Multicultural Poet Quotes

“In some circles, I am called a genius,
Yet the only genius I know of is service.
In other circles, I am branded fraud,
Yet the only fraud I know of is prejudice.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Bulletproof Backbone: Injustice Not Allowed on My Watch

“The sun doesn't know how to shine over only one planet, I don't know how to illuminate only one culture. What this means is that, it's not that I don't write from the narrow prehistoric confines of one single culture or tribe - I don't know how to.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Rowdy Scientist: Handbook of Humanitarian Science

“When I wanna pen something extremely personal, without actually revealing anything, I just write it in spanish or turkish. If you wanna study the mountain, study the mainstream work - but if you wanna learn about the person, study the turkish and spanish portion of my work.

That's why most of the titles of my works are in turkish or spanish - because I can't write a single word unless I feel the title boiling in my blood - and although English is unofficially the first language of earth, because of its savage imperialist history, it is neither the profoundest nor the most beautiful language on earth.

Does that mean, we should wipe out english from the world altogether? Of course not - that would be yet another boneheaded exercise in bigotry and intolerance. Instead, what's really needed is a genuine humane intention to create a truly magnificent
multilingual society - towards a multicultural world. Learn to look beyond the puny confines of one petty language, because the world is too grand to be wasted in the gutter of one language and one culture. Every culture is my culture, every country is mine - defiant descendants of divided ancestors, hand in hand we shall fly.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Insan Himalayanoğlu: It's Time to Defect

“My favorite language in the world is Turkish,
Because its culture electrifies my scars.
My favorite language in the East is Telugu,
Because its music emboldens my nerves.
My favorite language in the West is Spanish,
Because it teaches me the worth of freedom.
Favorite ancient tongues are Arabic 'n Sanskrit,
For one embodies peace, another assimilation.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Insan Himalayanoğlu: It's Time to Defect

“Try not to fathom the ocean
by a glass or two of its water.
Leave behind all head-butting,
and be one with the ocean fervor.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Yarasistan: My Wounds, My Crown

“I am proud to say, I am the son of a laborer - first one to have education in my family - and the first multicultural scientist and poet in human history.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Bulletproof Backbone: Injustice Not Allowed on My Watch

“Question: Have you ever considered winning an award?

Naskar: Not really - I am a misfit - not quite mainstream enough for any of the fields. Besides, I am here to bridge cultures, not win awards.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Bulletproof Backbone: Injustice Not Allowed on My Watch

“English is my work language,
Turkish is my love language,
Spanish is my play language,
Telugu is my leisure language.

This would probably be different for you - perhaps for you, it all happens in one language - English, and that's perfectly fine. Different people are inspired in different ways - it's alright - as long as all our inspirations converge into one result - a better world for all - where there is no interracial dialogue, there is no intercultural communication, there is no interreligious relations - because - there is but one race, humanity - there is but one culture, humanity - there is but one religion, humanity.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Yaralardan Yangın Doğar: Explorers of Night are Emperors of Dawn

“I have but one law - I don't exist. I don't have a homeland, I don't have a native tongue, I don't have an origin culture - for you are my home, your tongue is my tongue, your culture is my culture.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Either Right or Human: 300 Limericks of Inclusion

“Pani, agua, water, it's all one.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Bulletproof Backbone: Injustice Not Allowed on My Watch

“They ask me,
why do you speak for so many cultures,
when you are not born in those cultures?
So I asked the sun,
why do you share your light with earth,
when you are not born of earth?

The sun told me,
o ye of little mind, don't you know,
light is not mine to give!
Light is the intrinsic right of life,
I am merely accessory to the motive.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Iman Insaniyat, Mazhab Muhabbat: Pani, Agua, Water, It's All One

“Selam-e-Sapiens (Shattered Seer Sonnet)

Sometimes I'm battered vagabond,
Sometimes I'm shattered seer.
No claim to name, fame or reign,
Lovedrunk I write borracha poesía.

