Abhay Kumar (known mononymously as Abhay K.) is an Indian career diplomat and the author of several books including Nalanda: How it Changed the World.Abhay K: “Nalanda was an international melting pot where scholars flocked” Hindustan Times, 2 May 2025 He currently serves as India's Ambassador of Azerbaijan. Shri Abhay Kumar appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Azerbaijan MEA website, 30 December 2025 India’s newly appointed Ambassador Abhay Kumar arrives in Azerbaijan APA 3 February 2026 He joined the Indian Foreign Service in 2003 after doing master's in geography at Jawaharlal Nehru University and Kirorimal College, Delhi University. He served as India's 21st ambassador to Madagascar and Comoros from 2019 to 2022Ambassador's Profile Embassy of India Website, Madagascar April 2019Abhay Kumar appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Madagascar MEA India website November 2018Abhay Kumar concurrently accredited as the next Ambassador of India to the Union of the Comoros MEA website, 28 May 2019 and as India's Deputy Ambassador to Brazil from 2016 to 2019 and as Spokesperson and First Secretary at the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu, Nepal from 2012 to 2016. He served as Acting Consul General of India in Saint Petersburg, and Third/Second Secretary at Indian Embassy, Moscow, Russia from 2005 to 2010. He served as Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy at the Ministry of External Affairs from 2010 to 2012. and as deputy director general of Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), New Delhi from 2022 to 2025. and"A diplomatic web", The New Indian Express, 5 August 2011
He received Sarojini Naidu Award for Poetry 2026 for his lyrical and singable translation of Sri Hanuman Chalisa at Banaras Literature Festival Abhay K. conferred Sarojini Naidu Award for poetry at Banaras Lit Fest Book Awards 2026 The Tribune 21 January 2026 and Bharat Shikhsa Samman 2025 Writer-diplomat Abhay K. conferred with Bharat Shiksha Samman 2025 ANI 4 April 2025 and the SAARC Literary Award for his contribution to contemporary South Asian poetry. He received Asia-Pacific Excellence Award in 2014 and was nominated for the Pushcart Prize 2013. His poetry book The Seduction of Delhi was shortlisted for Muse India-Satish Verma Young Writer Award 2015. He has been called a 'World Poet' by Pulitzer Prize winning poet Vijay SeshadriIndian poet Abhay K. receives warm welcome in the United States ANI, 17 October 2018 His translation of Kalidasa's Meghaduta and Ritusamhara received Kalinga Literary Festival 2020-2021 Poetry Book of the Year Award.Poet-diplomat Abhay K's translation of Kalidasa's 'Meghaduta', 'Ritusamhara' win KLF Poetry Book of the Year Award 2020-21 ANI, 9 September 2021 while The Book of Bihari Literature edited by him received KLF Book Award 2022.>Abhay K. gets KLF Book Award for ‘The Book of Bihari Literature The Print, 25 Feb 2023. He recorded his poems at the Library of Congress.K first Indian poet to record poems at Library of Congress ANI, 30 August 2018 His poem 'The Partitioned Land' was taught at the Cornell University in the Fall 2021.Revisiting Kashmir: A Survey and Literature and Culture. Cornell University, Fall 2021 His book-length poem 'Monsoon' has been chosen by Harvard University's assistant professor Sarah Dimick to study for a book project on Climate and Literature along with the two books of Amitava Ghosh.Indian literature has much stronger sense of rain and dryness, says Harvard varsity academician The Hindu 27 September 2022 He was elected as a foreign corresponding member of Brazilian Academy of Letters in 2023.Indian poet Abhay K elected as corresponding member of Academy of Letters of Brazil The Print, 26 January 2023
Early life and education Abhay was born and raised near Rajgir in Nalanda district of Bihar. He studied at Delhi University and Jawaharlal Nehru University. He joined the Indian Foreign Service in 2003. He studied Russian language and literature at the Moscow State University, U.S. foreign policy at George Washington University, diplomacy at Fletcher School at Tufts University, Boston and has a Certificate in Poetry Writing from the International Writing Program, University of Iowa."Diplomat-writer, who pens verse", The Tribune, Chandigarh, 16 December 2012 A long time Yoga practitioner, he is a certified Yoga teacher from the Yoga Certification Board, Ministry of AYUSH of India.
