26/08/2026
Mahakavi Kalidas undeniably was among Indiaโs greatest poets and dramatists who left behind some of the worldโs most enduring literature. Yet, remarkably little is known with certainty about the man behind those works.
๐๐ข๐ฉ๐ฐ ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ช๐ฅ๐ข๐ด!, a new novel by author and NITI Aayog Programme Director Yugal Joshi attempts to enter that largely unexplored world.
The book was launched on Tuesday (25th Aug 2026) at the ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฎ ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ต๐ถ ๐ก๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฟ๐๐ (๐๐๐ก๐๐), ๐ก๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ต๐ถ, by Union Minister for Culture and Tourism Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in the presence of ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐บ ๐๐ฎ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฑ๐๐ฟ ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ถ, Chairman, IGNCA Trust, and Dr. Joram Aniya ,Member, NITI Aayog.
Published by Manjul Publishing House, ๐๐ข๐ฉ๐ฐ ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ช๐ฅ๐ข๐ด! draws upon Kalidasโs seven celebrated works and weaves five love stories around his life, relationships, conflicts and creative journey โ using literature and imagination to explore what history has largely left unanswered.
Speaking at the launch, Shekhawat described the gathering as an attempt to give voice to the ๐ต๐ถ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ถ๐น๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ surrounding Kalidasโs life and personality. He also highlighted the place of women in Kalidasโs literature, observing that they emerge not merely as subjects of beauty, but as representations of ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ผ๐๐๐ป๐ฒ๐๐, ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ด๐ป๐ถ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐น๐ผ๐๐ฒ.
For Joshi, the novel is also an attempt to bring a new generation closer to Kalidas. Not simply as a name from classical Sanskrit literature, but as a poet whose exploration of ๐น๐ผ๐๐ฒ, ๐น๐ผ๐ป๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ด, ๐ป๐ฎ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ต๐๐บ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ continues to speak across centuries.
