Excerpts from the foreword by Prof Amartya Sen

"If one can fine the right poems, quoting someone else can be as much an expression of one's deeper self as anything one can write oneself. This is a remarkable collection not only for the beauty and reach of the poems themselves, but also for what it tells us about many people who have been active in one walk of life or another, since the selections allow us to have a quick peek into their minds."
 
"To celebrate India's current success in globalised technology without looking into the imaginative developments that have made this success possible is to miss out a critically important link. Kaifi Azmi's message about children holding 'the future in their hands' is a huge vision, of which some parts are easily seen (like internet cafes right across the country), while other parts have remained obscure and neglected, in great need for a fuller understanding and cultivation (like transforming our 'country of first boys' into a nation where every child receives a decent education)"