Poetry Is both a Vehicle and a Destination: Shyamal

[Poet Shyamal, known in the arena of modern Nepali poetry for his original, qualitative and creatively sublime poetry, is committed to giving voice to the people of lower strata of the society. His poems manifest a deep-rooted relation with the day-to-day life of the mass. Born on 14 January 1958 in Dailekh District of Nepal, Shyamal started writing in 1970. His most popular works include poetry collections Tapaiharu Marphat (Through You All), Laya Brahma (The Tune of the Self) and Hatarma Yatra (Journey in Haste). He is the recipient of Lokendra Literary Award (2000), National Talent Award (1999), National Disaster Rehabilitation Medal (1994), Hridaychandra Singh Pradhan Honor (2003). Currently, he is the Chairpersonof Rashtriya Samachar Samiti (RSS), a state-owned news agency. Here is an edited excerpt of an interview Udaya Adhikari of The Gorkha Times recently had with poet Shyamal]

 How did you get into the field of literature?

If options were given, very few people would embrace the realm of literature. Being a poet is considered a sort of respect in our society. This leads a person turning into poet. Everyone wants to be a ‘poet’. Perhaps, people do not get into the boundless field of literature with deeper understanding of significance of the poetic process. A person adopts a medium and genre of art out of a desire to express himself effectively in a different way. Creative writing has been one of the mediums. Similarly, I have also fallen into this field out of curiosity.

People have been trying to translate their expression into art since long. It has become more specialized as it has taken on a scholarly significance as art. Not many of them have the ability to express themselves in art. Even in that, ‘Art Sadhana’ is a specific karma. This is not a cozy business. However, some people try to become littérateur in order to get their names on the textbooks in schools or universities. They fall prey to greed (household names) and become writers in a forbidden way, which does not last long. They feel, this was not their job but that of such people who are impractical, dirty bearded, drug addict, and nighttime strollers, then, they flee to the territory of cash earning and all their original trade works. If an autocratic power comes, they show up before the government on special occasions and present hymns in the form of beggars. They travel all over the country; otherwise, they slow down and leave space for us. They are ‘pure poets’ and it is their inaction or non-commitment and detachment to human society that gives them that mysterious purity.

I was born and raised in an ordinary Pandit family, which inspired me to gain a strong foundation to get acquainted with the literature and also inspired me to move forward. Also, mythological, moral and religious books like Subba Homnath Kedarnath’s Mahabharata, Bhanubhakta’s Ramayan, Srimad Devi Bhagwat, Hitopadesha Mitralabha, which I read every day at home, helped me to understand the mysteries contained in the Sanskrit verses and sentences. Initially, I had got an opportunity to read Lekhnath’s Gorkha Shikshya Part-2, Lalitya, Satyakali Sambaad, Mahakavi Devkota’s Shakuntal, Muna Madan, etc. These works enhanced my interest in this field.

Moreover, I was brought up in Dailekh District, which has a rich cultural tradition of folklore. I raised myself in the diversified people of this society. If you study the folklore genres of this society, it is difficult for you to remain unaffected by the culture. It motivates you to comprehend the sublime spirit, progressive thoughts, craftsmanship and complex uniqueness of human society living amidst extreme poverty. This poetic folk life has helped me to garner myself at the field of literature and the similar culture.

From an early age, I was fascinated by poetry and used to compose poems but never shared or published. There was naturally a kind of curiosity about printed letters. There was no provision for publication. My handwriting and the ability to use the space of the paper was excellent which was even admired by my elders, peers and younger siblings. Similarly, in the year 2026 BS, a poetry lesson was organized in the Library of the district headquarter, and I was invited for a poetry lesson. I read a poem titled ‘River’- that shares the equal struggle of human life and the river. The adult articulation in the poem impressed many people in the event.

