Laxmi Prasad Devkota
Devkota was born on the night of Lakshmi Pooja in 12 November 1909 (1966 Kartik 27 BS) to father Teel Madhav Devkota and mother Amar Rajyalakshmi Devi in Thatunati (now Dhobidhara), Kathmandu.Laxmi Prasad started his educated at the Durbar High School in Kathmandu.where he studied an intensive education both in Sanskrit-grammar and English and gave his Matriculation exams from Patna at the age of 17.Then Devkota started taking classes at Tri-Chandra college for his Bachelor of Arts along with the Bachelor of Laws and finally graduated from Patna University as Private schoolAfter ten years of graduating as a lawyer he finally started working in Nepal Bhasanuwad Parishad( Publication Censor board) where he met famous Playwright of Nepal Balkrishna Sama. At the same time he started working as a lecturer in Tri Chandra College and Padma-Kanya College.
Work and Style
Devkota contributed to Nepali literature by starting a modern Nepali language romantic movement in the country. Devkota was the first to begin writing epic poems in Nepali literature. Nepali poetry soared to new heights with Devkota's groundbreaking and innovative use of language. Departing from the Sanskrit tradition that dominated the Nepali literary scene, he wrote Muna Madan (1930), a long narrative poem in popular "jyaure" folk meter. The work received immediate recognition from the Ranas who ruled Nepal at that time. It tells the story of Madan who departs from his wife Muna to Tibet to make money. The poem deals with the themes of the hardships of journey away from home, the grief of separation, longing and death. The following couplet which is among the most famous and most frequently quoted lines from the poem celebrates the triumph of humanity and compassion over any hierarchies created by caste and culture:
A Kshatriya touches your feet not with hatred but with love.
Great is the man with a great heart; not with great caste, creed nor birth.
Considered his magnum opus "Muna-Madan" has remained widely popular among the lay readers of Nepali literature.
Laxmi Prasad inspired by his five month stay in mental asylum in 1939 wrote free-verse poem Pagal (The Lunatic).The poem deals with his usual mental ability and is considered one of the best nepali language poem.
Surely, my friend, insane am I
Such is my plight.
I visualize sound.
I hear the visible.
And fragrance I taste.
And the ethereal is palpable to me.
Those things I touch--
Whose existence the world denies,
Of whose shape the world is unaware.
Devkota had the ability to compose long epic poems with literary complexity and philosophical density in very short period of time. He wrote Shakuntala, his first epic poem and also the first "Mahakavya" (epic poem) written in the Nepali language, in a mere three months. Published in 1945, Shakuntala is a voluminous work in 24 cantos based on Kalidasa's famous Sanskrit play Abhijñanasakuntalam. Shakuntala demonstrates Devkota's mastery of Sanskrit meter and diction which he incorporated heavily while working primarily in Nepali.
Devkota also published several collections of short lyric poems set in various traditional and non-traditional forms and meters. Most of his poetry shows influence of English Romantic Poets like Wordsworth and Coleridge. The title poem in the collection "Bhikhari" ("Beggar") is a reminiscent of Wordsworth's "The Old Cumberland Beggar". In this poem, Devkota describes the beggar going about his ways in dire poverty and desolation deprived of human love and material comforts. On the other hand, the beggar is also seen as the source of compassion placed in the core of suffering and destitution. Devkota connects the beggar with the divine as the ultimate fount of kindness and empathy:
Fallen from the black clouds
Living in the darkness
Is he the god or a beggar?
He wanders from house to house
He speaks in tunes suffused with pain
A heart weighed with compassion.
Many of his poems focus on mundane elements of the human and the natural world. The titles of his poems like "Ban" ("Woods"), "Kisaan" ("The Peasant"), "Baadal" ("Clouds") show that he sought his poetic inspiration in the commonplace and proximal aspects of the world. What resonates throughout most of his poetry is his profound faith in humanity. For instance, in the poem "Woods," the speaker goes through a series of interrogations rejecting all forms of comfort and solace that could be offered solely to him as an individual. Instead he embraces his responsibility and concern for his fellow beings. The poem ends with the following quatrain that highlights his humanistic inclinations:
Where are your friends? Who go with you? Which land is your home?
What place do you seek, Traveler? With what news do you roam?"
"My friend is decent diligence. Courage comes with me.
whole world's my home. To heart-land I roam with hues of Humanity"
Besides poetry, Devkota also made significant contributions to the essay genre. He is considered the father of the modern Nepali essay. He defied the conventional form of essays by blatantly breaking the rules of grammar and syntax, and embracing a more fluid and colloquial style. His essays are generally satirical in tone and are characterized by their trenchant humor and ruthless criticism of the modernizing influences from the West in the Nepali society. An essay titled (Bhaladmi) or "Dignitary" criticizes a decadent trend in Nepali society to respect people based on their outward appearances and outfit rather than their actual inner worth and personality. In another essay titled (Ke Nepal Sano Cha?) "Is Nepal insignificant (small)?", he expresses deeply nationalistic sentiments inveighing against the colonial forces from British India which, he felt, were encroaching all aspects of Nepali culture. His essays are published in the collection Laxmi Nibhandha Sanghraha.
Politics
Laxmi Prasad Devkota was not active in any well-established political party but his poetry consistently embodies an attitude of rebellion against the Rana dynasty.During his self exile in Varanasi he started working as editor of Yugvani newspaper for Nepali Congress party resulting in confiscation of all his property in Nepal by the Rana Government.After Introduction of democracy through Revolution of 1951 ,Devkota was appointed as a member of Nepal Shalakar Samiti in 1952 by King Tribhuvan.Later in 1957 he was appointed as Minister of Education and Autonomous Governance under premiership of Kunwar Inderjit Singh.
0 comments:
Post a Comment