Sunday, November 18, 2012

Mahakavi Laxmi Prasad Devkota (1909-1959) - Tribute to a Legend


On the third day of Tihar, when most of the people were busy in making necessary arrangements for the evening Laxmi puja, Mahakavi Devkota was born from the womb of Amar Rajya Laxmi Devi and father Tilmadhav Devkota in Dillibazar, Kathmandu on November 12, 1909. As he was born at a time when the entire Hindus including his family were worshiping Goddess Laxmi, the Goddess of wealth, his parents took his birth as the greatest gift of Goddess Laxmi. Accordingly, his name was given Laxmi Prasad. However, he turned out to be the gift of Saraswati, the ‘Goddess of Knowledge’. He has earned the fame through this name in the field of Nepali literature. In a short lifespan of fifty years he produced some eighty books in Nepali and in English.

Laxmi Prasad Devkota (1909-1959)
Early Life

When Devokota was born, Nepal was ruled by the Rana oligarchy. The Rana administration was not enthusiastic about educating the masses, so the permit to study was a privilege. Devkota’s family went through a lot of trouble to enroll him at Durbar School, the only school in the Kathmandu Valley. Devkota was talent since his childhood. He started writing at the early age of ten and proved to be an excellent pupil. He finished school with good grades and went to Trichandra College in 1925 to study science. He got his B.A. in arts in 1929 and went to India in 1931 on a scholarship to continue his studies. Devkota was impressed by the libraries he saw in India, and he and his friends wrote to the Rana Prime Minister asking for permission to open a library in Kathmandu. They were put in prison for this and had to pay heavy fines. This was the beginning of Devkota's political life.

The days of Hardships

After he received the degree, he returned back home and started to live the family life. Despite taking tuition classes to supplement his earning, sometimes for fourteen hours a day, financial problems never left him. His popular book ‘Muna Madan’ was written during this time. All the poets of the time wrote using the old Sanskrit forms. The book challenged Sanskrit scholars who dominated the Nepalese literary scene. While these scholars determined good poetry as those following the Sanskrit form, ‘Muna Madan’ was based on the jhaurey folk tune. This was completely new and it received recognition. It is still a best seller even after more than several decades of its publication.

The mid-thirties were a terrible time for Devkota: his mother, father, and a two-month old daughter died within two years. This shattered Devkota completely. Devkota was never a smoker at school or college, but when he learned to smoke, he became a chain smoker. He was exceedingly nervous and began to complain that everything hurt him. His brothers were worried enough to put him in a mental hospital in Ranchi, India, for five months in 1939. He makes references to his experience in the lunatic asylum in his famous free-verse poem ‘Pagal’ which is one of the best written poems in Nepali.

Years of Active life

After he returned to Nepal, he worked as a part of Nepal Bhasanuwad Parishad, a state organization that acted as a censorship board, and also taught at Tribhuwan University. He wrote several of his epic poetry during this time. In 1948, Poet Devkota presided over the first national poetry festival of Nepal organized by Nepali Sahitya Parishad and delivered a famous speech. Immediately after this poetry festival, he exiled himself to Vanarasi, India, to edit Yugvani (The Voice of the Age), which was a mouthpiece of the Nepali Congres. In Nepal, his house and properties were confiscated by the Rana government. In less than three months after his unannounced departure from the house, his second son Krishna died. His eldest son Prakash soon joined him in Varanasi.

Poet Devkota returned to Kathmandu shortly before the restoration of democracy in 1951. At that time, he was trying to sustain the family at Kavi-Kunja with a few tuition jobs. However, he also kept producing many excellent works. From April 1956, a literary monthly titled ‘Indreni’ was launched from Kavya-Prathisthan, of which Poet Devkota was the president. The Asian Writers' Conference was held in New Delhi, December 23-29, 1956. Poet Devkota led the delegation of Nepali writers to this conference. It was for such events that Devkota had translated many of his own works as well as those of his contemporaries into English and published them in the two bilingual issues (2nd and 7th.) of Indreni. The poems thus translated are highly representative of the age.