The river has always been an integral part of my life. My destiny was to travel hundreds of miles from the village to the district headquarters, crossing hundreds of forests – swimming, fishing, singing and eating fish in the riverbanks.  In the meanwhile, I got an opportunity to understand the miserable life and doubtful dreams of the young people who come to graze the grass or the riverbank. I still remember their instinctive poetic expression on my mind; which became the best motivators and witnesses of my poetic journey. I have written a lot about their joys and sorrows. Those rehearsal poems are no longer with me; some of them were about love, some even had the experience of revolutionary dreams. The rest were the dreams of rebellion, despair and revolt. Some were about birds, mountains, flowers, plants, wildlife, butterflies, cliffs; some were written about water in the fields during the rainy season. Some poems were also composed about the inhumanity of leaving the mule in the middle of the way, which helped to carry heavy loads to the high hills. In this way, I entered the field of literature in an unconscious or conscious manner.

My memory holds some lines of the poem ‘The Rice Husk’, which was written, targeting my brother who dropped out of school. Its seven lines were:

Go, you go shepherd
Go; go to look after the flock of sheep and goats
You, rice husk,
You will be shaken even by a puff of wind
Go, trampled by the hooves of animals
Go to the grazing ground
It is for you. 

Finding a rhyme was in such a composition in my own native language gave me a lot of satisfaction. But I had a strong desire to compose poems in popular verses like Shardulvikridit, Mandakranta and Shikharini as I was inspired by the books like Mahabharat and Srimad Devi-Bhagavat and follow the writers like Bhanubhakta and Lekhnath. However, with the course, I became attracted to the rhythmic system within the poetry and got rid of the fascination with the verses, alliteration and rhetoric of the Sanskrit tradition. There are majority of people with crude veins in the society like ours. 

Among these, ambitious creatures choose the glamorous movie songs. It did not interest me. I was inspired by the writings of the older generation of poetry; poetry was not an invention of mine. I am an enthusiastic player who has come to play on the playground built by others. In the initial phase, I was attracted randomly without its basic knowledge. Later it became a necessity. Literature, especially poetry, was evolving as an inviolable gland of life. This is how I entered the field of literature.

After the generation of Bhupi Sherchan, you are considered a powerful poet. How do you take this huge responsibility?

I am proud to have gone through that tradition. When it comes to inheritance, I don’t believe it’s easy and natural thought. If I am identified as a powerful poet after the generation of Bhupi Sherchan, it is an honor, but I need to go through a lot of hardships to make myself deserving of it. Exaggeration may be an interesting aspect of poetry, but it is more important for a conscious poet to avoid exaggeration and focus on the harder self-conflict of poetry. You had raised a question of the responsibility of the poet. In my opinion, being a responsible poet, having a very troubled past on a personal level (because of his creative integrity and energetic time is wasted without personal gain), risky present (he is always at risk due to his poetic discretion) and uncertain future. It is possible to live happily without writing and enjoying the power, but a conscious poet cannot do that. As far as I know, a journey without the risk is not helpful for high quality artists. I believe that the journey of poets like Devkota, Rimal and Bhupi was one of the most dangerous journeys of the present age.

Bhupi was the product of an aristocratic business family. He did not choose a lucrative business for the general public. He chose the uncomfortable pursuit of socialist thought, academic dignity and poetry. He lived the same life as a common person did. Generally speaking, shrewd cheaters are only good at taking. I think Bhupi is one of the very few people in the world who can get the direction of liberation from pain through poetry.

Almost all of Bhupi’s poems are linked to significant queries of Nepalese or human life. Therefore, the touch and relevance of his thoughts are used in an artistic way in his poems. He is one of the greatest poets of our time. So when you say that Bhupi is close to his younger generation, I feel happy. I know, there are many capable and talented poets of my time like Bimal Nibha, Min Bahadur Bista, Vimal Koirala who have made great efforts to reach far ahead of Bhupi.

As far as Bhupi Sherchan is concerned, as his closest successor poet, it is not easy for us to take responsibility. I find it pertinent to recall what Bhupi said to me in the latter half of his life (when he was a member at Pragya Pratishthan): “We are the healthy children of Devkota and Rimal.” This meant something serious; it indicated that there was an unhealthy tendency in the name of Devkota and Rimal and that he had already identified it. He was in extreme pain, so I could not ask him to elaborate on the meaning of his words. He wanted to interact with us a little more but his treatment and the pressure on her family made it impossible.