Career
Diplomatic career
He is an Indian Foreign Service officer and has served in various positions at the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) of the government of India and at the Indian missions and posts abroad in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Kathmandu, Brasília and Antananarivo. At the MEA headquarters in New Delhi he served as the Under Secretary Digital diplomacy and sent the first tweet after setting up an official Twitter account of the Ministry of External Affairs of India in 2010."Poke your Babus Online" The Times of India, 26 March 2011. He served as the spokesperson of the Embassy of India, Kathmandu from 2012 to 2015.Nepal Rations Fuel as Political Crisis With India Worsens The New York Times, 28 September 2015 He was appointed Director of the Nehru Centre, London in March 2015 however he could not take up the assignment.India appoints poet-diplomat as Nehru Centre Director in UK Business Standard, 26 March 2015Abhay K. to head Nehru Centre in London The Hindu, 28 March 2015 Subsequently, he was appointed as India's Deputy High Commissioner to Australia in August 2015 however could not take up the assignment.Abhay K appointed India's Deputy High Commissioner to Australia ANI, 28 September 2015 He served as India's Deputy Chief of Mission to Brazil from 2016 to 2019 and as India's 21st Ambassador to the Indian Ocean islands of MadagascarAbhay Kumar appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Madagascar Ministry of External Affairs of India Website 9 November 2018 and Comoros from 2019 to 2022. He served as the Deputy Director General of Indian Council of Cultural Relations responsible for cultural events during India's presidency of G-20 from December 2022-November 2023 and later in charge of organising conferences, distinguished visitors programme, awards, Prateebha Sangam, Annapurna Certificates for authentic Indian cuisine and ICCR's Hindi quarterly Gagananchal until 2025. He started Indian Foreign Service Day celebrations on 9 October 2011.IFS officials building their own traditions The Times of India, 10 Oct 2013 He also proposed celebration of the International Day of Diplomats on the United Nations DayWhy the world needs International Day of Diplomats, our everyday peacekeepers Daily O, 11 October 2017 which was celebrated in Brasília for the first time on 24 October 2017 with the participation of diplomats from several countries.First International Day of Diplomats celebrated in Brasilia Business Standard, 25 Oct 2017 The second International Day was celebrated in Brasília while the third one was celebrated in Madagascar.Third International Day of Diplomats celebrated in Madagascar Business Standard, 26 October 2019 The fourth International Day of Diplomats was celebrated globally.4th International Diplomats Day Celebrated Globally Business World 25 Oct 2020 The Embassy of India, Antananarivo became the first Indian Embassy to go solar on 2 October 2020 during his tenure as Ambassador of India to MadagascarIndian embassy in Madagascar becomes first to go fully solar Mongabay 2 October 2020 and to have a Street Library.
Literary career
Abhay's first book titled River Valley to Silicon Valley(2007) was a memoir that also contained his first poem, 'Soul Song'.The Hindu Literary Review 2007 The Hindu, 5 August 2007. Robert Fay in his piece 'In Search of the Writer-Diplomat tradition' writes- "India continues to maintain this venerable tradition, with poet Abhay Kumar serving in recent years as the Indian Ambassador to Madagascar and Comoros."In Search of the Writer-Diplomat Tradition RobertFay.com 25 Sept 2020 His book of history Nalanda: How it Changed the World published by Penguin Random House became a national bestseller.Nalanda Has Risen Like A Phoenix From The Ashes StratNews Global, 25 March, 2025
He has published thirteen collections of poetry.
Abhay's poems have appeared in several magazines and literary journals including Poetry Salzburg Review,Poetry Salzburg Review Issue 30 PSR website, Issue 30, Autumn 2016 The Asia Literary Review, The Asia Literary Review Issue 31, August 2016 Gargoyle, Gargoyle Magazine, December 2016 and The Caravan.Dara Shikoh and other poems His poems have also been included in a number of anthologies.
In 2017, CAPITALS, an anthology of poems on the capital cities of the world edited by Abhay K., was released. It brought poets together from across the planet and included contributions from Derek Walcott, Vijay Seshadri, George Szirtes, and Ruth Padel among other prominent poets from 185 countries.
100 Great Indian Poems (2018) is an anthology of Indian poetry edited covering over 3000 years of Indian poetry and 28 Indian languages.100 Great Indian Poems Bloomsbury India, October, 2017 It has been translated and published into Portuguese,100 Grandes Poemas da India Cadernos da Literatura em Traducao, USP,25 March 2018 Spanish,Cien Grandes Poemas de la India UANL website, 16 October 2018 Italian,Antologia traduz para o português pérolas da poesia indiana Correio Braziliense, 20 January 2018Entrevista com Abhay K .100 Grandes Poemas da Índia Brasília in Foco, 12 January 2018 Malagasy and Arabic.It has also been translated into French, Russian and Nepali, which will be published soon.Arabic edition of '100 Great Indian Poems' launched at Sharjah Book Fair The Indian Express, 13 November 2021"A diplomat is taking Indian poetry to the world through translations of a hundred ‘great poems’",Scroll.in, 21 January 2018
He has also edited The Bloomsbury Book of Great Indian Love Poems sweeping through three millennia and over two dozen Indian languages.This new anthology of love poems from India sweeps through histories, geographies and societies Scroll.in 4 Nov 2020
He has translated poems of 60 Brazilian poets from Portuguese and Kālidāsa's Meghadūta and Ritusamhara from Sanskrit.What Kalidasa teaches us about Lockdown, Biodiversity Loss and Climate Change Madras Courier, 11 April 2020 His translation of the first Magahi novel Fool Bahadurby Jayanath Pati has been published by Penguin Random House.