Satyapal Anand

Satyapal Anand (April 24, 1931 – August 2, 2025) was an Indian-American poet, critic and writer. He wrote several fictional and poetry books in four languages: English, Urdu, Hindi and Punjabi. He mostly writes poems rather than ghazals.

Anand's English poem "Thus Spake The Fish" has qualified for the award in an international competition by a UN-sponsored committee for "Earth Preservation Day Celebration." The poem,

THUS SPAKE THE FISH

Thus spake the fish to the dwellers of the deep _ Take heed, O brothers _ How this, our ocean was once clean How dirty has it become _ a muddy pond! _ Wasn't it but a recent event _ That gods of heaven and demons of earth Joined hands to churn it up _ In an unholy 'manthuna'? _ Used air blowers to awaken the fire demons asleep in the deep

Fired up a hearth of cascading earthquakes! _ Where was the elixir of life _ Indeed where was it? What they found was poison _ Poison that broke the surface _ And now boils and broils all life forms. Where are the nymphs – my sisters of yore _ That played with the waves? _ Thus spake the half-dead fish

To the half-dead dwellers of the deep. _ Take heed, my friends _ We're but dead already. The demons and gods have used a ruse _ To churn up the ocean _ And to turn it into a mud heap.

Anand died in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on August 2, 2025, at the age of 94.

Awards Jawaharlal Nehru Fellowship for his book Promises to Keep; Ahmad Adaya Urdu Markaz Award, Los Angeles Apney Markaz Ki Taraf A Vagrant Mirror One Hundred Buddhas If Winter Comes Sunset Strands Some shallow, some deep Life's a tale