Kathmandu: The 114th birth anniversary of Mahakavi Laxmi Prasad Devkota is being celebrated by organizing various programmes, including poetry symposiums and highlighting his contributions in enriching Nepali literature.
Born on Kartik 27, 1966 BS in Dillibazar, Kathmandu on the occasion of Laxmi Puja, Mahakavi Devkota died on Bhadra 29, 2016 BS.
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.
He was a great and notable poet and essayist who penned books in almost all genres of Nepali literature with great foot print.
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.
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. RSS
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