Monday, March 15, 2021

A lovely review of my Nepali collection by Raju Syami in the current issue of leading Nepali literary monthly, Madhuparka..

 

 

पानाहरू खाली छैनन् कविताका

 

 


 • राजु सायमी



          
विक्रमाव्द छयालीस सालको जनान्दोलन उत्कर्षमा रहेको समय सुरम्य उपत्यका पोखरामा एक अनपेक्षित दुर्घटना भयो, जसमा एउटी आन्दोलनकारी युवा विद्यार्थी सामूहिक बलात्कारको सिकार भइन् त्यसैको प्रतिक्रियास्वरुप एक कविले कविता लेखेर त्यतिबेलाको बहुचर्चित साप्ताहिक पत्रिकामा छपाए उक्त कवितासँगसँगै कवि पनि चर्चाको शिखर चुम्न सफल भए त्यस कविताले अधिकांश मानिसहरूलाई उद्वेलित , आन्दोलित आक्रोशित बनाए कवि थिए युयुत्सु आर डी शर्मा कविता थियो लक्ष्मी लेकाली त्यही समयावधिदेखि सबैको ध्यानाकर्षणमा रहेका कवि युयुत्सुको हालसालै ' पानाहरू खाली छन् ' शीर्षकीय कविता सञ्चयन प्रकाशनमा आएको सञ्चयनमा जम्माजम्मी एकाउन्न कविता रचनाहरू एकत्रित गरिएका छन्
          
विक्रमाव्द पचास सालको मध्यावधिताका कवि युयुत्सुसँग सम्पर्कित परिचित भएँ उनका मूलतः अङ्ग्रेजी भाषामा लिखित कविताहरूको अध्ययनबाट प्रभावित लाभान्वित पनि भएँ उनले अङ्ग्रेजी भाषामा प्रकाशित आफ्ना  कविताहरूलाई फुटकर रुपमा नेपाली भाषामा पुन:सिर्जना एवं अनुवाद गरे यस सञ्चयनको पाण्डुलिपि पढ्ने अवसर प्राप्त भएको थियो मलाई विशेषतः अङ्ग्रेजी भाषाका बलशाली कवि युयुत्सु नेपाली भाषाका पनि दक्ष कवि एवं अनुवादक  हुन् भन्दा अत्युक्ति नहोला
          
पहाडको अर्थ, खच्चरहरू, फुर्बाको यार्लिङ  ह्विटम्यानकी छोरी जस्ता चार शीर्षकमा विभक्त प्रस्तुत सङ्ग्रहको दह्रो अवस्थितिलाई अब भने उपेक्षा गर्न नसकिएला सङ्ग्रहित कविताहरूमध्ये भीमफेदी, बुध्द, मेरो जीवनको अन्तिम कविता, गोपालप्रसाद रिमाल, लक्ष्मी लेकाली, कथ्य कायाकल्प, लुम्बिनी, काजीदाइ, पहाडको अर्थखच्चरहरू, माने, पिता,पानाहरू खाली छन्, लन्डन बमवारी, ह्विटम्यानकी छोरी, न्युटाउन रक्तपातपछि एउटा प्रार्थनाजस्ता सशक्त कविताहरूको हस्तक्षेपलाई अवश्यमेव आत्मसात गर्नुपर्ला
         
व्यक्ति रामदास शर्माको जन्म भारतमा भएतापनि कवि युयुत्सु आर डी शर्माको जन्म भने भीमफेदी, मकवानपुरमा भएको हो उनका समुच्च प्रारम्भिक कविताहरूको जन्मभूमि भीमफेदी हो उनले पुस्तकका अघिल्ला पृष्ठहरूमा " हिमाली कवि हुनुको गौरव ' अन्तर्गत आफ्ना लेखकीय कथन भीमफेदी-नोष्टाल्जियाका रुपमा प्रस्तुत गरेका छन् यहीं कवि युयुत्सुका प्रारम्भिक कविताकृतिहरू ' प्रेयर इन डेलाइट ' ' हङ्गर अफ आवर हडल्ड हट्स ' तयार भएका थिए
         
           
नाइट सिफ्टको
           
फोहरी बोझ

           
उदाङ्गो सट्टापट्टा
           
नीलो बिहानी

           
हरिया लेकहरूका
           
अँध्यारा सुरुङहरूमा

            
रगत चुहाइरहेका
            
आँखाहरूका लागि,

            
उदाङ्गो सट्टापट्टा
            
हरिया सागका मुठाहरू

            
ठेकीहरूका
            
ताजा दूध दहीको

            
जाँड ओकलेका
            
गन्हाउने ओछ्यानहरूका लागि

            
उँघिरहेको पहाडी गाउँमा
            
जीवनभरिको रुग्ण मात

             
मात, त्यो मात
             
जसको अर्को नाम हो मृत्यु
              (
भीमफेदी )
            