After many years of his demise, Nepal is on the verge of change. The role of the poet in the new context cannot remain the same as the older generation. Today’s poets, through their responsible poetry, should express the current situation and pressure on the common man in the new system with a new consciousness, and deepen and broaden their relationship with the common man in the literature of all languages of the world. The advanced tradition of our poetry and the use of new consciousness will connect us to the poets and readers of other countries. We have not been able to present Devkota, Rimal or Bhupi in the international arena yet. Such an absence should bother the state; but the cultural policy of the state has not been formulated yet.

Once I read a poem of yours dedicated to Bhupi Sherchan. While you were composing the poem, Bhupi was going through the most depressing moment of his life. His contemporaries almost boycotted him to show that they were revolutionary. Didn’t you get confused while evaluating Bhupi from a human point of view?

I recall Bhupi Sherchan inviting me to his house located in Naxal-Narayanchaur around 2036 BS while he was confined to his home due to his deteriorating health condition. He wanted to discuss the source, potential and power of Nepali poetry with new generation poets including me. I have discussed this earlier as well. That was the moment when he phrased the words: “We are the healthy children of Devkota and Rimal”. I was very impressed by that deep consciousness in him which also made him our role model in poetry.

Bhupi had a very keen interest in contemporary world affairs; it could be found in some of his poems. For example, the solidarity showed in Vietnam’s anti-imperialist war can be seen in one of his most powerful poems, “Letter to Ho Chi Minh.”

Looking at the cover of Nayan Raj Pandey’s novel Ulaar, I found out that you can also sketch. Did you keep your painter’s personality deliberately behind the scenes?

I am on the path of artistry. Among the many mediums of art – color, sketch, sculpture were my favorite genres, but I could not study and practice according to my interests. Moreover, I have been discouraged many times in my life. I do not want to blame anyone for that. That was a kind of descriptive boundary of my early knowledge. All my instructors or mentors were badly formatted and they were dancing idols. They were small but of the generation of complex dreamers.  This world was extremely small for them. They hoped for their descendants to be the GREATER but they were unable to think that there is a vast store of knowledge in this world. They failed even to imagine how people do great works. They thought subjects like forestry and agriculture science non-essential and with no scope as well. As an impact, I was compelled to ignore vast scope of science studies and walk on the road to clergy of life saving skills. This also helped me to think over the branches of knowledge that were not much familiar to my environment.  

Indeed, I was keen on fine arts like drawing (line sketch), brush strokes, sculpture. Initially only solid colors – black, blue and red were available that was filled inside our pens. I also practiced creating landscapes and emotional images using my pen. However, I did not have easy access to resources, nor did I have the environment get any motivation. Perhaps it was a tragic end to some possibility; but I still attempt to sketch. Nayan’s and Purushottam Subedi’s insistence that the foreword and cover design of Ulaar be mine was the reason for the art. I do not have much effort in that.

After moving to Kathmandu, I have tried to create a space inside the larger room in my house to play with words and colors; but have not succeeded yet. If I succeed, I will have the opportunity to start practicing on paints, brushes and canvas. Some of my own paintings hang on the walls of my house.

 I had an opportunity to read some of your translations of Bertolt Berkht’s poem and it was admirable. Is there any reason behind choosing Bertolt Brecht?

Is it? (Astonished) Your compliments made me think that I could even translate. My interest has definitely increased when insightful friends like you find it “really good”. I don’t really know the German language. I read Brecht’s poems in English about thirty-five years ago, and I enjoyed them. Few poets have the ability to compose such an excellent poetic language with simple words and easy syntax. I consider some of them, such as ‘General, Your Tank is Powerful Vehicle’, ‘A Worker’s Speech to a Doctor’, and some poems like ‘The Burning of the Books’ also carry Nepalese sentiments.

Will there be singing
In the dark times
Yes, there will be singing
In the dark times
About the dark times

Brecht survived in a horrendous dark time. Indeed, he remained creative. He dedicated his whole life to the cause against the German Nazis. He brought the concept of epic theatre. He engraved the desires and language of the common people in his poems. He has always been a poet of struggle and faith. His way of viewing the events was equally pleasing. He wrote a short poem while returning home after the exile – “Homecoming”.