Later, Poet Devkota also led a delegation of Nepali writers to Tashkent to attend the Afro-Asian Writers' Conference, which was held from October 7-13, 1958. He impressed the audience with his excellent introduction to contemporary Nepali literature, made many friends, and was, in turn, impressed with the central message of peace and the need for justice that the conference highlighted. While he was in Russia and immediately after his return to Nepal, Devkota wrote several essays in English that discuss national and literary issues at home from a more global and comparative perspective.

On Friday, July 22, 1957, Royal Nepal Academy was established and Poet Devkota was its member from its inception. From July 26 to November 14, 1957, he served as the Minister of Education under Dr. K.I. Singh's cabinet. As a minister, he promoted the Nepali as a national language, he opened schools all over the country, and he also worked to establish Tribhuvan University.

Important Contributions

Devkota contributed to Nepali literature by bringing the Sanskrit tradition to its end and by starting modern Romantic Movement in the country. Devkota was the first to begin writing epics in Nepali literature. Nepali poetry soared to new heights with Devkota's groundbreaking and innovative use of language. Departing from the Sanskrit tradition that dominated Nepali literary scene, he wrote ‘Muna Madan’ (1930), a long narrative poem in popular "jyaure" folk meter.  ‘Muna Madan’ is perhaps the most popular of all works of Devkota. The simplicity of language, folk and lyrical verses and rhythmic expression made this book popular among the all including ordinary folks. Muna Madan’s popularity also made Ranas to appoint Devkota a member of the Nepal Bhasanuwad Parishad. Devkota had the ability to compose long epic poems with literary complexity and philosophical density in very short period of time. During this period, he wrote, ‘Shakuntala’, his first epic poem and also the first "Mahakavya" (epic poem) written in Nepali language, in mere three months. Published in 1945, Shakuntala is a voluminous work in 24 cantos based on Kalidasa’s famous Sanskrit play ‘Abhijnanasakuntalam’. ‘Shakuntala’ demonstrates Devkota's mastery of Sanskrit meter and diction which he incorporated heavily while working primarily in Nepali. It is said that Puskar Shumshere Rana challenged him to write another epic in a period of one month. Accepting the challenge, Devkota wrote another epic ‘Sulochana’ in ten days. Both ‘Shakuntal’ and ‘Sulochana’ are Devkota’s masterpieces.

He is regarded as the propounding father of romanticism in the Nepali literature. Devkota was deeply influenced by the writings of William Wordsworth, P.B. Shelley, Byron and John Keats. He is the pioneer of modernity or modernism in Nepali literature, especially in essays and poetry, and he is also regarded as 'Anshu Kavi' (spontaneous poet). He could write poems in a spontaneous manner and even while signing autographs for his fans, he used to write a poem before putting his signature. His poetry depicts the romantic characteristics like humanism, metaphysical relationships, aesthetic values, past glories, praise of nature etc. Apart from romantic writings, he wrote some potent revolutionary poems possibly under the impact of P.B.Shelley. Devkota is also credited with the innovations of native Nepali vocabulary. He not only had a deep vision of literature, but was also well versed in theology, philosophy, history and in all inter-disciplinary genres.

Devkota’s contribution to Nepali literature are as follows-
Poetic works: Muna Madan, Raj Kumar Prabhakar, Kunjini, Shakuntal, Sulochana, Basanti, Putali, Bhikhari, Mhendu, Ravana-Jatayu Yuddha, Chhahara, Chilla Patharu, Luni, Mayabini Sashi, Maharana Pratap, Manoranjan, Nabras, Sitaharan, Dushyanta Shakuntala Bhet, Aakash Blochha, Balkusum, Chhayasanga Kura, Katak, Gaine Geet, Sunko Bihan, Bhavana Gangeya, Sundari Jarpini, Aashu, Prathimas, Prithiviraj Chauhan, Maina, Pahadi Pukar, Muthuka Thopa, Laxmi Kabita Sangraha and Laxmi Giti Sangraha.
Essay: Laxmi Nibandha Sangraha
Plays: Sabitri Satyaban, Rajpur Ramani, Basanti, Maina and Krishibala and Bharatmilap.
Laxmi Katha Sangraha (anthology of Devkota’s short stories)
Fiction: Champa
Devkota translated William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth into Nepali