मेरो वाल्यकालका स्वर्णिम दिनहरू व्यतीत भएको स्थान पनि हो भीमफेदी, जहाँ हाम्रो पुर्ख्यौली घर थियो त्यसर्थ, मलाई भन्न मनलागेको -भीमफेदी फगत मदिरा होइन, भीमफेदी केवल मात होइन, भीमफेदी एउटा जीवन्त संस्कृति पनि हो भीमफेदी मात्र बस्ती-बजार होइन, भीमफेदी एउटा उन्नत सभ्यता पनि हो

             
तिमीले नदिएका चुम्बनहरू
             
उत्कृष्ट थिए

            
फेवातालमाथिका
            
ती कविताहरू जुन मैले कहिल्यै लेखिनँ
             (
उत्कृष्ट कविता )
           
            
साँच्चिकै उत्कृष्ट कविता यस्तै पो हुन्छ कि !
            
लघु एवं दीर्घ दुबै आकारका कविता लेखनमा खप्पिस मानिएका यी कविका अङ्ग्रेजी भाषामा लिखित-प्रकाशित कविता-कृतिहरू
थुप्रै छन् आगामी दिनमा उनीबाट नेपाली भाषामा अन्य कृतिहरूको अपेक्षा गर्नु अनुचित नठहरिएला !
             
व्यक्ति स्थान विशेषमा केन्द्रीत रहेर लेखिएका उनका कविताहरूमध्ये गोपालप्रसाद रिमाल, काजीदाइ, लुम्बिनी, एउटा अधुरो कविता - फेवाताल, स्पस केक : आम्सटर्डम, न्युटाउन रक्तपातपछि-एउटा प्रार्थना उल्लेखनीय छन् भन्नुपर्छ



 कवि-प्राध्यापकको अवतारमा विश्व भ्रमण  गरेका, विभिन्न अन्तर्राष्ट्रिय कविता मञ्चहरूमा आफ्नो ज्वाजल्यमान उपस्थिति जनाएकाकविताका विषयमा व्याख्यान दिएका, कथ्य कायाकल्प नामक साहित्यिक आन्दोलनका प्रवर्त्तकमध्ये एक रहेका तथा अङ्ग्रेजी भाषामा प्रकाशन हुने पत्रिका प्रतीकका सम्पादक  यी यायावर कविको कर्मभूमि काठमाडौं हो यसर्थ, उनको कलमबाट काठमाडौंउपर पनि केही रचनाहरू सिर्जित हुने कुरामा आशान्वित हुनुपर्ला
             
कवि युयुत्सु आर डी शर्माका सम्बन्धमा विश्वविख्यात कवि रोन्नी सोमेकले एक ठाउँमा भनेका छन् - युयुत्सु सगरमाथाका छेउमा बस्छन् उनको कविता हिमाल आरोहण गर्छ, नदीमा पौडन्छ झरिरहेको पातमा ताम्र रङ पोत्छ यो प्रकृतिसँगको नृत्योत्सव उनले एकै छिन झ्याल बन्द गर्दा पनि रोकिन्न
              
पुराना जर्जर चिन्तनको परित्याग, अदृश्य विम्ब प्रतीकहरूको मूर्त प्रयोग, प्रकृतिको सूक्ष्म अवलोकन, तिरस्कृत पक्षहरूको उजागर समर्थन, स्थान विशेषमा केन्द्रीकृत सुन्दर कविता लेखनलेखनमा चित्रकारिता, नौला एवं अनौठा विम्बहरूको बहुल प्रक्षेपण आदि कवि युयुत्सुका लेखन विशेषताहरू हुन् उनका यी कविताहरू अनिवार्य अध्ययन सामग्रीहरू बन्न पुगेका छन् भन्दा अतिशयोक्ति नहोला



Sunday, March 14, 2021

Yuyutsu Sharma Poem, "Annapurnas Revisited" in Kyoto Journal's 'Travel, Revisited' Special Issue

Annapurnas Revisited 

for Sukrity, Rachel and Alison



Lost a T- shirt

near a crystal waterfall

 

a notebook

with names of birds and shamans of the canyons

 

finches, larks and red billed coughs

swifts, lammergeyers, griffins and redstarts

 

my rainbow colored umbrella

with flowers and million butterflies trapped in it

 

one of the lens

of my looking glass in a pond at Hot springs

 

lost excess fat,

double chin, pouch of my belly,

 

drooling flesh of my cheekbones

lost worries of my city struggles

 

in the leech-greasy forests,

oak and maple, conifers and rhododendrons

 

threw a  copy of the bestseller

over the rusty bars of a squeaking wooden ridge

 

for the bearded goats

of the famed valleys to read and rejoice

 

lost fears

of finding right words


perfect dreams,

faultless partners along

 

narrow cliffside tracts

skirting utter horror of highest precipices

 

lost my unease

along with my troubled heart

 

to the glaciers

of Annapurnas…

 

 https://kyotojournal.org/product/kyoto-journal-issue-99-travel-revisited-digital/







