Editors' Note The present work accompanies the main festschrift volume Amal-Kiran: Poet and Critic edited by Nirodbaran and R.Y. Deshpande Foreword , The following letter of mine addressed to Sri K.D. Sethna on July 1, '94 will sufficiently explain to the readers the story behind the genesis of this booklet. Amal-da, Bonjour\ A couple of weeks back Nirod-da, as one of the editors of a forthcoming publication to be brought out on your ninetieth birthday that falls on November 25, '94, asked me to write an article on you. I readily agreed. At first I thought of composing a piece of three or four

The Wonder That is K. D. Sethna alias Amal Kiran A Peep into His Writings [K.D.S. is the abbreviation of 'K.D. Sethna' otherwise known as 'Amal Kiran' — a name given him by Sri Aurobindo, signifying 'The Clear Ray'. The seniors in the Sri Aurobindo Ashram refer to him as Sethna or Amal while the juniors address him as 'Amal-da', 'da' being the abbreviation of the Bengali word 'Dada' which means 'elder brother'. In the following essay, K.D.S. will be indifferently referred to as 'KD. Sethna', '•Sethna', 'Amal Kiran 'or' Amal-da.} NINETY springs have crowded into Amal Kiran's life. But looking at him who can imagine he has become a