My native town: what will it look like?
Guided by bomber squadrons
I shall come home.
Where will it lie?
There, where those mountainous pinnacles of smoke stand.
There, in the furnace.
That is it.
My native town: then how will it greet me?
Before me go the bombers. Death-dealing locusts
Tell you I shall be coming. Conflagrations
Hail the son’s return.

Brecht was a democratic poet and playwright. His poems contain our questions and the chemistry that connects people around the world. His writings are anti-war and deeply concerned with the matter of the common people. He has been my choice because his and our Nepalese consciousness are somehow identical.

How would you like to explain progress in the field of literature?

It is no longer necessary to argue that the field of literature and art is a field of human need. Everyone agrees that it serves to enlighten people’s personal and social consciousness; else, it would not have existed. Progression leads to a different way of thinking than the current situation; it unites those who have the same consciousness by forbidding inhumane acts and conditions and revives that consciousness in art. Such progress is not limited to the subject matter or essence as defined by the classical Marxists, but also interferes in the field of art and presentation of the essence effectively. Therefore, progress in literature is a matter of time. The value of art is secondary to those who revolve around established beliefs and do not dare to change them. In such a situation, progressivism becomes a repulsive slogan.

In the current context of Nepal, the work done in the field of art for the upliftment of a fully democratic culture is progressive, but it cannot remain the same. Believing that the progression comes automatically when someone joins a particular party is only to make progressivism a slave of a particular leader or a particular party. Instead, people’s full support has been its precondition. Populism can be achieved where the artist takes a stand while he is writing or engaging in a physical movement. A conscious artist should be present in any process of achieving people’s rights. In my understanding, all the resources available for the important task of conceiving, nurturing and targeting such a process are progressive.

After reading the forewords in Ulaar shows that you are also a good reader. Can you tell us something about your compatriot and expatriate writers who have made a special impact on your life?

I was, in fact, haunted by the Don Quixote of Cervantes for quite a while. By creating this character, Cervantes has made a significant contribution to the literary history of the world. In Nepali political society, there is adequate number of Don Quixotes. I read a couple of Greek and Roman classics some years ago like Homer, Sophocles and Euripides. I have been dazzled by the story of the play Oedipus Rex for a long time. I enjoyed reading Shakespeare’s plays like – Hamlet, Julius Caesar, etc., Novels of Leo Tolstoy – War and Peace and Anna Karenina, and of course, Mother, and My University by Maxim Gorky, Father and Sons by Ivan Turgenev, Dostoevsky’s The Idiot and Brothers Karamazov, Lermontov’s The Hero of Our Time, Chinese literary giant Lu Xun’s A True Story of Ah Q, etc. Similarly, I tried to read the literature of Anton Chekhov, Gogol and others as far as I could.

I read Brecht, Sergei Yesenin, Nâzım Hikmet, Pablo Neruda, F. Garcia Lorca, Juan Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, G. G. Marquez, old Bengali poets and fiction writers like Rabindra Nath Tagore, Michael Madhusudan Dutt, Sunil Gangopadyaya, Samresh Vasu, etc. at one time. But this was not sufficient. I have read black poetry (as defined!) and white poetry (!). Although I rarely read the Yellow poetry (I don’t know if I can call it the poetry of the Mongolian ethnic group or not), I have had the opportunity to read some poems, stories and novels from China, Japan and Vietnam. Our South Asian literature is available as it stays along with us. Maybe due to the cultural distance, I have a very limited intellect in understanding some post-modern things. I am trying to comprehend its impact in the Nepal society.