Devkota’s Legacy

Although Devkota started writing during the Rana period when the free thinking and creative writing used to be discouraged, he broke the traditional and conventional style and introduced a new genre and approach in writing poems and other forms of literature. Devkota's literary works are marked by flow, variety of style and subject matter, critical and relevant thought, powerful imagination and compassion for the living. He was a prolific writer who experimented with every form and genre of literature. He wrote not just innumerable poems, but also epics, long narrative and/or descriptive poetry called khandakavyas in Nepal, plays, one-act plays, essays, short stories, and even a novel. Furthermore, he has contributed significantly to Nepali children's literature, too. He has also translated many of his own works as well as those of his contemporaries into English. He is the first Nepali writer to produce a significant bulk of poems, essays, and plays written originally in English.

Devkota grew as a writer throughout his career. One of his earliest achievements is the successful use of a popular folk meter called jhyaure in his yet best-selling long narrative poem: Muna-Madan. This work kicks against the Classical Sanskritic tradition of metrical poetry even as it depicts the life of ordinary people in a simple, native language. The poet, however, adopts the Sanskriic tradition in Nepali Shakuntal, an epic he wrote in three months. This epic is rich in Sanskrit vocabulary, highly imaginative, and powerfully lyrical in many places. The context and characters of this story from the Mahabharat and the Padma Purana are given Nepali characteristics and context.

While the poet shows great mastery over the varnik form of Sanskrit meter in Nepali Shakuntal, with "The Lunatic," he arrives at a very successful form of modern confessional poetry in free verse. According to his contemporary, Bala Krishna Sama, Devkota was born thrice into literature: first, with Muna-Madan; second, with Nepali Shakuntal; and, third, with "The Lunatic."

Devkota's literary oeuvre witnesses a consciousness that not only comprehends the cultural heritage of Bharat Varsha but also appreciates other cultures and civilizations as different. His works also exhibit a high realism where purified art encapsulates truth that transcends the local to universalize itself into a sort of ethos of the age. While Nepal remains at the core of his writing, Rome, Greece, the greater India, England, Russia, and many other literary and artistic arenas of the globe find a room in his writing. It is for this reason, too, that Devkota deserves a place among meritorious writers of the world. It is high time for him to be situated at the hub of South Asian literary discussions.

Devkota exhibits a great love for Nepal and its people in his works, which are simply extensions of his life and thought. He loved the country, its people, and his own mother tongue, Nepali, which he enriched and endowed with the expressional possibilities of a modern sensibility. Today, he is lovingly known as Mahakavi or Great Poet for his great body of powerful poetry and significant writings in Nepali and English. He commands great respect in the world of Nepali letters. Nearly half a century after he left the literary scene, Devkota's contributions in diverse genres of literature and many areas of Nepalese social and cultural life remain deeply felt and appreciated.

Despite holding some important and high-ranking positions, his financial status was always precarious and he had to struggle a lot for survival. But the difficulties he suffered never deterred him from writing and making contribution to Nepali literature. The contribution Devkota made to enrich the Nepali literature would always be written down with golden letter. We cannot imagine the state of Nepali literature without Laxmi Prasad Devkota. Thus, Laxmi Prasad Devkota has earned a greatest respect in the heart of Nepalese people both in Nepal and abroad. Recognizing his unprecedented contribution in the field of literature, he was honoured as a life member of the Nepal Academy. Devkota was also conferred with the title of ‘Mahakabi’ (Poet the Great). He died at the age of 50 due to cancer in September 14, 1959. With his demise people lost a brilliant icon of Nepali literature. Although he is no more with us, his writing will always keep him alive in the hearts of the people who love Nepali literature.

YouTube Links for Mahakavi Devkota




(Binod Bhattarai is a Doctoral Fellow at Department of Sociology, Pondicherry University, Puducherry – 605014, India)

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