Samba's Tamasotsav

Samba Dhakal, one of the promising poets of Nepal, recently brought out his collection of poems ‘Tamasotsav’. ‘Tamasotsav’ is his second book, as his ‘Mancheharu Ajangako Yatrama’ was published few years back. This collection includes 101 poems written in nepali in last five years. Most of his poems deal with the present realities and absurdities resulted from Nepalese politics. In additional, his frustrations and wish for betterment are some other areas presented in his poems.

In Aru Andyaro Nahaeru Ki (Don’t want to see more darkness), his wish for light has been reflected. Basically, after undergoing the age of darkness, people are afraid to walk in the same situation. The poet puts the question posed to him ‘how long can you walk in the darkness?’ which is still unanswered to most of us, but the poet says he will proceed only after the light appears.

In Apradhbodh (Regret), Samba regrets that the purpose of composing poetry for him was not fulfilled. He wished to have changed the life of poor people, but it failed to do so. Poems are not directly helpful to support the people, but they have been playing the role to transmit ideas to them, which Samba is aware of, though he confesses.

According to Critic Madhav Kafle, Samba is a humanitarian poet, as he is advocating human values in each facets of his writing. Rasa, the poet and critic writes that Samba stands a critical observer, though he looks like more radical while criticising the unfavourable realities. Reading Samba’s poems was a sort of mental exercise to understand the complexity of complex life.

Recollection of Readings on Kishore Pahadi’s Books

I was thinking to write something about Kishore Pahadi for my blog on what I think about his writing but I didn’t find time when I was in Nepal. I was passing very busy schedules in Kathmandu. And, when I came to London, it was wonderful for few days to wander around and enjoy the new place. But later again, I was busy to search the job. Once I got the job, I engaged again.

But today when I saw Kishore Pahadi’s Face Book, I was again reminded of what I was thinking for long time. It was quite impressive to see all the books that he wrote as author, co-author, translator or editor. His first book was co-authored with Ashesh Malla, and it was a collection of short stories. It was ‘Katha Kon’. Some of the stories from this collection were dramatised and were performed by Sarwanaam.

‘Ghar-Khandahar’ was another collection of short stories and it was his first sole book. I remember reading few stories from ‘Bishudai’. Most of the stories in this collection are excellent and this book was also awarded with Sajha Purashkar, an award given to the best book of the year by the Sajha Publication. I freshly remember one scene of Bishu dai, where Bishu dai paints his canvass with blood as he didn’t have money to purchase the colour.

‘Saharma Batti Niveko Bela’ is the collection of poems by Kishore Pahadi. I couldn’t exactly remember any poem right now, but I remember once he was reciting few poems from this collection in Ratnanagar of Chitwan, and received huge clapping.

‘Tyo Talako Malik’ is a collection of translated stories from different international writers. Parashu Pradhan acknowledged this book as an inspiration to translate and edit the ‘Bishwa Prashiddha Yaun Kathaharu’. ‘Kimwadanti’ is a collection of short short stories. One time, Khem Aryal and I started translating those stories into English. Khem finished his part, but I couldn’t finish my one.

Another collection of his stories is ‘Sarbaghya Ra Sex’. It was his famous book. I remember the author presented a pen which was watching the secret romance of a woman in the absence of her husband.

He wrote couple of books for children. When I was Assistant Editor for Sunkeshra, the monthly magazine for children, I had an opportunity to be the first reader of those stories. ‘Lamlamti Dam’ was the collection of such short stories for children. It’s nice to see that he is writing continuously and I wish all the best for his writing.

A Thousand Splendid Suns

A Thousand Splendid Suns is a breathtaking story set against the volatile events of Afghanistan’s last thirty years—from the Soviet invasion to the reign of the Taliban to the post-Taliban rebuilding—that puts the violence, fear, hope, and faith of this country in intimate, human terms. It is a tale of two generations of characters brought jarringly together by the tragic sweep of war, where personal lives—the struggle to survive, raise a family, find happiness—are inextricable from the history playing out around them.

Propelled by the same storytelling instinct that made The Kite Runner a beloved classic, A Thousand Splendid Suns is at once a remarkable chronicle of three decades of Afghan history and a deeply moving account of family and friendship. It is a striking, heart-wrenching novel of an unforgiving time, an unlikely friendship, and an indestructible love—a stunning accomplishment.