I have also been fascinated by Paulo Coelho for certain years now. Despite the fact that I have only read his Alchemist and Veronica Decides to Die, I am pulled in by his quick prose and fiction. I have read the literature of the fresh generation writers like Salman Rushdie, Jhumpa Lahiri and Arundhati Roy. Whatever I can find, that easily from the bookshops or bookshelves of my friends, I read them. I try to be selective but I fail. I still try to read whatever I can get my hands on. Even so, my favorite foreign poets are Brecht, Neruda, Lorca, Allen Ginsberg, and Carl Sandberg. I still haven’t been able to read all of their marvelous crafts. At one time, P. v. Shelley and William Wordsworth, Sartre and Camus, Franz Kafka and Samuel Beckett, Herbert Frost and TS Elliott were considered as the standards of Nepali literature. Today, perhaps, such standards have been broken. Some of the Nepali critics and fiction writers tend to bring a blanket from another polar of the world to keep them warm but that is supposed to be outdated and worn-out one.  They talk much about deconstruction as theory, Jacque Derrida, Michel Foucaault and Francis Fukuyama and claim that they themselves are doing a great job. To me, the reality is, I need yet to penetrate into their original principles/ theories and use of all those in the arts and crafts.

However, I enjoy reading the best literature in the world and getting acquainted with its various forms and sounds and looking at my country’s literature in that way. My material and non-material limitations have not allowed me to see the opportunity to reach that point. I need to try to break such boundaries.

I have heard much about the Dolakha Declaration. As you were one of its designers, what motivated you to issue this Declaration?

I figure some discussion may have been held regarding the content of the manifesto and the technical aspects of the declaration. The organizers suddenly formed a manifesto draft committee under my leadership, consisting of two other young participating poets. At that moment, I was outside the hall. Not only was the quality of the worksheets read over the past two days very poor, but they had made disgusting statements about their principles, like those of warlords fighting each other in Afghanistan or Africa. The act of duplication of another party was done on it. The words were not even in the universally accepted format of the worksheet. Therefore, it was natural for fellow writer friends to dismiss it. Senior fellow writers, including Khagendra Sangraula, spoke openly about the merits of such worksheets, but no one was satisfied with. These so-called academicians were wasting our time, kidding all for their patience and endurance as well. They did not respect the aspirations of the participants. Therefore, to correspond the cries of so many participants over non-sense, something had to be done immediately to further their enthusiasm and to make the Dolakha symposium a bit memorable.

My team probably tried to do that. After hearing the name from the microphone, I started talking to my young friends responsibly. There was not much room for disagreement. So, we got the vote and a satisfactory document was prepared accordingly. As a leader, I called up for the meeting. Every point in the declaration received full support. That is how the declaration became memorable.

Many people believe that poets write beautiful proses. Why didn’t you try to get into this field?

I had written some stories. I used to comment as well. But I didn’t ever think they were enough to show my distinct and ‘unique’ style of prose. (It’s up to the experts if those styles are good enough. But I want to do something different in the field of prose (especially in short stories and novels). I haven’t been able to prepare myself. Only patient writers can give justice to the prose writing. Prose writers like Ramesh Vikal, Manu Brazaki, Narayan Dhakal, Rajav and Nayan Raj have such kind of patience.

I have written a few stories. I have written some short forewords. I have written some essays for newspaper. However, they are very few in order to claim; but I will keep on writing more.

We had our first meeting at the Mulyankan Magazine where you were provided with an anthology of short stories by Gabriel Garcia Marquez to translate into Nepali. I was thrilled since he was my favorite writer and I had already gone through One Hundred Years of Solitude. As I read your translation, I thought it was easier for you to translate his literary works. Do you truly think he was a comfortable writer to be translated?   

People say, translation is an artwork. An artwork has its own sources and targets as well. No one can value translation if he/she fails to understand the essence of art and culture. And, translation is an art of different discipline; the art with no chance to go through without understanding the nature of both the languages, I would say. This demands your mastery over both the languages. Art of understanding an artwork is thus a harder issue. I get a better taste reading a well-carved translation as it is closer to original text. You can say you are reading no translation but many mediums of art – color, sketch, sculpture that were my favorite genres, but  In another word, you may need to internalize originality of the art totally saving its sovereignty and communicate at the same level, and certainly communicate creative desire of original artwork to the targeted reader. This is only possible when you have enhanced capacity of designing art with deeper level of understanding. A good translator multiplies influencing capacity of the original writing.

