An interview with Dan Bahadur Nepali: A self-made poet and writer

 

An interview with Dan Bahadur Nepali

A self-made poet and writer

Dan Bahadur Nepali is a Pokhara-based poet and writer. He has been an active social worker and a dedicated party worker with NCP (UML). However, he prefers to be noticed as a poet and writer. He got into poetry writing from an early age. After having written a few successful poems, he tried his hands on prose writing. His first book, ‘Rokidainan Kharpasle Ichhaharu,’ was an anthology of poems. But later, two books, ‘Janshramma Pailaharu’ and ‘Charasari Akashma', proved his outstanding prose writing ability. ‘Janashramma Pailaharu’ is a memoir he wrote about his experience of working as a volunteer in Barpak, Gorkha. 

During his engagement in the Barpark rehabilitation activities, he jotted down every single moment of his experience in a diary, and later, he elaborated on them in a book. Mr. Nepali has also published several articles on various topics in different print media. For his creative writing skills, he received ‘The Young Minds Outstanding Award’ in 2004. He has also received several awards and accolades for writing sublime poetry. Nepali is still engaged in social work and writes poetry and prose with full dedication and commitment. 

The other day, LB Thapa, publisher and editor of The Hemingway Post, a literary magazine, spoke with Dan Bahadur Nepali about his literary journey. This very interview was taken place at his residence in Malepatan, Pokhara.

THP: How did you get into literature?

DBN: I was born into a very simple family, and my parents lived an ordinary life. Ever since my boyhood, I have been sensitive towards nature, life, and feelings. My interest naturally drew towards songs and poetry when I was still in my early schooling. Actually, I was an important member of deusi bhailo. I would sing bhailo most eloquently, and my ability always put me in demand. Singing bhailo made it easy to pick up popular traditional songs, and I sang them well too. Thus, my first interest was singing songs. My deep interest in singing made me take an interest in poetry. And soon I began writing sublime poetry of all kinds. Later, it dawned upon me that songs are also a part of literature. Everything that contains a message is a piece of literature. As a result, gradually, I shifted from songs to poetry, and the journey is still going on unabatedly. 

THP: Would you like to speak about your books?

DBN: Until now, I have published three books. My first book is an anthology of poems named “Rokidainan Kharpasle Ichhaharu”. There is a poem with the same name in the book, Rokidainan Kharpasle Ichhaharu. Let me tell you about the word “Kharpas”. Actually, I was unaware of the word “Kharpas”. One day I was reading Kantipur National Daily, and there was a piece of news related to Pasang Lhamu Sherpa. She had become the first woman in Nepal to climb Mt. Everest. But when she was descending, she met a tragic accident and died. 

Here ‘kharpas’ stands for crevice or a fissure in the ice, which are narrow and deep. Falling into these fissures or crevices is always deadly. The mouths of those crevices are quickly covered with snow, and the next moment it is difficult to see those crevices around. Unfortunately, Sherpa fell into one of those crevices and lost her life. ‘Kharpas’ is an obstacle in life. In reality, it is ‘kharpas’ that either make or break people. I liked the word very much and immediately decided to write a poem by including this word, and this way I happened to write a poem, “Rokidainan Kharpasle Ichhaharu”. 

In the poem, I gave the message to my esteemed readers that obstacles will never cease to come in our lives. They will come and go, but we should be more resilient to face such situations. After the publication of the book, I received many accolades and praise for the poem. 

THP: One of the poems in the book is ‘Mero Diary’. It means My Diary. This particular heading of the poem is a little strange. Why did you choose such a confusing name to write a poem?

DBN: There is a specific reason for writing a poem on this topic. I always maintain a diary. Over the last decade or so, I have been regularly noting down every important event that happens in my life or around me. I love writing about the day-to-day important events of my life. This very habit does provide me with enough writing materials in my life. Thus, my diary is a mine of thoughts that provide me with uncountable topics to write essays and poems. 

I have been advised by my friends to maintain a diary on a laptop or desktop instead of writing by hand. But I am much more comfortable writing in my diary than typing on my laptop. I must admit that I am not that friendly with modern gadgets, especially when it comes to writing. 

THP: I have learned that the main theme of your second book revolves around the devastating earthquake that occurred in 2015. Will you speak more about the book?