(From: http://khaledhosseini.com/)

The journey of a confirmed Yatri

Krishna Shah Yatri had a fix on reading Balakrishna Sama's plays in his schooldays in Udayapur. And having grown up seeing lavish productions of mythological plays by the Newar community of Udayapur, Krishna started his own theater troupe, the JyotiPunja theater, and performed to crowds of thousands.

When in Kathmandu, he joined the Sanskritik Sansthan and learned the art of theater in depth. After graduating from there, Krishna again established the JyotiPunja troupe and performed a play each month where he directed plays written by Sarubhakta, Govinda Gothale and Sama, among others.

“The biggest challenge of my life came to me when I had to produce a play where all the actors were deaf,” remembers Krishna.This challenge turned out to be fruitful for Krishna because his play bagged both the best drama and best direction in the National Theater Festival of 2000.

Along with doing theater Krishna is also a prolific writer who has six books in his credit. All this in his bag, Krishna has recently hopped into a new boat, that of film direction. Although shy to announce which project he is working on, he is joyous to be exploring this new territory. Not that he is not prepared for it already, for he is a graduate of the now defunct National Studio of Film College but his entry into this new visual world is recent. Having already directed two music videos, one for Anand Karki and another for Uditnarayan Jha's upcoming album, Upahar part two, Krishna seems geared to his new role as a film director.

A person with a warm heart, Krishna says he feels most happy working with kids. Currently also a teacher of theater at Little Angels School, Krishna is awed by the tremendous interest and talent his students have for theater.

As a writer, Krishna likes to keep his themes in the realistic realm. “There is so much around us. All we need to do is just pick elements from there and put them together with integrity,” says Krishna about his writing style.

Whatever he does he does it with a heart that sees the varied aspects of being human. We only wish Krishna a fulfilling journey as he has come to a new bend and film directing has opened up to him. At a time when the film industry is starving for new talent, the entry of Krishna, with all his experience and depth will be welcoming. Bon voyage, Krishna!

(From: The Kathmandu Post)

Critical Discources on Gopal Parajuli

Gopal Parajuli is a postmodern poet in Nepali Literature. He has published hundreds of poems, plays, short stories,essays, interviews & articles in most of the leading magazines and papers from Nepal & E-magazines-Poettext (U.K.), Cubed (Canada), Paradesh (USA), Panorama (Canada), Peace Media (peacejournalism.com) (America), Freenepal (Mosco), News Blaze (US), Pressbox (London), Scoop (Newzealand) and News From Bangladesh (Bangladesh). Parajuli is currently the editor of ‘Garima’, Nepal’s foremost literary magazine.

Gopal Parajuli's other literary works include Samanantar Sadak (Parallel Roads), a play, Nayan Ishwarko Ghoshana (Declaration of a New God), an epic poem, Samayako Prasthan (The Departure of Time), an epic poem, Shabda Shatabdi (The Lost Century), an epic poem, Deshmathi Alekh (A Salute to the Nation), an epic poem, Arko Disha (New Direction), a collection of short stories, Himalmathi Alekh (Mark on the Summit), an epic poem, Dishahin Akash (The Broken Sky), a collection of short stories, Prithbimathi Alekh (The Mother-Figure), an epic poem, Sadakpachhi Sadak (Road After Road), a play, and Golardhaka Dui Chheu (The Two Extremes), a collection of one act plays.

“When he wields a pen, however, he becomes a changed man. He speaks with the voice of a prophet, and the words he sets upon the page breath fire.” writes Dr. Sanjeev Uprety. According to Michael Levy, Gopal Parajuli is a poet extra-ordinary, who composes ambrosial messages as though they were transmitted via God. Levy writes “His soul evokes true purpose of vitality”.

Recently, a collection of critical commentaries on Gopal Parajuli’s work has been published as “Critical Discources on Gopal Parajuli”. The book is edited by Susan M. Griffith-Jones. Susan Griffith-Jones has assembled a collection of commentaries by variety of authors familiar with Gopal's literary work. Some of them are Sandy Chilcote, Dr. Govinda Raj Bhattarai, Dr. Jaya Raj Acharya, Dr. Sanjeev Uprety, Dr. Shreedhar Gautam, Tek B. Karki, HB Bhandari Prabhat, Suresh Hachekali, Tulasi Prasad Acharya, Mukti Ghimire 'Pathik' and Kamala Sarup.