To me, translation itself is a job hard-to-do. Furthermore, translating a poem is much more difficult. In translating fiction and non-fiction, there are a lot of possibilities of benefits available with linearity, stories, cultural atmosphere and actions of characters depicted in. A poem, by its nature, hails compact language and symbols. It has unique style of presentation with variety of facilities of interpretation. All these factors force a translator to work harder. Translators who fail to do so can only wrongly interpret the meanings that become not only ridiculous but also boring too. 

I do think, Marquez certainly is not among the writers comfortable enough to translate into other languages,  But I agreed to complete the task within 24 hours as my friend Govvinda Bartaman asked me to translate . Pledging to try, I thought, I could do better after reading the story. It was to translate from English, which I found good. I completed and sent him the translation within three hours with the condition that they should grant me enough time to improve, if required. The story is one of the masterpieces by him, ‘Balthzar’s Marvelous Night, a tale of a poor cage producer. I thought I did good as it was printed in the magazine. Other sincere readers and writers also thanked me for translating a work by such a giant Nobel Prize winning storyteller, a well read and praised Columbian writer, and they clapped at me for brining in ‘excellent Nepali’.  Udaya, many of my translated works are from the poems by Bertolt Brecht, not from German, but from English version. Since I have limited knowledge in languages but I feel great pleasure while translating best creative works.       

You were among the forerunners of Republican Poetry Movement of Nepal when talking about Republic was itself full of danger at that time. . It was like ‘Come on angry bull and kill me ‘ Situation .What were the factors behind doing so?

Everyone knows, a Marxist is always republic by nature. (I feel sad when I see some people talking about so called ‘Royal Communists’ in Nepal. Why such surprises happen only in Nepal, a tiny piece of mother Earth?) Even so, politically aware writers dedicated to the cause and concerns of common people can hardly be a part of any form of oligarchy or monarchy. I am rather a self-determined and self-taught Marxist, not a levy paying cadre declared by a person or party structures. As my ideological and practical ground is Marxism, I have continuously involved myself in the democratic movements and anti monarchy uprisings as well.

In order to connecting our creative writing to both the people’s movement and public aspirations, we decided to forward our poetry movement as Republic Poetry Movement, and finally, we came to conclusion that this movement can energize the people’s movement and started Republic Poetry as a movement. I think, it has proven its significance. It would not be achievable if republic is limited to a political form, it should be rather considered as a program. There will be monarchy existing in different political and social structures of this nation despite of absence of the monarch, and therefore, we should not undermine the fact that we must consistently further our struggle even against the monarchial influences to make the freedom possible. Targeting our struggle to abolition of the new monarchs hidden into brand new outfits with various roles is thus important. 

‘What a fantastic writing but there is a problem with it—absence of thought,’ you told me after going through Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee  and A House for Mr. Viswas by V. S. Naipaul. I still remember that. Don’t you think this reaction demands further clarity? 

The most arresting beauty of any creation is the thoughts clearly reflected in the artwork. The beauty of thoughts is most powerful.  But, in contrary to some people’s idea, thoughts are not the elements automatically originated. Our surrounding environment and atmosphere where we are living in, and our personal and social behaviors and actions create thoughts. Humanity is connected to the thoughts.  A thoughtful human forms wisdom and utilizes it in a meaningful way. Any society that lacks ideologues is supposed to be considered as loser one. Everyone cannot take risk.  Wiser one only can take risk and light the society.  To me, Coetzee’s Disgrace is certainly among the most influencing fiction. This novel depicts the episode in which the poor, professor can do nothing but stands still constantly looking at his daughter being raped. This leads me to the state of depression.  I do feel, his daughter’s suicidal courage is touchier. But the novel does not speak much about the aggressive and inhuman behaviors of common African people because white rulers were the source of behind such apartheid. Finally, I concluded that this novel displays reflections of the white supremacy in African continent that was gradually losing power.  Talking about Naipaul, I found him reflecting the society that he wanted not to see with fierce comments.  His comments show that he is much more western civilization oriented.