Sometimes I'm mest-i-mevlana,
Sometimes I'm my own Shams.
Sometimes I'm dastan-e-dervish,
Sometimes I'm selam-e-sapiens.

I am no brahmin,
I am the Godfather of brahmins;
I am Parabrahma, the Brahmins worship.
I am Adi, I am Anth, I am Ananth Adishakti.

Leave your creed, crown and
constitution, when you enter my door.
I am but a human if you are human,
if you're sectarian, I'm messiah galore.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Iman Insaniyat, Mazhab Muhabbat: Pani, Agua, Water, It's All One

“I am Multiculturalism (The Sonnet)

I don't write on multiculturalism,
I am multiculturalism.
The only nationalism I care about,
is tribalism ending multinationalism.

I can't do it no more - I can't!
One little language is enough no more!
I gotta be the Himalayas in every language,
I gotta be the Himalayas in every culture.

Either you'll know me as a national hero
of every nation, or you won't know me at all.
So long as a single human calls me foreigner,
I'll conclude, I've achieved nothing at all.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Visvavatan: 100 Demilitarization Sonnets

“I don't write on multiculturalism,
I am multiculturalism.
The only nationalism I care about,
is tribalism ending multinationalism.

Either you'll know me as a national hero
of every nation, or you won't know me at all.
So long as a single human calls me foreigner,
I'll conclude, I've achieved nothing at all.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Visvavatan: 100 Demilitarization Sonnets

“The biggest requirement of learning is to know your limits of the moment. Let me elaborate with an example. Alongside my mainstream works, I have wanted to create complete works in turkish and spanish for several years. And few years back, with my rather limited experiential understanding of both languages, I even took it upon myself to do so, but I got stuck on the very first page. Why? Because it is one thing to pen occasional gems in another language, and totally different to release an entire work in that language. I was ready at heart, but not at brain. So, instead of writing whole works in these languages, I simply made turkish and spanish a joyful addition to my mainstream work - however the original linguistic and cultural intention kept reflecting in the titles of works, such as Aşkanjali, The Gentalist, Gente Mente Adelante, Mucize Insan and so on. It was not until late 2023 that my brain finally caught up with my heart, and delivered the first complete original turkish and spanish Naskarean works to the world.

Know your strongholds, they'll take you far. Know your shortfalls, they'll take you farther. Strongholds help you enhance your predominant capacities, whereas shortfalls help you unfold new possibilities - they help you unfold new vistas of human endeavor.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Visvavatan: 100 Demilitarization Sonnets

“Once you wake up to the vastness of the world, it is impossible to revert to the tribal lane.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Visvavatan: 100 Demilitarization Sonnets

“Only a multicultural polyglot,
who has wiped out borders from heart,
rising above both intellect and faith,
can sense the immenseness of my work.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Visvavatan: 100 Demilitarization Sonnets

“Language is magic,
I wield that magic in my breath.
My brain is a symphony of portals,
each transcending past exclusivity,
into distinct linguocultural awareness.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Visvavatan: 100 Demilitarization Sonnets

“Language is magic, culture is magic,
I wield that magic in my breath.
My brain is a symphony of portals,
Each transcending past exclusivity,
into distinct linguocultural awareness.”
― Abhijit Naskar

“I don't need to write in all these languages of the world - those who care, will find a way. I write in more than one language because I want to. I want to leave at least something extremely personal for every culture in the world - that is, for as many cultures as I humanly can.

