M O K S H A - meaning liberation in Sanskrit - is a collection of English language reimaginations and translations of original poems in Telugu, Hindi and Bhojpuri by the renowned Indian musician, composer, choreographer, musicologist and poet Pt. Vijay Raghav Rao. The collection highlights a poet’s impulse to use the power of his art for freeing his society from ages-old limitations wrought by oppression, systemic bias, conflict and upheaval. Embracing unvarnished values ensconced in love of family, empathy for fellow beings, socially meaningful artistic expression and a profound realization of one’s own frailty, the poet says, paves a path to fulfillment. Engaged thus, honing his skills through observation and introspection, he is also on his way to liberating himself intellectually. Written over a span of fifty years traversing the Indian nation through social, political and economic tumult, M O K S H A is a microcosmic view of a people, their spiritual underpinning, authentic values, beliefs and ways of life, even as it is a unique work of poetry. Universally relevant themes of living, relationships, love, devotion, joy, bondage, grief and freedom provide context for perspective. When interpreted through a contemporary lens, M O K S H A: Poems of Liberation is a concise treatise on eternally relevant constructs intrinsic to the human species.