ATB & ATA - P M Somsundaran, was one of the brilliant students of Maharajas College, Ernakulam (Cochin), whom I had the privilege to teach many years ago. Though he majored in Economics, he had shown a deep interest in English language and literature which, now after many decades has beautifully blossomed in the form of this book of poems.

The themes of this collection are many and varied– simple joys of

life in the family circle, innocence, and tenderness of childhood, love in

its many shades, nature in all its grandeur and mystery, philosophical

reflections on time, life and death and a constant examination

for the meaning of all these, were reverie and reality join hands.

The verses are mostly lyrical but not in the formal pattern of the

conventional lyric. It is just informal, intimate poetic speech. The

free, rapid flow of words, often in the monologue mode, sometimes

the breaks rules of syntax and punctuation in trying to keep pace

with his thoughts. The poet's style is also remarkable for its

frequent use of personification and capital letters to make his point.

In a way, this work is a poetic autobiography of one who has lived

a rich and contented life. It offers us an hour's delightful reading.