Some classical novels I read had awfully blown and thrilled my mind. Novels like ‘Father and Son’ by Ivan Turgenev and The Old Man and the Sea by Earnest Hemingway, profoundly depict external and internal struggles of humankind. Therefore, I, as a reader, can get the heat of their thoughts. The works of great writers like Leo Tolstoy, Mikhail Lermontov, Nicholai Astrovsky, Emil Zola, and Earnest Hemingway. Maxim Gorki had widened my horizon and greatly impacted on my way of thinking. I think, one of the best and most effective examples of autobiography may be My Confessions by Jean Jacques Rousseau. The Stranger and Plague by Albert Camus, profoundly depict human concerns on his/her existence in this world.  I also think, every writer’s thoughts expressed through writing should be respected, but, sometimes, what I see is, thoughtlessness sometimes hits interestingly to your mind and heart, that arrests your sense of art.  Since I am one of the students of Marxist school of thought, it is natural to show my concerns on a bit much clarity of thoughts but the condition is that it should be in an artistic manner. One of the great men of letters I like is Bertolt Brecht, particularly in poetry and drama. I mention some other giant writers like Pablo Neruda, Fredric Garcia Lorca and Gabriel Garcia Marquez because of their artworks and thoughtfulness. Despite of being respectful to diverse ideologies, Marquez’s angle of creation is much more arresting to me. Novels by Naipaul, Mario Verges Losa, Chinua Achibi, Orhan Pamuk, Jhumpa Lahiri, Arundhati Roy have enough impressions on me but, yet, Marquez is attractive and charismatic in his style of works.  I have also translated his novella No one Writes to the Colonel, published first time in 1961, into Nepali. I feel, characters of the said novella, sometimes, are similar to my own atmosphere. Colonel and his wife, who are fighting against poverty for normal livelihood, look like a poor Nepali family. I was badly thrilled reading the lines when Colonel’s wife boils stone in a huge cooking utensil to show others who thought the colonel’s family starved due to lacking food items.

Many of the prominent writers travel through some sort of anarchism ultimately turning to Marxism. Writers like Parijat and Narayan Dhakal can be the examples. But, in your case, you are consistently standing up with clearly visible thoughtful brilliance since the beginning of publishing your poetry collection. Were you schooled in Marxism before you stepped in the field of literature?  

I think, anarchy is a forceful action or aggressive behavior to show discontent disrespect, or disobey to any status quo. It can be characterized as clashing to the existing rules that force you to live in narrower pit. For this, an anarchist takes all types of risks. To some extent, I like it. My process of thinking, from the very beginning, was travelled to Marxism via anarchism and eastern Veda-influenced customs, I have made several attempts to liberate myself from readymade disciplines imposed and conservative organizational conducts to obey with no comment.  Doing this, my journey continued with the important works of globally famous and influential painters, actors, litterateurs, philosophers and scholars and veterans of political science. They have helped me sharpening my perceptions, thinking process, and correct angles to develop at least to know the life and world. Their behaviors seem unconventional, and they have adapted anarchy as their life style. Socially imposed but irrelevant rules and tracks do not allow to a true freedom for life, thinking process becomes colony of termites, and society does not get new values. We should challenge the irrelevant codes creating much hardship in order to change the society. This risk can only be taken by creative people. 

Parijat realized Marxism as a philosophical instrument to examine the society but very late, but I do not think she was able to wholeheartedly liberate her from her early nature of writing and preoccupied ideological impressions on her. Earlier writings of Narayan Dhakal are rather rebelling than anarchist. He is the Marxist influenced writer prior to the beginning of third decade of Bikram Samvat 2000’s. But in Nepal, the correct angle to internalize Marxism has yet to be developed. It is conservative in nature. Marxist critics have established the norms that you should write like Maxim Gorky or Lu Xun. Fedin, Yang Mo etc. according to their list of role model writers. Narayan is one of the powerful writers of our time challenging such conservative ideas.  I got basic knowledge of Marxism even before the beginning of the third decade. This knowledge helped me sharpening my rebelliousness but I was far from the conventional type of interpretation (Narayan calls it as regime-imposed Marxism). Marxism, as I feel, is not a dull outlook but a dynamic and progressive philosophy. Unfortunately, Nepalese politicians having no proper sense of art interpreted it. They talked much about Georgi Plekhanov, George Lucas and Ralph Fox but quite adversely. They read Lenin and blindly followed him as a universal truth. They failed to internalize the fact that no one can properly understand the philosophical conclusions drawn by Lenin without the reference to  the works of  Karl Kautsky, Leon Trotsky , Rosa Luxemburg, in newer contexts  Milovan Zilas, Antonio Gramsci and, of course. it is not possible to understand the spirit of Marxist aesthetics in new global context.  They would be called as revisionist atheist if they would do so. Narayan is different in this way.