Wednesday, March 10, 2021

Shivaratri, A Poem by Yuyutsu Sharma

Shivaratri, A Poem

by Yuyutsu Sharma



Ascending heated slope of a dream,
hash-infested ghats of childhood spent among ashen ascetics
faking to torture crystal of a body. The thrill of the famished Bihar workers dancing to lusty gyrations of a male dancer disguised as a Bollywood nymph. And I, a slothful drum of blood and memory looking for a Muse gone across the river to touch the tip of a celibate semi-nude cobra. And, I, a barrel of inertia, am left to ramble
on a Ghat where quietly
loneliness of a corpse burns. The smoke of the pyre clings to my upper lip
like some hooked spirit. To die on the eve of Shivaratri,
you call it luck? Is there any luck, at all, after your death?

Only some conch shell full of Gangotri waters, that's to wash my ashes away one day and pull away bat-faced wasps of decay sticking to the catastrophe of my ageing lips.

From Some Female Yeti and other Poems, Nirala, 1995, Reprint, 2018.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/8182500915?ref=myi_title_dp

Friday, March 5, 2021

Yuyutsu Sharma's new poem, "The Apparition" from Upcoming collection, God's Messy Workplace: The 2020 Poems

 

The Apparition

For my son, Yugank

 

Photo by Ravi Manandhar

So much hand washing, son,

scrubbing sanitizers with the fervor

of pouring sacred waters 

with such fanatic frenzy

that an elephant’s wrinkled face

starts surfacing along the jagged crusts of my pores.

 

Holding back the breath

in terror to keep the invisible enemy away,

piled-up fill of surgical masks in the trash-cans

of my trance, pyramids of gloom rising

in the  blind vaults of this world

where I’ve turned into an apparition.

 

Here on the edge of the earth

standing next to the fractured glaciers

ready to explode any moment,

from the valleys of muted deities,

I can only speak through you,

I cannot touch you, feel your breath,

tousle your hair, or smell sweet odor

of your handsome head.

 

Being so far away from you,

and much to your annoyance,

over and over again eager

to return to my instructions —

fear everything around you,

keep a safe distance, don’t be complacent,

fear door knobs, street vendors from Preer Vihar, Laxmi Nagar, Khureji,

milkmen from the capital’s bordering villages,

tin foods you bring from Khurana Store,

groceries you unpack along the rumors,

carry a portable hand sanitizer,

let it dangle from your waist like a weapon in a battlefield.

 

These quick words of caution,

ash-smeared antics from the swirl

of my years on this earth,

these mantras that my Grandpa gave me

foreseeing the calamity decades ago,

the lessons I received in the 60s,

four decades after the First Pandemic.

“Come home,” he’d said, “wash your hands

and feet at the water pump in the courtyard,

clean your mouth with fresh water,

chew a herbal twig to freshen it;

your breath might get polluted from others in public spaces.”

 

I didn’t quite understand his words--

how could anyone get polluted in public places,

didn’t notice anything nasty in our quiet Punjabi town,

airs cool and crisp, skies azure blue

in the land of bluest rivers in the world.

 

I didn’t approve of his rigorous rituals

when he made me wash my hands thrice

with ash from our hearth.

“It’s pure gold,” he said, “ash,

nothing purer than ash.”

His white starched turban

stiff over his head, his gruff gurgle;

I saw his Adam’s apple dilate,

a little bird of wisdom trapped in his throat.

 

In our Messenger chats, son,

I notice your hair have grown long,

covering your forehead.

In your voice messages,

I see an anxiety pouring in

from the rouge metropolis,

Last night, I dreamt a tiny ball

of dirt roll out of your left ear,

and you cried out in pain,

my little prince trapped

in a fort of filth.

 

I hope you remember your Papa,

like I remember my Grandpa today,

someone who loved me,

with a heart purer than his gold ash.

 

I see you all alone in the apartment, 

your video games that took you away from me,

now you dream to see the real world,

tangible people, busy parks,

ports squawking from seagulls,

snow ranges, mule paths littered

with spring flowers and million butterflies.

 

But locked down here,

I am only an apparition in Kathmandu,

not a valid figure of flesh and sturdy bones.

My blood cannot throb to warm your anxious sleep,

I cannot touch you or reach out to you,

being miles away from you.

I cannot take you to Connaught Place,

to your favorite cafes, or bring you to the bustle

of your favorite Squares at Nehru Place,

Karol Bag, Chandani Chowk, Janpath. 

Or bring you back to the Himalayas,

to our luxuriant canyons to make you race around

the glaciers, to sweeten your breath in our dreams

from the forests of rhododendrons, making you

sing along the chorus of summer cicadas

to fill your youthful vessel

with the quiet sheen of our eternal snow.

