Book Launch of
The 70th Milestone – Poems
by Robin Gupta (I.A.S. Retd.)

Wednesday | 19 February 2020 | 5.30 pm – 7.00 pm

Organised by The International Centre Goa

Entry Free & Open to all

Robin Gupta is the author of And What Remains in the End: The Memoirs of an Unrepentant Civil Servant, which has been acclaimed for its rare and revealing investigation of the Indian bureaucracy. As an officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), he had the distinction of serving the country in four provinces—Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab—apart from a long period of deputation with the central government. He retired as Financial Commissioner Revenue in the rank of Secretary to the Government of India.
Robin studied at Bishop Cotton School, Shimla, New Trier High School, USA and St. Stephen’s College, Delhi. After university, he had a short stint with the Indian Police Service (IPS), before he joined the IAS in 1974.
After his retirement, Robin has devoted all his time and energy to promoting literature and, occasionally, writing himself. He divides his time between his homes in Panchkula, Delhi and Goa.

The 70th Milestone – Poems
These lines, informed by simplicity, lyricism and compassion, reflect the spirit and purpose of this remarkable collection of poems: drawing upon a lifetime of experience and emotion, Robin Gupta invites us on a journey of togetherness. There is no pretence here, no denial, no holding back; there is the generosity that comes from the courage to show one’s vulnerabilities and to leave the doors to one’s home and heart open.

Robin writes about longing and heartbreak, despair and hope, isolation and friendship. He speaks in the voices of star-crossed lovers and exiled kings; he draws our attention to trees ablaze with summer flowers, birds returning to their groves at sunset and grass scattered by monsoon rain. He speaks of intense desire, and also of the need to accept the inevitable with equanimity.

Nostalgic, sensitive and poignant, these are poems for everyone who understands that literature should touch the heart and move us.