Devkota’s 114th birth anniversary being marked

Kathmandu / Oct 24: The 114th birth anniversary of Mahakavi Laxmi Prasad Devkota is being commemorated today at home and abroad by organizing various programs including poetry symposiums and highlighting his contributions to the enriching of Nepali literature.

Laxmi Prasad Devkota was born on Kartik 27, 1966 BS in Dillibazar, Kathmandu. He died on Bhadra 29, 2016 BS. He was an accomplished poet, playwright, scholar, and novelist. He is given the title of Mahakavi in the Nepali Literature, which means The Great Poet. He is known as the poet with a golden heart. Some of his famous works are Muna Madan, Sulochana, Kunjini, and Sakuntala. He wrote the ‘Shakuntala’ epic in three months, ‘Sulochana’ epic in 10 days and ‘Kunjini’ long narrative poem in a single day.

He was a great and notable poet and essayist who penned books in almost all genres of Nepali literature with great footprint.

He penned half a dozen epics, two essay books, dozens of long narrative poems, dramas, story books and fiction, among others. Devkota was a master in fusing eastern and western philosophy in his writings. Devkota had mastery 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.

The Nepali language became a compulsory subject in Nepal’s curriculum on the initiatives of Devkota during his tenure as Education Minister in 2016 BS. He also contributed to the establishment of the Nepal Academy.