However in the end, the universal spirit of love, light and oneness transcends language and culture, and finds a home in the heart of every conscientious human being - and that's what counts. It's the bridge that counts, not the shape it comes in.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Bulletproof Backbone: Injustice Not Allowed on My Watch

“I don't need to write in all these languages of the world - those who care, will find a way. I write in more than one language because I want to. I want to leave at least something extremely personal for every culture in the world - that is, for as many cultures as I humanly can.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Bulletproof Backbone: Injustice Not Allowed on My Watch

“When I crossed the hundred books mark, I genuinely thought, "I'm done". But something happened! I don't know why, but my drive towards other languages became stronger than ever. I felt, now is the time to make parts of my legacy more accessible to other languages. I have never relied on anyone in my life for the realization of my legacy, so it was obvious that I was not gonna wait for somebody else to translate my works for me. Besides, when somebody else translates an original literature into another language, it always remains a translation - it can never become an original literature of that language and culture. This I absolutely did not want.

Sure, other than Turkish and Spanish, I have difficulty with other languages - that is, I am not at all fluent in them. But the point is, once I feel the language and culture in my veins, I can deliver my ideas in any language I want. And I've been doing exactly that over the years - absorbing as many cultures and languages into my bloodstream as I can that is. If you tear my heart open, you can find every single culture in the world, caringly placed and nurtured. Some call it gift, I call it intention.”
― Abhijit Naskar, World War Human: 100 New Earthling Sonnets

“Once I feel the language and culture in my veins, I can deliver my ideas in any language I want. I can write in any language, because I want to. And no, I don't use some fancy AI tools. In fact, I have an uncompromising principle against the use of AI in literature. Heck, I opted not to use something so trivial as an image containing yours truly with a mace, as cover image of "Bulletproof Backbone", because it collided with the book's anti-weaponry vision - so you can imagine my stance on fraudulent material generated by AI!

What I do use, while writing in other languages, is old-fashioned dictionary - online dictionary that is, to fix things like spelling, missing vocabulary and other broken bits - which makes me a broken polyglot. And believe you me, broken polyglots are potent polyglots. I may not be fluent in a lot of languages, but after I am long gone, each of these languages and cultures will have something distinctly personal left by me to call their own.

For example, I may not speak fluent German, yet if I write even one page in the German language, it'll forever become an indelible part of the German culture. It'll not be some off-key German translation of an original Naskar, rather it'll be a German literature from the vast Naskarean oeuvre.

Sure, I know my limits in each of these languages, that's why I keep my sentence structure simple, which I am not compelled to do in Turkish and Spanish. But more than my limits, I am aware of my limitlessness. And once the being transcends the limits of language, culture, border and tradition, puny apparatus like intellect is bound to follow.”
― Abhijit Naskar, World War Human: 100 New Earthling Sonnets

“Broken polyglots are potent polyglots.”
― Abhijit Naskar, World War Human: 100 New Earthling Sonnets

“Plenticultural (Sonnet 1434)

When I get mad, I revert to English,
because English is my first language.
When I feel romantic, I revert to Turkish,
because Turkish is my love language.

When I feel passionate, I revert to Spanish,
because Spanish is my passion language.
When I feel electric, I revert to Telugu,
because Telugu is my power language.

When nothing works, I revert to Korean,
because Korean is my backup language.
And you wonder why I never run empty,
why the natural spring is ever abundant!

Language is the gateway to culture,
Culture is the gateway to life.
I am no person who speaks many tongues,
I am the proof of plenticultural life.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Dervis Vadisi: 100 Promissory Sonnets

“Language is the gateway to culture,
Culture is the gateway to life.
I am no person who speaks many tongues,
I am the proof of plenticultural life.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Dervis Vadisi: 100 Promissory Sonnets

“My legacy does not represent the achievement of any one culture, my legacy represents the capacity of the entire humankind.”
― Abhijit Naskar, World War Human: 100 New Earthling Sonnets

“My life is a repository of what is possible if you put your petty tribalisms aside.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Yüz Şiirlerin Yüzüğü (Ring of 100 Poems, Bilingual Edition): 100 Turkish Poems with Translations

“Even after speaking six languages, I say, the supreme language is love.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Visvavictor: Kanima Akiyor Kainat

“My existence is testament to assimilation, proof of the wonders beyond exclusivity.”
― Abhijit Naskar, The Humanitarian Dictator