EIGHTEENTH WRITERS CONFERENCE CELEBRATING WORLD POETRY DAY KATHMANDU, MARCH 21-22, 2007
The Foundation of SAARC Writers and Literature, New Delhi, along with its Nepal Chapter, in co-operation with Embassy of India, Kathmandu, organized a day long Nepal-India Poetry Festival on 21st March, 2007. Held at Hotel Yak and Yeti at Durbar Marg, Kathmandu, the festival also celebrated the centenary of late legendary poets Kavi Keshari Chittadhar “Hridaya” of Nepal and Mahadevi Varma of India.
Session I
The Session was Chaired by prominent poet Mr. Dwarika Shrestha, President of Nepal Chapter. The Chief Guest was renowned Nepali poet, Mr. Iswor Ballav. The Guest of Honour was Dr. Ms. Kheya Bhattacharya, Hon’ble Minister in the Embassy of India, Kathmandu. The welcome speech was delivered by Mr. Nabin Chitrakar, the programme coordinator of the event.
life. Directed by Mr. Nabin Chitrakar, it wonderfully presented the multifaceted personality of Chittadhar as an eminent poet and skilled artist. After the screening of the documentary, Nepalbhasha story writer Ms. Reena Tuladhar presented a paper on “Sugata Saurav”, a great epic in Nepal Bhasa written by late Chittadhar.
From left: Ms. Indu Jain and Mr. Kuber Dutt, eminent Hindi poets, and Mr. Utpal Basu, eminent Bangla poe
Participants from India and Nepal: a unique camaraderie created by eight years long endeavour of the Foundation of SAARC Writers and Literature team under the leadership of Ajeet Cour, the original dreamer, ceaselessly working to create this friendly warmth with the neighbours, across the borders, since 1987
According to her, the book written in Nepalbhasha is predominantly based on the philosophy of Buddhism. It emphasizes Buddha’s teachings related to reformation, religious unity, spirituality, etc.
Chairperson, Ms. Sharda Adhikari speaking about the presented paper said that the subject raised in “Sugata Saurav” is relevant in the present contemporary world where people have become very materialistic and are rapidly being detached from the true essence of life.
Session III
The third Session commenced with the screening of a documentary based on late legendary Hindi poet Smt. Mahadevi Varma. A presentation of Doordarshan, India, it unveiled the poetic journey of Mahadevi Varma and her relationship with other prominent poets of her time. The heart-touching interview of the poet given to Mr. Kuber Dutt was the major highlight of the documentary. After the documentary presentation the eminent Indian Hindi poet
Ms. Indu Jain presented a paper on poet Mahadevi Varma. She began her paper by mentioning the influence of Buddhism on the poet. Relating interesting life incidents of the poet, Ms. Jain talked about Mahadevi’s intellectual family background, her failed marriage, and her inclination towards literature. She also spoke of the rhetorical style of the poet and some of her outstanding books like ‘Jeevan Darshan’, ‘Atit Ke Chalchitra’, and others.
Bangla poet Mr. Utpal Basu, after paying homage to Mahadevi spoke about her immense contribution in the field of Indian Literature. He related his personal experiences with the poet and mentioned that he had learnt a lot from her.
Session IV
The entire Session was devoted to poetry recitations by Indian, Nepali, Nepal Bhasha and Maithali poets. All the poets were not only well- known, but were also representative of their times. Ms. Indu Jain, Mr. Utpal K. Basu, Mr. Chandrakant Devtale, Mr. Kuber Dutt, Mr. Hemant Kukreti, Mr. Jaswant Deed, Mr. Sidhu Damdami and Mr. Manoj Kumar had joined this great Poetry Festival from India. All of them recited their poems. Ms. Dipti W. Diwaker an Indian poet by birth, living in Nepal, also recited poems on the occasion.
Among the Nepali poets, Dr. Bimal Niva, Mr. Bhisma Uprety, Mr. Hem Hamal, Ms. Momila, Ms. Usha Serchan, Mr. Mani Lohani, Mr. Biplav Dhakal, Mr. Shrawan Mukarang, Ms. Aruna Vaidhya, Mr. Gobardhan Puja, Ms. Geeta Karki, Mr. Ramesh Shrestha, Ms. Neelam Niharika andMs. Bimala Tumkhewa recited their p