Indian poet-diplomat Abhay Kumar pens 'Venus Anthem'

Having composed several anthems inspired by the cosmos, India’s Ambassador to Madagascar and Comoros and poet Abhay Kumar has penned an anthem on the planet Venus, where a rare molecule has just been discovered by scientists giving a possible hint of microbial life.

The Indian poet-diplomat penned ‘An Ode to Venus’ in May 2020 in Madagascar during the global coronavirus pandemic.

As scientists on Monday announced detecting phosphine in the floating clouds of Venus which is usually produced by microbes in oxygen deficient environments, Kumar says in his ‘Venus Anthem’ that "secrets hidden beneath opaque clouds/air crushing, volcanoes thundering loud", highlighting the mysterious characteristics of the planet Venus.

He has earlier penned anthems for the Earth and the Moon which have been set to music by renowned violinist and composer L Subramaniam.

His Mars Anthem has been composed by Kenyan artist Ondiko and sung by Kapnea.

During this year’s commemoration of Earth Day in April, the UN Department of Global Communications had organised a global youth conversation on climate action and response to Covid-19, featuring a rendition of the ‘Earth Anthem’ penned by the Indian diplomat.

He has also written anthems for the Sun and the Jupiter and is in the process of writing anthems for other celestial bodies in the solar system.

He noted that his Venus Anthem takes the peculiarities about the neighbouring planet into account, like the fact that Venus overtakes Earth every 584 days as it goes around the Sun and in the course changes from an Evening Star to a Morning Star.

The Venus Anthem also notes that the planet rotates clockwise on its axis unlike Earth or the majority of the planets in the solar system which rotate on their axes in an anti-clockwise direction.

It makes a pentagram-like pattern when observed from Earth, he said, adding that Venus is portrayed in the famous painting of Vincent Van Gogh ‘The Starry Night.’

Kumar’s Venus Anthem goes, "The evening star blazing bright/love goddess pouring pure delight, turning clockwise bending rules/the rebel princess dyed in wool…dancing with earth in twists and turns/making pentagrams, stunning patterns…morning star of the starry night/ushering a new dawn filled with light.” Kumar is the author of nine poetry collections including The Seduction Of Delhi. His 100 Great Indian Poems have been translated and published into Portuguese, Spanish, Italian and Malagasy.

He has also translated and edited New Brazilian Poems and recently translated Meghaduta and Ritusamhara of Kalidasa, according to his profile on his website.