 

From Upcoming book, God's Messy Workplace: The 2020 Poems

 

 

Friday, February 26, 2021

Bishwa Sigdel reviews Yuyutsu Sharma's new collection, "Panaharu Khalichchan" in Nepal's leading newspaper, Kantipur

 



पहाडको अर्थ खोज्दै

-विश्व सिग्देल
मसँग प्रत्येक पानाहरू सुन्दर कविताले भरिएका ‘पानाहरू खाली छन्’ नामको युयुत्सु आर.डी शर्माको कविता सङ्ग्रह अगाडि छ । हामी मानिससँग हिँड्दा हिँड्दै कहिल्यै नसकिने बाटो हुन्छ । खाँदा–खाँदै कहिल्यै नसकिने खाने क्रम हुन्छ । लाउँदा–लाउँदै नसकिने लुगाहरूको फेहरिस्त, गाउँदा–गाउँदै नसकिने जीवन गीत अनि लेख्दा–लेख्दै नसकिने खाली पानाहरूको थाक हुन्छ । अर्थपूर्ण सङ्गति खोज्दा खोज्दै ती पानाहरू खाली नै रहन पुग्छन् । एउटा सग्लो दर्शन ‘कथ्य कायाकल्प’का अभियन्तामध्येका एक युयुत्सु यसरी कवितामा व्यक्त गर्छन् । वर्तमानलाई उनी कठिन घडी नभनेरै ती कठिनताहरू आफ्ना कविताहरूमा पस्कन्छन् । हामीले भोगेका आरोह–अवरोह अनि हाम्रा भनाइ र गराइको बेमेलले गोडमेल गरेका भग्न मान्यताहरू पस्कन्छन् । कविता साधनामा दिन–रात ध्यानमग्न एउटा मिलरेपा फुत्त निस्कन्छ तार्के घ्याङ तलको ‘मिलरेपा गुफा’बाट र छरिन्छ हावाले देबदारका हाँगामा अडिएको हिउँ भुइँ झारेर छरेजस्तै ‘पानाहरू खाली छन्’ भित्र ।


सम्झन पुग्छु, असिन पसिन भएर सेर्माथानको उकालो उक्लिरहँदाको त्यो पहाडी बाटो, त्यहाँको रोगनविनाको जनजीवन, त्यहाँका रूख, पात पतिङ्गर, चरा चुरुङ्गीको कलरव अनि खस्रुको काँडे पातजस्तै विभिन्न दिशामा छिरलिएका युयुत्सुका जिज्ञासा ! छेवैको हिमाली खोलोजस्तै अविरल उनको त्यस भूभागसँग टम्म मिसिने इच्छाले उब्जाएका प्रश्नहरूको बहाब । त्यस समय मेरो ज्यान अलिक छरितो थियो । म अगाडि अगाडि थिएँ । उनको प्रश्नले मलाई पछाडि पछाडि तान्थ्यो र हामी दुबैको गति कम हुन्थ्यो । उनको जिज्ञासा र जिज्ञासाले उनीभित्र उम्रिएको बृहत् ज्ञान हामी उनका कविताभरि देख्न सक्छौँ । स्थानीय बिम्ब र रैथाने प्रतीकले उनका कविता अलग्गै बन्न पुगेका छन् । उनी खच्चरको पुच्छर निमोठ्दै अन्नपूर्ण सर्किट जाउन् वा न्यूयोर्क । जुन ठाउँमा उनी पुग्छन् । ती ठाउँहरूका ढुकढुकी उनी छाम्न पुग्छन् ।
कवि युयुत्सु यस अर्थमा पनि मलाई प्रिय लाग्छन् कि उनी आफ्नो कवि कर्मका कारण आफूलाई हीन मानेर ‘म उपन्यास लेख्दै छु’ भन्नुमा गर्व गर्ने कविहरूको जमातभित्र पर्दैनन् । नौवटा काव्यकृति र कविताको पत्रिका ‘प्रतीक’ले उनको काव्य साधनालाई उजागर गर्छ । उनी हाम्रा लवजहरूलाई तात्तातै उठाउँछन् र तिनीहरूसँग कुराकानी गर्न थाल्छन् । कविको आरनमा तब चल्छन् खलाँती, घन, छिना र अन्त्यमा साँध लगाएपछि ती कविता बन्छन् । लक्ष्मी लेकाली हुन् वा गोपालप्रसाद रिमाल युयुत्सुको आरनमा पाइन चढेपछि नयाँ बिम्ब र प्रतीकहरूले उनीहरूका कथा बोल्छन्–व्यथा बोल्छन् ।
पहाडको अर्थ खोज्ने जमर्कोमा आफैँ पहाड हुन रमाइरहेका देखिन्छन् युयुत्सु । हिमालको अर्थ खोज्न अग्लिने र पग्लिने लगातार भइरहन्छन् उनी । खच्चरहरूका खुरहरूबाट उडेको धुलो र फुर्वाको शेर्पा भान्छाघरबाट पुत्ताइरहेको धुवाँमा रङमङिएको तस्वीर उनी उन्दछन् आफ्ना कविताहरूमा । शेर्पिनी आमाको आतिथ्यको सबभन्दा गहिरो निद्रा सुतेपछि येशुको क्रस ओसारीरहेको बुढी हजुरआमाको कमजोर ढाड उनी अनुभव गर्न पुग्छन् । शिखरको उर्जाले बोकिरहेको खोँचहरूको अवसाद लुक्दैनन् उनका कवि मस्तिष्कबाट । उनी लुङ्दर भैदिन्छन् – फर्फराउँछन्, उनी देउरालीका ढुङ्गा भैदिन्छन् – कसैको हृदयले चढाउँदै जान्छन् – थिचिन्छन्, उनी हिमाली खोला भैदिन्छन् – काँचो गीत प्रकृतिको गाई हिँड्छन् । तिब्बती लामाको मन्त्रको कर्णप्रिय ध्वनीजस्तै उनका कविता बिम्ब र प्रतीकहरूमा उनीन्छन् र प्रस्तुत हुन्छन् । उनी कतै बोधगम्य कतै हाम्रो मनजस्तै अबोधगम्य बन्छन् ।

