of patience,” then I will have overcome my boredom and continued reading.
Short biography: Amb. Dr. Priyanka Neogi from Coochbehar. She is an administrative Controller of United Nations PAF, librarian, CEO of Lio Messi International Property & Land Consultancy, international literacy worker, sports & peace promoter, dancer, singer, reciter, live telecaster, writer, editor, researcher, literary journalist, host, beauty queen, international coordinator of the Vijay Mission of Community Welfare Foundation of India.
Connected threads in the fabric of life, forever spun.
The same breath that stirs the trees, stirs the human heart,
A shared essence that pulsates, a single work of art.
In the mirror of the soul, reflections shine,
A multitude of faces, yet a single divine.
No separate streams, but rivers flowing free,
Merging into the ocean, where unity is the sea.
Let’s break the chains of division’s might,
And recognize the oneness, shining with delight.
For in embracing our shared humanity, we find,
A world where love is the answer, and peace of mind.
May we walk the path of unity and light,
And in our hearts, may oneness be our guiding sight.
Dr. Ashok Kumar is an international mystical bilingual poet from India. His philosophical, spiritual poems are published in various anthologies in different languages including Urdu, English, Spanish, Polish, Hindi, and Chinese. He’s working as a principal in a reputed institution of India . He’s a universal poet appealing for love, Unity and integrity
BECOMING A POET…… Your touch of love making me a great poet in the entire society Troubles and sufferings can’t break mystic poet’s heart and soul This valuable vehicle of universal experience helping poet for strong emotions and true beauty Social, political and psychological changes are mystic divine goal This wild rose helping poet spreading fragrance on this planet earth for humanity and integrity Together we can be hopeful, optimistic in this journey of lovely life Purpose of poet is to carry duties and responsibility for the entire society Together we can understand each others to cope with stress and strife
Olga Levadnaya, Russian visionary poet, world-famous public figure, Honored Worker of Culture of the Republic of Tatarstan, laureate of more than 20 republican, all-Russian, international literary awards, member of republican, Russian and international literary unions, author of 17 books of poetry and prose published in Russian, English, Tatar, Turkish, translated into 14 languages, author of more than 500 publications in magazines, anthologies in Russia and abroad, participant in numerous festivals, conferences, readings, member of the Assembly of the Peoples of the World, Ambassador of Peace, European Poetry, poetry of International Literature ACC Shanghai Huifeng (Shanghai, Huifeng), Department of Arts and Cultures, Plenipotentiary Representative for Culture in Russia of the Republic of Birland (Africa), literary consultant of the Academy of Literature, Science, Technology of Shanxi, the Zhongshan Poets’ Community (China), honorary founding member of the World Day of K. Cavafy (Greece, Egypt), coordinator of the International Literary Festival in Russia “Woman in Literature” (Mexico), creator and director of the International Music and Poetry Festival “Handshake of the Republics”, the Forum-Battle “Tournament of Poets and AI. RR”, the International TeleBridge RR, the International Youth Music and Poetry Competition-Festival “On the Fairytale Shore of Kazanka” based on the works of Olga Levadnaya, artistic director of the Kazan Poetic Theater “Dialogue”.
and a mystery remained scattered in the early morning.
I saw her pass swiftly,
her broom in a hurry through the mist and the shacks.
She wanted to break the spell of the night,
But the oracle dispelled the curse.
She did not return.
Perhaps she remained imprisoned in the fog of oblivion.
Originally from Envigado, he studied at the José Miguel de la Calle School, Benedictine School, MUA, and Francisco Restrepo Molina School. He holds a degree in Industrial Engineering from the Universidad Autónoma Latinoamericana. He is a journalist with professional license No. 2992, issued in 2016, under Law 51 of 1975. He is an active member of the Cultural Sector Committee, the cultural council of the municipality of Envigado.
He is also a member of the Portón Cultural Corporation of the municipality of Envigado. PUBLISHED WORKS History of a Poet, published in Tuxtepec, Mexico, 2017. His first poetry collection, selected and under review for publication, is titled POEMAS A LA INTEMPERIE (Poems in the Open Air). He has also appeared in more than 15 national and international physical and digital poetry anthologies.
Urgent Readings of Poetry Anthologies III, IV, V, VI (National) Urgent Readings of Poetry International Anthology. 1st International Poetry Meeting: Let’s Sow Art (Homage to Women) Poetic Splendors: 1st Anthology of Colombian and Latin American Poets and Writers. Nemesis Network of Art and Poetry. Latin American Poetic Voices: Nemesis Network of Art and Poetry. Voices of the Soul: Nemesis Network of Art and Poetry. Whispers of the Wind: 2nd Anthology of Colombian and Latin American Poets and Writers: Nemesis Network of Art and Poetry. Aromas of Dreams: 2nd Anthology of Colombian and Latin American Poets and Writers: Nemesis Network of Art and Poetry. Manguruma: 2nd Poetic Anthology. Manguruma: 3rd Poetic Anthology.
