Kabir (1398 - 1518), the illiterate jolaha (weaver) poet who flourished in the 15th century in our ancient land sang hundreds of songs and couplets effortlessly.

The first authentic record of some of these songs of great spiritual and poetic excellence is to be found in the holy Guru Granth Saheb of the Sikhs. These and more of them which have been handed down to us through other sources run into thousands.

Of them a large number portray the prem-lila (love-game) between the Soul of man (jivathma) and paramathma (Supreme Soul) for their ultimate union signifying the salvation of the soul in man and also of the man concerned. Kabir was firmly of the conviction that God, or in other words salvation, can be attained by the way of love.

Some of the love songs of Kabir together with other songs had been translated into English free verse by Tagore in 1915, and by Lynda Hess and another in 1947 and by Pritish Nandy in 1980. Kabir is now widely read by the English knowing readers in the country and abroad.

But, for the first time one hundred and one of the love songs of Kabir are presented in simple lucid English free verse for the benefit of the wider audience in this book which will remove a long felt want.

The author, G.N. Das, retired from Indian Administrative Service in the year 1972. Born in the year 1913 in the District of Cuttack in Orissa, he graduated in the year 1936 with honours in English literature from the Patna University.

He was awarded a UNO Fellowship in Social Welfare Administration for a year's course of theoretical study in the University College of the South West, Exeter, England, and practical study in countries like the U.K., Ceylon, North Borneo and Singapore in the year 1953-54.

After retirement he engaged himself in the study of the life and philosophy of Sant Kabir and produced a book entitled "Kabir" on the biography and philosophy of the saint-poet in 1986 in Oriya language.

In the following year he produced a verse translation in Oriya of one hundred selected poems of the Saint-poet and one hundred of his couples entitled "Kabir Sataka".

In 1988 he brought out a study of the moral principles enshrined in Sant Tulasi Das' Shri Raam Charit Mans in Oriya.