‘पानाहरू खाली छन्’ सङ्ग्रहभित्र भाग एक, दुई, तीन र चार गरी भिन्न कालक्रममा लेखिएका कविताहरू छन् । ( यी कविता पढ्दा मैले यस्तो मानेँ । हुन सक्छ कविले कविताले बोकेका ओजका/ विषयवस्तुका आधारमा छुट्याएका हुन् । भाग एकमा उनले पहाडको अर्थ उपशीर्षक दिँदै १६ वटा कविता पस्किएका छन् । कविले यी कविताहरूमा अग्रज नेपाली कविलाई नमन गरेका छन्, जसले संघर्षको एउटा गोरेटो कोरेका थिए । विश्वले नेपाललाई हेर्ने आँखामा बुद्ध र लुम्बिनी कसरी अङ्कित हुन्छ र तिनीहरूको वर्तमान मूल्य विघटनको कथा उनले यी कविताहरूमा उनेका छन् । क्षय हुँदै गरेको संस्कृति, खिया लाग्दै गरेको संस्कार र वर्तमानका धपेडीहरूले गुम्स्याएका दुर्घटित यौनको पाटोमा उनले नेपाली समाजको चित्रण गरेका छन् । जसमा गरिबी, भोक र करुणाको शृङ्खला अटुट देखिन्छ । फ्रायडेली यौन बिम्बलाई खेलाउँदै हाम्रो मगजको फोहरलाई प्रकाश पार्ने काम केही कविताहरूमा भएको देखिन्छ भने केही कवितामा पहाडको अर्थ पर्गेल्ने कविका शब्द सामर्थ्यले टक्क रोकिदिन्छ यसरी कि आमाका सपनाहरूमा आमाहरू यथार्थसँग पौँठाजोरी खेल्दै सपना देख्न हौस्याउँछन् छोराहरूलाई ।
आमाका शब्दहरू
मेरो पिरो स्तब्ध मुटुको सतहमा
बिस्तारै खस्छन्
खच्चरहरू उपशीर्षकमा उनका आठवटा कविताहरू रहेका छन् । वर्षेनी हजारौँ पर्यटकहरूको आकर्षणको केन्द्रविन्दु रहेको अन्नपूर्ण सर्किटको जीवन्त वर्णन यी कविताहरूमा पाइन्छ । खच्चरका घाँटीको घण्टीले पहिल्याउने बाटो पछ्याउँदै कवि उँभो लाग्छन् । नीला नदीहरू, ढुङ्गाका डङ्गुर मानौँ एक–एक बुद्धका वाणीहरू कुँदिएका अक्षरहरू छरिएजस्तै, हावामा फर्फराइरहने लुङ्दरहरू, कुइराले छोपेको हिमाली भेगका झुप्राहरू र त्यहाँका जीवन उनी टपक्क टिप्छन् । आधुनिकता र विश्वव्यापीकरणको दाह्रा र नङ्ग्राले गाँज्दै गएको हाम्रो पहाडको चित्रको कोलाज उनी पस्कन्छन् । तेस्रो भागमा फुर्वाको यार्लिङ नाम दिएर उनले लाङटाङ–गोसाईँकुण्डको पदयात्राका विविध रङहरूलाई समेटेका छन् । हिमाली संस्कृति, जनजीवन र मिथकलाई उनले आफ्ना कविताहरूमा सुन्दर ढङ्गले प्रस्तुत गरेका छन् । कलात्मक प्रस्तुति र बिम्बात्मक भाषले काव्य रस हिमाली झरना झैँ उनका यी कवितामा झर्छन् । खच्चरका घाँटीका घण्टीले पहिल्याएको गोरेटो छिचोल्दै कवि हिमाल पढ्छन्, पहाड पढ्छन् र पढ्छन् टाकुराहरूले छोपेको उपत्यका ।
उँघिरहेको उपत्यका
तारै ताराले भरिएका आकासहरूले चिनेका छन्
तिनका गोप्य पसिनाका चस्स दुखाइहरू
माने चिन्ने हातहरू र धुरिबलो उठाउने जब्बर काँधमा युगौँदेखि थामेर येशुको क्रस उँभो उक्लिरहेकी बुढी हजुरआमासँग कविको जम्काभेट हुन्छ ।
चामलका
