Born in Budaun district of UP in 1937, Saxena obtained a Master’s and PhD from Sagar University, before he came to Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh and began teaching Hindi literature in a college. Simultaneously, he took informal classes at home on philosophy, sociology and contemporary politics. Like an old guru, he would speak on a range of issues with his pupils taking down notes. While many teachers remain confined to their subject, Saxena traverses a staggering number of disciplines. “I’ve seen his three broad phases—staunch leftist, socialist and post-modernist,” says Braj Kishore Singh, principal of a college in Gariyaband district. However, Saxena examines post-modernism through the Marxist prism. “He is the biggest authority on the West and on postmodernist thought in Chhattisgarh. His home has always been a centre of intellectual discourse,” Singh says. Ambikapur-based poet Mahesh Verma says that he learnt philosophy and politics from him. “He is able to detect the essence of any subject and instantly reach the core of Zizek or Derrida. He taught us how the propositions of Ferdinand de Saussure can be traced in Sanskrit linguistics,” says Verma.