The Glistening Sky is a fascinating reminiscence of Salbeg, the famous seventeenth century poet of Odisha on the immortal love of Sriradha and Srikrishna.Salbeg imagines himself as one of the incarnations of a childhood friend of Srikrishna who was a confidante of Sriradha and recounts the raptures of her bliss at the Rasa under Tamala groves of Vrindaban and subsequent union with Srikrishna. Her agonies at his separation after he leaves for Mathura accompanying Balarama and Akrura at the behest of Kansa have been deftly depicted.The travails of Salbeg on his journey from Vrindaban to Puri and the myriad exploits of Srikrishna have been subtly portrayed.

In revisiting Srikrishna's life and adventure, the great classics of Srimadbhagabat, Mahabharat, Geetagovindamand Krishnavatarahave been accessed. The myth of Aaiyan as fiancéeof Radha has been accepted in lieu of Chandrasena and some of the myths have been slightly reconstructed.

Born on the 20th March 1957 in the village Lathuli Raghunathpur of Ganjam district, Odisha, Sri Pradeep Kumar Rath had a natural flair for poetry and drama since his childhood days. A distinguished dramatist, essayist and literary critic of Odisha, Sri Rath has authored eight volumes of drama and two volumes of literary essays. A keen student of literature and history, Sri Rath evinces a remarkable aptitude for different trends in modern and post-modern discourse and has carved a niche for himself for his theoretical analysis in the trends of modern Odia literature. His literary criticism Aadhunikabad Uttara Aadhunikabad: Eka Tattwika Anushilana has received critical acclaim from the discerning readers. His second volume of critical essays, Bhanja O Shakespeareebam Anyanya Prabandha is being published shortly. He has authored the Coffee Table book Through The Prism of Time –  Odisha And Its Raj Bhavans and Dr S.C. Jamir, Hon'ble Governor Of Odisha – Collection of Speeches.

The present volume, The Glistening Sky is his first anthology of poems in English.

Sri Rath retired as Personal Secretary to Governor of Odisha in the rank of Commissioner-cum-Secretary in IAS and is settled at Bhubaneswar.