दुईटा बोरा बोकिएको
बुढी हजुरआमाको कमजोर ढाडमाथि
हिँडिरहेको एउटा घाइते गोव्रे किरा !
वर्षको आधाआधी कविता पाठ, लेखन कार्यशाला आदिका लागि विदेशमै बिताउने युयुत्सुले सङ्ग्रहको भाग चारमा ह्विटम्यानकी छोरी उपशीर्षक दिएर एघारवटा कविता पस्केका छन् । उनका यी कविताहरूमा पश्चिम समाजको चित्र पाइन्छन् तर त्यो पश्चिमा समाजलाई कवि पूर्वीय बिम्ब, प्रतीक र मिथकहरूको साहारा लिई चित्रण गर्छन् । हाम्रो भन्दा बिल्कुल भिन्न परिवेशलाई पनि कविले लेखकका आँखाले नापजोख गरिहाल्न भ्याउँछन् र जीवन्त प्रस्तुत गर्छन् । पश्चिमाहरूको खुल्ला सोच, अग्ला भवन, रङ्गीचङ्गी बजारको मात्र कवि कुरा गर्दैनन्, ती ठाउँमा भूमिगत मार्ग र ट्युब स्टेसनमा रहेका मागेर गुजारा चलाउनेका कथा पनि उनी बिर्सँदैनन् । मान्छेका पीडाका रूप मात्र फरक तर पीडा, व्यथाको फेहरिस्त टिप्न उनी सफल देखिन्छन् । यस भाग चारमा पश्चिमा दार्शनिक फ्रायड अलिक अधिक हावी भएको प्रतीत हुन्छ । उदाक्त र फुक्काफल मात्र छैनन् ‘ह्वीटम्यानकी छोरी’ का दैनन्दिनी । त्यहाँभित्र कैयन वर्षको कठोर समयका फोसिलहरू पनि छन् ।
किन किन यो नगर देखेर
म ती प्राचीन घाटहरू सम्झन्छु
जहाँ महाभारतमा लडेका
योद्धाहरूका जिउका ससाना टुक्राहरू
सोहोरिएका थिए एउटा ठूलो थुप्रोमा
र बालिएको थियो
एक मुष्ट !
कवि मित्र आर.के अदिप्त गिरीको सुन्दर आवरण तस्वीरमा सजिएको ‘पानाहरू खाली छन्’ कवितासङ्ग्रह युयुत्सु आर.डी शर्माको पछिल्लो कविता कृति हो, जसले हिमाली संस्कृति, नेपालका विविध जातजातिको मिथकदेखि लिएर पश्चिमा संस्कृति र सभ्यताको उकाली ओरालीलाई सम्बोधन गरेको छ । काव्यात्मक भाषा, छरिता पद, पदावली मौलिक बिम्ब र प्रतीकका कारण भुराहारुले पिप्लामेट मुखमा राख्दा निरन्तर रसाएझैँ काव्यको आनन्द लिन विशिष्ट पाठकहरू सफल हुन्छन् । यो लेखकको शक्ति हो भने सामान्य पाठकहरूलाई अर्थबोध गर्न यिनै कारणले रोक्छन् । सुन्दर कविताका लागि उपयुक्त मानिने भएता पनि सामान्य पाठकले वाक्यात्मक संरचनाका अवयव खुट्याउन हम्मे पर्ने भएकाले यस सङ्ग्रहका कविताहरू क्लिष्ट मान्ने देखिन्छ ।
कवितामा निरन्तर कलम चलाउँदै रातो दिन कविताको चिन्तन मननमा समय खर्चने युयुत्सुको ‘पानाहरू खाली छन्’ नेपाली साहित्यलाई एउटा गतिलो उपहार मान्न सकिन्छ । गुलाफ मन पराउनेहरूले गुलाफ खोज्नु स्वभाविक हो तर गुलाफ बाहेकका फूललाई फूल नै होइन भन्ने परिपाटी नेपाली साहित्यमा झाँगिएको छ । यो आग्रह–पूर्वाग्रहलाई त्यागेर नेपाली साहित्यलाई पढ्नु र पर्गेल्नु आजको आवश्यकता हो । युयुत्सु आर.डी शर्माको ‘पानाहरू खाली छन्’ यस्तै स्वस्थ समीक्षाको लायक कृति हो



