“He
has fallen from the black clouds
And
is living in the shadows.
Do
we see a god in him,
Or
do we see a begger?”
-Laxmi
Prasad Devkota
Laxmi Prasad
Devkota(November12, 1909- September 14, 1959) is arguably the greatest poet and
literati Nepali ever had. He was born to the father Til Madhav and mother Amar
Rajya Laxmi Devi on the day of dipawali (Laxmi puja) in Dillibajar, Kathmandu. His
parents named him after Laxmi-the goddess of wealth and prosperity as he was
born on the day Laxmi is worshipped.On the contrary, he remained poor all his
life, but was blessed by Saraswati-the goddess of knowledge and wisdom, and
became the one and only Mahakavi( The Great poet) of Nepal.
He got married at the
age of 15 as it was quite common to marry at quite early age in his time. He
started writing poems at his school days in Durbar High School, the oldest
school of Nepal. After completing his school, he joined Trichandra college in
1925 to study science. He went to India in 1931 on a scholarship for further
studies after getting B.A. in arts in 1929.
He was impressed by the
sophisticated libraries he saw in India, and Laxmi Prasad being aware of the
fact that Nepal didn’t have any such facilities back then wrote to the then
Rana Prime minister asking for permission to open a library in Nepal. He got
imprisonment and heavy fine as a reply to his request.
His most popular book
Muna Madan was written when he was facing hard time working after returning
from India. Many lines from the from Muna Madan has become paraphrase,
especially “ A man is great by his heart, not by his caste.” It was written in jhyaure style while other
contemporary Nepali poets used old Sanskrit form. Many phrases from the novel No
other piece of literarute has been able to claim to have reached the heights
reached by The Muna Madan.
His creation Pagal (The
lunatic) was written when he was shattered by the tragedy he had to suffer
losing his both parents and daughter.
He took keen interest
in literature throughout his life. He had good command of Nepali, Sanskrit,
Hindi, and English languages. He was not only quick and prolific but his works
were always presented aptly. His works portrayed the feeling of nationalism,
romanticism, and his belief in humanity.
He was vested with so many adorable qualities.
His greatest virtue was not his profound knowledge and ability in literature;
it was rather the golden heart he possessed. He would often show his
generosity and goodness by helping others in need. Once, he saw a beggar
shivering in the street in cold winter morning, and he gave his coat to the
begger.
He had the ability to
write very quickly. He wrote Shankuntala in 3 months, another epic-Sulochana in
10 days, and Kunjini in a single night. His some works has been translated into
He was a versatile
writer and wrote many essays, plays, stories, novels, and innumerable poems. He
took Nepali literature to new height and influenced generations of Nepali
writers. Laxmi Prasad Devkota became Professor at Tri-Chandra College in 1946,
and became the education minister of Nepal in 1957.
He smoked a lot of
cigarettes while working on his poems and stories. And he was diagnosed with
cancer in 1958. One year later, he passed away.
Laxmi Prasad Devkota
took the level of Nepali Literature to a new height through numerous epics,
plays, narratives, songs, narratives and short poems. He was not only a
prolific writer but also the founder of modern prose style. Laxmi Prasad rose
to majestic heights to elevate the literary stature of Nepal.
Some of his shorter yet
powerful poems:
#Make me a
sheep(Translated in English)
Let me not jump to the
void like a sage
Or with an artificial
imagination;
Let me not create
distorted magic of
Variegated colors out
of magicless truth;
Let me not become a
Brahmin to live on dirty water
Washing away other’s
sin.
Let me not reform to
expose the world
Let me not patch up the
old and tattered things;
Let me lit the light of
life
Like the simple,
beautiful, and
Unbeautiful light of
nature;
When dying, let me
Reach higher up than
the sage.
Published Works of
Laxmi Prasad Devkota:
Poems/Short stories
1.
Bal jasto
2.
Kunjini
3.
Gaine Geet
4.
Putali
5.
Krishibala
6.
Dushyant-Shakuntala Bhet
7.
Munamadan
8.
Ravan-Jatayu Youdhya
9.
Lakshmi Kavita Sangraha
10.
Luni
Mahakavya
1. Shakuntala
2. Sulochana
3. Bana Kusum
4. Maharana Pratap
5. Prithvi raj Chauhan
6.Prometheus
Essay(collection)
1. Dadimko Rikh Nera
2. Prasiddha Prabandha Sangraha
3.Lakshmi Nibandha Sangraha
Mahakavya
1. Shakuntala
2. Sulochana
3. Bana Kusum
4. Maharana Pratap
5. Prithvi raj Chauhan
6.Prometheus
Essay(collection)
1. Dadimko Rikh Nera
2. Prasiddha Prabandha Sangraha
3.Lakshmi Nibandha Sangraha
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