DBN: My second book is ‘Janshramma Pailaharu’ and this book is dedicated to those people who lost their precious lives in the devastating earthquake in 2015. The book is also dedicated to those people who actively took part in the rehabilitation task. The earthquake that occurred in 2015 with the epicenter in Barpak, Gorkha, killed many people and damaged property beyond imagination. 

Being a party member of the Nepal Communist Party (United Marxist and Leninist), I received a command from the party's high command, and the next moment a team of volunteers was ready to visit Barpak, Gorkha. We spent days and nights and worked hard to make makeshift houses for the homeless people there. We also provided first aid to many injured locals. Some of them were seriously injured, and we managed to send Pokhara for further treatment. 

Being a poet and writer, I decided to pen down all my experiences in my book ‘Janshramma Pailaharu’. There is nothing fiction in the book. In its true sense, the book ‘Janshramma Pailaharu’ is a memoir, and I have written about my personal experiences from day one until the mission ended. Among my three books, ‘Janshramma Pailaharu’ is much closer to my heart. Whenever I speak about the book, everything comes to mind that I experienced in Gorkha. It was painful, resentful, and remorseful to some extent. 

THP: During the book-launching program of ‘Janshramma Pailaharu’, you talked at length about your diary-writing habit. Would you like to speak a bit more about your diary-writing habit?

DBN: I have the habit of maintaining a diary, and I have been doing it for the last decade or so. I have already mentioned a bit about my diary-writing habit in this interview. 

If I go much deeper into my diary writing, I would say that without my diary I cannot write at all. I will immediately become a thoughtless man without my diaries. Hence, all the credit goes to my diaries for whatever literary success I have achieved so far. In brief, I must say that the publication of all three books would not have been possible without my diaries. Thus, my diary has played a pivotal role in making me a writer and poet. 

THP: Your third book, ‘Charasari Akashma’ has received rave reviews and many accolades from readers and critics. How is this book different from your other books?

DBN: ‘Charasari Akashma’ is my third book, and this book is different from the other two books. For the publication of this book, I have included several of my published and unpublished articles. 

Being a writer and poet, I would like to express my thoughts on anything that happens around me. Therefore, a sizeable number of articles I have already published in the Nepali media. I have carefully selected only those articles that are thought provoking and relevant to the present time. Without any doubt, I must say that the readers will certainly enjoy reading these articles in the book. 

THP: We have noticed that you have published all three books yourself as a self-publisher. Why didn’t you try to get your books published by mainstream publishers?

DBN: Yes, I am indeed the publisher of all my three books. There are many reasons for going the way of a self-publisher. It is a known fact that the majority of traditional publishers are highly business-oriented. Their only purpose is to make money out of their publications. Therefore, they look for celebrities or already-established writers. They do not want to risk their money on new writers and poets, like me. On top, it takes too much time to publish a book with the traditional publishers. However, I am quite happy with all my three books as a self-publisher. 

I printed 500 copies of my first book. The second book had 700 printed copies, and the third book had 1000 copies. In all three publications, I didn’t incur any financial loss. I sold out all those books in the first 3 to 5 months. Moreover, let me make it clear that I have no intention at all to get rich by selling my books. My only intention is that my books should reach the hands of serious readers. 

THP: Literary magazines get no financial aid from the local or state government. As a result, most of the literary magazines have already ceased their publications. What do you say about this?

DBN: Unfortunately, this is true. Literary magazines are destined to meet an unceremonious demise. It is a matter of a few months or a few years, but then literary magazines will disappear into thin air as if they never existed. It is part of the government’s duty to protect and promote the art, culture, and literature of the country. However, the government is more interested in staying in power than doing any good for the nation and society. 

THP: What are you busy with these days?

DBN: At the present time, I am contemplating writing a new poetry book. I have even chosen the name of the book. It is ‘Paniko Takat’ (the power of water). However, I am a little skeptical about its name. Whether I should keep this name for my book or not. Because I do not want to confuse my readers. Paniko Takat is a metaphor. Actually, I want to inform you that nature is omnipotent and omnipresent. Therefore, no power of any kind can stand in front of the power of nature. Thus, we should never go against the norms and values of nature. Nowadays, the result of natural calamities is due to violating natural laws. In my forthcoming poetry book, I want to give the same message to the world: don’t try to test the limits of nature. Because nature’s wrath is always brutal, cruel, and awful. 

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