Poetry is the language of human feelings and emotions. In the ancient Indian Tradition, it is supposed to be the highest art as the Fifth Veda. In 20th century, after the end of Colonialism, Modern English poetry in India emerged as a part of modernization and reflected the change that had ushered in among the Indian poets. Gradually with passing of time, Indian English poetry has matured from a sapling to a firmly rooted tree and became more indianized in Nature.

Indian English literature has abundance of second generation Indian English poets and Vikram Seth is a giant in versatility amongst them. He is a poet, novelist, travel writer, biographer and memoirist. Seth has published six volumes of poetry: Mappings (1980), The Humble Administrator's Garden (1985), All You Who Sleep Tonight (1990), Beastly Tales (1991), Three Chinese Poets (1992) and The Frog and the Nightingale (1994). In his poetry, he explores all the themes: love, friendship, loneliness, loss, expatriation, nature, social consciousness, nostalgia, detachment and exile effectively. But travelling in various countries, living in various locations and interacting with numerous cultures has made the theme of loneliness and exile prominent in his poetry. The proposed paper will deal with loneliness and exile as prominent themes in the poetry of Vikram Seth.