Third decade was creative period that enhanced my capacity to read and write. I read good books borrowing from different sources, asked questions myself and made attempts to get answers from. It is true that contact with the political parties in time of the movements also worked for. But I had never accepted to be a formal party cadre. I was far away from the direct influence of so-called Nepali pundits/commentators/interpreters of Marxism. I always favored liberation from their imposing teachings. Leaders of the Nepali left lining political parties had had no interest in entertaining the people with logical answers of the questions posed. Say, they were hypocrites.  They were unable to recognize the genuine issues and unique features of Nepali society due to their lower level of understanding of the political ideologies and principles. They failed to identify the way to creative interference. I was crossing the borderlines fixed by such elements in order to catch a healthy style of the way of thinking. In fact, this is my story of shaping my ideology.   

I found your essays fine. You are also working on your first novel. But I find Shyamal very powerful while talking on poetry. I also get artistic courage while reading your essays commenting on poetry. What is a poem for you?

A good poem to me is a kind of flashlight that shows me the safer track during a time of deeper darkness. It is a kind of natural lens to see the human life and world even in time of daylight. It is a power to me in time of pain, trustworthy instrument above all for conversation with others in time of happiness. Again, it is a kind of fascinating memory of my beloved one that rarely appears.  You can feel and recognize the tramps of your beloved one even in darkest times. To me, poetry is a tramp of my beloved one to feel self in me.   

You are correct that I have written essays (and praised by many), working on a novel (many good readers are looking for an excellent novel to come about), and, of course, I am working on poetry (clapped by many). Hence, I feel greatest pleasure while naming/titling a good work of poetry. 

A poem is a sharpest genre of art to engage readers in dialogue. Sometimes I feel it is both: a vehicle and a destination. It is a kind of vehicle because it is knitted with the threads of words and its language is in words.  Contents are philosophized if the words are carefully selected and skillfully arranged. Therefore, best poems are often like the chants. A powerful poem can be characterized as brilliantly crafted bunch of letters that can tell you many things in few words, creates permanent connotation, and thrills you for a long time. This generates greater pleasure to me and I feel much energized speaking on a good poetry.   

I always feel that you are just maintaining consistency to further your literary capability. It would be a significant achievement for literary circle if you sincerely activate yourself. Can we see you such time coming?

Some personal causes behind the slowness are creating hurdles in my journey as a creative writer. I am trying to overcome from such personal problems. I realize the fact that I could do better if I would be able to cross the borderlines. After a while, within five years, you will see me engaged mostly in various creative works. Wishes from the friends like you inspires me to chase  the time.

I had provided you with some books. After reading those, you had commented that there are some problems especially in the thoughts. At the very moment, I was tending to get a list of books in which you find no ideological errors. Could you please share the titles of books that influenced you?

I have grown up myself reading the epics/poems including great Sanskrit poet Kalidasa.  Besides enriching myself by reading some Bengali poets and fiction writers, I also enjoyed reading ancient Greek and Roman philosophers, and great playwrights like Sophocles, Turkish poet Nazim Hikmet and modern American poets like Allen Ginsberg, Russian short story writer Anton Chekhov, French author Guy de Maupassant, American story teller O’ Henry and giant Urdu story teller Saadat Hassan Manto, who have enriched me a lot. Modern Latin American literature has impressed me more than others today. I immensely like their craftsmanship in creative literature. Since I had gone through some of the Caribbean poetry and fictions, I still need to read literature from the countries like Cuba, Chile, Peru, Venezuela, Brazil and Uruguay. I found middle Asian literature not much familiar to us. It is difficult for me to select only 15 great books from thousands of books I encountered during past forty years. Based on the a bit clearly visible illustrations in my memory reading thousands of books can be listed.