Monday, December 7, 2020

Yuyutsu Sharma to read at HRH International Poetry Festival, South Africa

Yuyutsu Sharma to read at HRH International Poetry Festival reading on 8 Dec, 2020, 6.00 pm South African Time Zone with poets from around the world: Delah Dube, Zimbabwe, Monde Komsana, South Africa, Andiphe Mangaza, South Africa, Tinashe Tafirenyika, HRH International Poetry Festival Zimbabwe, Thuli Mashazi, South Africa, Irina Henriquez, Colombia, Negma Coy, Guatemala, Zheng Xiaoqiong, China, Graham Mort, United Kingdom

Hosted by Jami Proctor-Xu & Malibongwe Mgaga



Tuesday, November 17, 2020

Upcoming Pratik Special International Online Reading on Sunday, 22 Nov

 Upcoming Pratik Special International Online Reading on Sunday, 22 Nov, 12 noon Pacific/3pm Eastern/8pm Irish/UK with Zoom link to register:

(Zoom Poetry Studio opens at 11:30am Pacific/2:30pm Eastern for readers; attendees will be in waiting room until closer to reading which begins at 12 noon Pacific/3pm Eastern/8pm Irish/UK



Join Cultivating Voices host Sandy Yannone as we welcome Himalayan Poet Yuyutsu RD Sharma, editor of Pratik: A Magazine of Contemporary Writing, for a reading to celebrate the Fall 2020 issue with current and past contributors.
Zoom Link to register:
https://us02web.zoom.us/.../upAsdeCppzooHNGdbeDjFUZ16FX5m...
(Zoom Poetry Studio opens at 11:30am Pacific/2:30pm Eastern for readers; attendees will be in waiting room until closer to reading which begins at 12 noon Pacific/3pm Eastern/8pm Irish/UK
Pratik is a purely non-profit quarterly literary publication and is published by White Lotus Book Shop, Kathmandu.

SELECT PRATIK POETS TO READ AT THE EVENT ARE
Charles Bernstein
Tony Barnstone
Chard DeNiord
Grant Hier
Yuyutsu Sharma
Jill Hoffman
Kerrin McCadden,
Bill Wolak
Judith Mok
Gerard Beirne 
Sydney Lea
Cleopatra Mathis
Suzanne Lummis
Flaminia Cruciani
Patricia Carragon
Seymour Mayne
Gloria Mindock
Chuck Joy
Margaret Saine
Howard Pflanzer
Highlights of the Current Issue:
Art, Poetry and Music collaboration;
Dreams of a Sleeping World;
Art of Oscar Oiwa;
Plus an interview with Hollywood Musician Chad Cannon
EIGHT POETS FROM VERMONT:
Chard deNiord David Huddle Tony Whedon Major Jackson Cleopatra Mathis Joan Aleshire Kerrin McCadden Karin Gottshall Sydney Lea
DAVID B. AUSTELL
Marshaling the Milliards
A tribute to Harlem Renaissance Hero, James Weldon Johnson
Four Poets from Nicaragua
Ernesto Cardenal, Rubén Darío, Salomón de la Selva, Joaquín Pasos
A SHEAF OF OTTAWA POEMS
Shai Ben-Shalom, Seymour Mayne Nicola Vulpe, Betty Warrington-Kearsley, Erwin Wiens
ELEVEN ITALIAN POETS
Claudia Russo, Flaminia Cruciani,
Rita Stanzione, Zairo Ferrante,
Paolo Staglianò, Antonello Airò,
Cinzia Marulli, Gabriella Becherelli, Vittorio Fioravanti Grasso,
Antonio Blund, Adriana Scanferla
Featuring
DAVID AXELROD
CHARLES BERNSTEIN
JILL HOFFMAN
BILL WOLAK
MIKE GRAVES
PATRICIA CARRAGON
Plus New Work by GLORIA MINDOCK
& HOWARD PFLANZER
Afterlife: Two Poems by H.K. KAUL (1941-2020)
Now available on Amazon USA, UK, Canada and India, Links below:
Upcoming Cultivating Voices LIVE Poetry Events (All Sundays at 12 Noon Pacific):
November 29th:
New Books Showcase with Jan Beatty, Don Krieger, and Lauren Russell
December 6th:
LIVE Poetry Open Mic
(8 readers - 10 minutes each)
sign up begins Thursday, Dec 3rd at 12 Noon Pacific until filled 
See less

Wednesday, October 28, 2020

My daughter, Sukrity Sharma's interview in The Irish Times.

 


‘I actually didn’t know Ireland existed. But I read about it and knew it was perfect for me’

New to the Parish: Sukrity Sharma arrived from Nepal in 2019

 Sukrity Sharma moved to Ireland a year ago to study for a masters in journalism. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw

Sukrity Sharma moved to Ireland a year ago to study for a masters in journalism. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw

 

When asked what attracted her to study in Ireland, Sukrity Sharma answers without a moment’s hesitation. The books, the poetry and the playwrights, she replies. “Famous writers like Yeats, his poetry inspired me to come here. And Ireland had good opportunities for work and study, that’s why I came.”

