Aashwasan Dahal
Renowned lyricist and highly acclaimed economist, Prof. Dr. Bishwambher Pyakurel was born to father Kritinath Pyakurel and mother Shankerpriya Pyakurel on September 6, 1949. A happy upbringing in Bardiya, he moved to Nepal (Kathmandu) for his higher studies after passing out grade eight examination. While departing from Bardiya, he saw a little girl who used to be a friend of him there. He then jumped off the bullock cart and went to touch her hands. This was the time when both were emotional and the hands did not easily part. He knew how close he was to her. According to him, it was a kind of spiritual love. After some time, the girl’s mother came and wished him happy journey. That was the first and last meeting of Pyakurel with that little girl.
His uncle, Yognath Pyakurel the then principle of Shanti Vidhya Griha admitted him to the seventh grade saying that the studies in Tarai were not so good and the knowledge of the subject matter was also less. He felt sad for 2-4 months because his contemporaries were now in classes higher than his own. He also read Jawaharlal Nehru as the prime minister and ‘Jana Gana Mana’ as the national anthem of Nepal during his stay in Bardiya.
After the completion of SLC he joined the Tri-Chandra Multiple Campus to study Intermediate Science. He also taught “Panchayat” in Shanti Bidhya Griha to SLC level students. Some of his famous students are Shambhujeet Baskota, Rajesh Hamal and Santosh Panta.
During his study for of ISc, he was again in companionable love with a girl of grade 9 and in the remembrance of her, he wrote a popular song “Timile Bhaneka” sung by Narayan Gopal in around 1985 A.D. He became a friend with Narayan Gopal from 1970 and remained in friendship till the latter’s death. He completed his B.A and M.A in Economics from Tribhuwan University and went to Ohio University for his double masters. Later on he did PhD and Post-Doctoral research from College Park, University of Maryland. He started giving lectures on Economics in TU from 2031 B.S. and retired from service in 2070 B.S.
Pyakurel was a prolific writer from his teenage. He, along with his friend Ram Pratap Thapa, in contact with Chaitanya Krishna Upadhyaya and Ratna Shumsher Thapa, used to generate ideas for stories published in Aarati, a literary magazine. His first story collection is Indreni ko Gumbaj Bhitra published in 2028 B.S, and its title was chosen by Ratna Shumsher Thapa. He has also published a story ‘Teen Ota Ghau’ in Banki, a paper edited by Hari Bhakta Katuwal. During his stay in jail for six months during his M.A studies he became a friend with Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, Dhyan Govinda, and Ram Raja Prasad Singh. He has written thirteen books in economics. Some of his important books are: Macroeconomics-A Radical Rethinking in Growth, Inequality and Inclusiveness, Nepal Development Tragedy: Threats and Possibilities, Fiscal Management and Revenue Sharing into Federal State of Nepal, Environment Economics in Nepal , Strategy of Development of Industrial Sector in Nepal, etc. Similarly, his autobiography Afailai Khojda is one of his masterpieces.
Friendship with Swor Samrat
During a zoom conversation with Jiba Lamichhane, Dr. Pyakurel became nostalgic about melody king Narayan Gopal. Pyakurel said, “After my father and mother, I was influenced the most by Narayan Gopal.” Though the two ritually bonded friends Narayan Gopal and Gopal Yonjan sang only one song each written by him, he was very close to them. He came to know Gopal Yonjan in 1965 A.D. after Narayan Gopal sang his his popular song, “Timro Jasto Mutu Mero Pani” and became close with Narayan Gopal from 1970 A.D. Pyakurel used to go to Radio Nepal to give lyrics and he wrote “Giti Khata” to be broadcasted from Radio Nepal at 7:45 pm every day. He was encouraged by Shiva Shankhar Manandhar to write songs and his first recorded song is “Chatibhariko Maya” sung and composed by Netra Binod Shrestha. He was accustomed to seeing Narayan Gopal in Radio Nepal. He became quite close with Gopal after meeting him in a picnic at Dakshinkali. According to him, becoming a friend with Gopal meant gaining knowledge in music. After fifteen years of their friendship, Narayan Gopal asked him to provide him a song. His song “Timile Bhaneka” is decorated by melodies voice of Narayan Gopal. This song sounds like writing from a matured person but Pyakurel was only 16-17 years at that time. When he penned this song, he assured himself that one day Narayan Gopal would sing it. The arrangement of this song was done by Subha Bahadur Sunam and Sambhujeet Baskota. Initially, Gopal was not ready to sing the composition as dictated by the composers, but later Pyakurel convinced him to follow the suggestions of the musician and he did it.
According to Pyakurel, Narayan Gopal was a good cook. When he sometimes asked him how to cook, Gopal used to say in such a tone that the food was seemingly ready to eat. He sometimes feels very sad at the fact that people created many myths regarding Narayan Gopal. After the demise of Narayan Gopal someone said, “Narayan and I used to walk together along the Ring Road and he used to go home buying meat”. Bishwambher Pyakurel was insisted by the then chief editor of Deshantar newspaper, Kishore Nepal to clear all myths about Gopal. In every Friday edition of Deshantar he used to write something regarding Narayan Gopal and this he did for 10-12 weeks. Pyakurel further says, the young generations must read Ba Gi Na, a music magazine to know the multi-dimensional personality of Narayan Gopal.
Pyakurel was a key person to make Narayan Gopal an associate professor of TU though he was only a BA, degree-wise. Dor Bahadur Bista was head of Department of Sociology and Anthropology. Same is the case with Dhan Bajracharya, who was only grade-eight-passed, but there are many researches on him. According to Pyakurel, Narayan Gopal is an institution in the field of Nepali music.
Pyakurel was always worried about Gopal’s health. After the retirement from the post of the General Manager at the National Cultural Corporation (Rashtirya Naachghar), his intake of alcohol increased. So to divert him, Pyakurel proposed Gopal to become an Associate Professor at TU. Narayan Gopal easily accepted the offer. So the then VC of TU, Mahesh Upadhaya appointed Gopal as Associate Professor in Lalitkala Campus.
The proverb ‘A friend in need is a friend indeed’ is applicable to Pyakurel because he is the person who took Narayan to hospital for the first time and was with Gopal’s during his weak period. He is the person who penned a notice regarding Gopal’s health condition at Bir Hospital. The notice which was posted on December 1, 1990 but we lost Narayan Gopal on December 5, 1990.
Pyakurel, a master in international affairs, was former ambassador of Nepal to Sri Lanka and Maldives. He is also a key person who suggested reformation of Sri Lanka’s economic structure, but the corrupted government didn’t listen to his words and is now facing a “Debt Trap”. Similarly, he was also not given respect by Nepal’s foreign ministry because of which here signed from the post before completing his tenure. He often says Nepal’s foreign ministry is “a body without soul.”
Last but not the least, a multi-dynamic person, Dr. Pyakurel is an expert in almost every field he touched. His good relations with Swar Samrat has made him immortal. Thus, remembering Narayan Gopal is also akin to remembering Bishwambher Pyakurel.
May his creativity proceeds further.