Rama Adhikari, TGT
Kathmandu, Nov 11
Shrastasanga Sathi Minute, a regular online poetic forum for Nepali literature, organized a special seminar cum poetry recital to commemorate great poem Laxmi Prasad Devkota on the occasion of his 112th birth anniversary. Though the actual anniversary is a week later, the forum organized the event in advance to set the tone for the anniversary week, coordinator of the event Mahesh Karki Kshitiz told The Gorkha Times. In the online event organized virtually, critic Gyanu Adhikari, and poet and critic Mahesh Paudyal presented papers, underscoring various aspects of Devkota’s writing and popularity. While critic Adhikari focused her presentation on Devkota’s treatment of indigenous and tribal issues in his works, critic Mahesh mapped Devkota’s estimation outside Nepal.
In the second half of the event hosted jointly by poet Ganesh Ghimire and poet and critic Mahesh Karki Kshitiz, about one and a half dozen poets from Nepal and abroad read their poets. The participating poets include Gopal Parajuli, Dr. Naba Raj Lamsal, Prakash Ramghali, Bhupeen, Tika Aatreya, Bimala Tumkhewa, Suresh Hachekali, Seema Avas, Ashim Sagar, Sudesh Satyal and Bikram Pawan Pariyar from Nepal, Dr. Mukul Dahal, from the UK, Keshav Raj Gnawali from the USA, Rabin Sharma from Japan and Ganesh Khadka from Africa. Critics Gyanu Adhikari and Mahesh Paudyal commented on the form and content of the poems.
Shrastasanga Sathi Minute has been organizing weekly discourses and recitals on ZOOM for many months, and the event is run live on Facebook by Nepali Diaspora official Facebook page. According to the event’s manger Ganesh Ghimire, this special event on Devkota was supported by eNepalese.com, Ghazal Yatra, The Gorkha Times , Diapora Literature and AUSNepalnews.com. “We intend to give continuity to such events,” Mr. Ghimire said. He added, “We are also thinking about institutionalizing the effort in the near future.”