The Nepalese student later reveals that it was, in fact, her father’s influence that led to her decision to move halfway around the globe to study journalism. The daughter of famous Nepalese-Indian poet Yuyutsu RD Sharma, who has travelled the world sharing his prose and poetry, Sharma says she felt drawn to follow in the footsteps of her father.

She recalls joining him on treks in the Himalayas where she watched him jot down words he would later read to international audiences. “I could see my father was always writing something. He is also a journalist and had written for lots of newspapers. It was him who suggested I come to Ireland, I actually didn’t know it existed. But when I read about this place and its poetry, I knew it was perfect for me.”

I was given the opportunity to go abroad and study; lots of women in Nepal never get that chance

Sharma had discovered, as she grew up, that women in her home country struggled to find career opportunities and develop their professional lives. “Nepal has always been a patriarchal society. Women are considered as wives and are not expected to work as much. Especially in remote areas, women are considered as objects of pleasure and seen as delicate. It’s very hard for a woman to reach a high post in Nepal, you have to fight your way there.”

Having worked with an NGO supporting women who are trafficked, Sharma was also conscious of the privileges she had in her own life. “I was given the opportunity to go abroad and study; lots of women in Nepal never get that chance. I hope to bring something back from my time in Ireland, to help empower women in Nepal.”

However, the reality of living in a strange country thousands of kilometres from loved ones was not quite what Sharma had imagined studying abroad would be like. She arrived in Dublin in September 2019 ready to embark on a year-long master’s in journalism and public relations from Griffith College. After a lifetime of living at home in Kathmandu with family, being in Dublin was not easy.

“In Nepal even adults live with their families, it’s not like western countries. It was my first experience of living alone, and that led to a lot of anxiety. I felt depressed and settling in was hard.”

After briefly staying with a Nepalese family, Sharma found a waitressing job to pay for rent in shared accommodation. She started questioning her decision to move to Ireland and cried herself to sleep each night.

“I felt like I was broken inside. I kept moving houses because the rent was so expensive. In one house, the tenant advertised the room against the will of the landlady and she then kicked me out. I was homeless for two days. It was difficult moving all the time, I was in complete breakdown, I was a mess. At the same time I had to keep going to college and do assignments and presentations. I lost all my self-confidence and felt completely useless.”

Sharma’s father advised her to stay strong, that possibilities would come her way, while a friend reminded her that everyone faced challenges when moving abroad. “She reminded me that crying wouldn’t solve anything, that everyone is facing problems and instead of crying I should find a solution.”

Sharma was working in a Spar deli when Covid-19 arrived in Ireland and briefly signed on to the Covid-19 payment in July after losing her job. At the time of this interview, which was before Level 5 restrictions came into effect, she was back working as a waitress in an Indian restaurant.

Having completed her master’s degree, Sharma started applying for journalism internships with Irish media companies, undeterred by the challenging climate she’s living through. “I think journalism is a very powerful medium; it gives you a voice. I’d also like to earn the money to bring my family here for a trip. I’ve always wanted to do that.”

In 2019 I regretted coming here. But I’ve learned so much and met new people and that helped me to be stronger

Having blogged about her experiences over the past year, she now plans to write a book about moving abroad as a young woman. “Through my experiences they can gain knowledge of how to live alone. For a person who is dependent on their family, all of a sudden you’re thrown into this big world with no one to help you. I don’t want people to get lost like I did.”

Living in Ireland has also helped the 29-year-old develop a new appreciation for her home country.

“Nepal is a small country but, from my point of view, it’s the most beautiful place in the world. The moment you land there you fall in love with the people and the environment. In Nepal we have Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, our religions live in harmony. India was ruled by the British but we were never ruled by a foreign power. That’s why we can live together. Now I always dream of going back to Nepal where I can properly start my own career.”

But for now, Sharma plans to stay and find work in Ireland. She admits she’s still struggling to settle in this country but has learned a lot over the past 14 months.

“In 2019 I regretted coming here. But I’ve learned so much and met new people and that helped me to be stronger. I’ve learned to be patient and work hard and to know you have to survive on your own. I recently had a bad break-up but I’m still strong and I’m determined to stay here.

“I want to prove to myself that I can do this. There are millions of people around the world like me suffering, I’m not a special person. Everyone has tough times but I’m tired of complaining. Actions speak louder than words.”

We would like to hear from people who have moved to Ireland in the past 10 years. To get involved, email newtotheparish@irishtimes.com@newtotheparish

https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/people/i-actually-didn-t-know-ireland-existed-but-i-read-about-it-and-knew-it-was-perfect-for-me-1.4387312