Kathmandu, Oct 31: The 116th birth anniversary of Mahakavi (great poet) Laxmi Prasad Devkota – the multi-dimensional literary genius of Nepal is being celebrated today by organizing various programmes at home and abroad.
Mahakavi Devkota was born in 1966 BS on the day of Krishna Aunsi i.e. Laxmi Puja in Dillibazar, Kathmandu.
He was an accomplished poet, playwright, scholar, and novelist. He is given the title of Mahakavi in Nepali Literature, which translates to ‘The Great Poet’ in English.
Some of his famous works are Muna Madan, Sulochana, Kunjini, and Sakuntala. He wrote ‘Shakuntala’ epic in three months, ‘Sulochana’ epic in 10 days and ‘Kunjini’ long narrative poem in a single day.
Devkota initiated composing poetry at his 10 and published voluminous epics, essays, stories, plays, novels, songs, criticism and short and long narrative poems. He has significantly contributed over 100 literary works to Nepali literature.
He started writing modern epics in Nepali literature and his magnum opus ‘Munamadan’ is the best-selling book so far published in Nepali language. Devkota, the proponent of the romanticism stream in Nepali literature, reflects humanism, love for nature and revolutionary ideas. His literary creation also reflects blended taste of Eastern and Western philosophies. Poet Devkota had mastered over a dozen languages including Nepali, Sanskrit, English and Hindi.
Devkota contributed significantly to the global publicity of the Nepali literature by translating Nepali books into foreign languages and leading Nepali delegation to various foreign conferences. In 1997 BS, he published ‘Prasiddha Prabandha Sangraha’, a collection of essays by 15 famous foreign writers, which were translated into Nepali.
Nepali language became a compulsory subject in Nepal’s curricula on the initiatives of Devkota during his tenure as Education Minister in 2016 BS. He also contributed to the establishment of the Nepal Academy.
The accomplished literary writer Devkota had passed away in September 2016 BS. A week-long programme has been organized since last week on the occasion of Mahakavi Devkota’s birth anniversary.
Devkota Jayanti will be celebrated across the country today by organizing various programmes.
