Submit your Article

Bishow Bimohan Shrestha, 67, is a poet from Tehrathum in Eastern Nepal. He has authored many poetry collections as well as written lyrics for more than a dozen songs. For his significant contribution to Nepali literature, he has been awarded the ‘Pragya Pratisthan Award’ and ‘Ratna Shree Swarna Padak’. He is currently the executive chairman at Apec Nepal, a literary and cultural institution. In a conversation with ApEx, Shrestha spoke about his love for poems and all things literary. 

What made you want to write poems?

I started when I was in school. In 1967, I participated in a poetry writing competition on children’s day and got an award for it. Since then, I’ve been writing poems. In 1987, my first poetry book ‘Bishow Bimohan Ka Kehi Kabitaharu’ got published. ‘Euta Gantabya ko Khojima’ was published by Sanjha Publication in the following year. After that, ‘Angar Ka Dhamila Dharsha haru’, ‘Ma Bhat Joru Ki Kavita Lekhu’, and an English poetry collection eventually got published. Now, I am working on another collection which will be published as soon as I finalize the manuscript.

How has your literary journey been so far?

Literary celebrations like ‘Kavi Gosthi’ were exceptionally important to every writer around 40 years back, since holding a literary conference was a big deal unlike now. In 1980, I joined the Association of Literary Journalists as a member and later held the position of chairman. Let’s say that we were the pioneers of such literary initiatives. 

We used to gather talented writers from all over Nepal in Kathmandu and give them a platform to interact with journalists, established authors, and other literary organizations. During this time, I served there for 20 years and organized various literary forums, international literary events, and many other programs. I treasure these experiences. I believe that what I have accomplished as a poet so far is a result of my ongoing commitment to supporting talented Nepali writers and promoting Nepali literature. 

What does your writing schedule/style look like? 

I write poems, though not exclusively. But when I do, I pour all my feelings into it. After a few days, I review it with a fresh mind before editing and rewriting my work. My mood is what drives me to write. I still have a ton of unfinished manuscripts in my drawer that need to be updated. In my writing, I generally use imagery and metaphors to express emotions. In my earlier works, imagery was particularly used to capture the beauty of the natural world. But now imagery mostly captures the theme of disorder, hypocrisy, and corruption of the world. I even use references from myths to make my idea clear. 

I want my work to have meaning. I want it to reflect people’s aspirations. A writer’s success depends on how well he can connect with his readers. That’s why I do my best to avoid redundancy and try to tap into people’s emotions.

My writings mainly focus on the natural world, affection, aging, nationalism, current affairs, political disparities, and humankind. The majority of my writings are about societal challenges. 

How difficult is it to be a writer?

Writers today are far luckier than writers of our time. Ratna Pustak Bhandar, Sanjha Prakashan, and Pragya Pratisthan were a few publication houses back then. But today, there are many new platforms like the internet, television, and newspapers. If someone wants to write, there are a lot of opportunities to get their work out there. 

What do you think of the current situation of Nepali literature?

Poetry, in particular, has improved. Lekhnath Paudyal, Hari Bhakta Katuwal, Laxmi Prasad Devkota, and Gopal Prasad Rimal are a few prominent Nepali authors who deserve a special mention for their contributions to advancing the field of Nepali literature from a thematic and contextual standpoint. I don’t think the government is concerned with promoting Nepali literature. But there is a lot of scope in it and Nepali literature can become popular globally if we can promote it well. 

Shrestha’s Picks

Sarwakaleen Pinda Ra Jagritika Shankhaghosh by Usha Sherchan

In this book, Usha Sherchan reflects on the discrimination faced by women in epics like Mahabharata and Ramayana. She relates them to the current situation of women in political and societal contexts, giving it a feminist perspective. 

Kavita Ko Rang by Rajendra Shalabh

‘Kavita Ko Rang’ by Rajendra Shalabh is a kind of poem that selflessly symbolizes different aspects of our family, society, culture, and especially our mothers in a way that gives you goosebumps. The language is simple and the story is very relatable. 

Ghumne Mech Mathi Andho Manche by Bhupi Sherchan

‘Ghumne Mech Mathi Andho Manche’ is a Nepali poetry collection that was awarded Sajha Puraskar in 1969. It’s very inspiring and uplifting. It gives readers a different perspective on what a society must be like and inspires them to look forward to a change.

Vehicular movement along the Palpa-Butwal road section of the Siddhartha Highway has been obstructed following a landslide near Siddhababa Temple of Palpa on Sunday.

The Dobhan Police Post, Papla said technicians, dozers and excavators of Siddhababa Tunnel Construction Company China State Corporation have been mobilized to remove the landslide debris.

The construction company China State Corporation has been working continuously even in the rainy season.

Technicians have assumed that the landslide might have occurred due to the vibration of the machine.

Palpa police said that it would take some time to clear the debris.

Hundreds of vehicles leaving for Palpa, Gulmi, Syangja, Arghakhanchi, Parbat, Baglung and Kaski among others places have been stranded halfway following the landslide.

Siddharth Highway is the main highway to connect Pokhara from the Indian border Sunauli.

The Narayangadh-Muglin road section has been obstructed yet again today following a landslide near Kalikhola of Ichchhakamana Rural Municipality-6.

According to DSP Bijay Raj Pandit, spokesperson at the District Police Office, Chitwan, the landslide occurred at 9 am today, obstructing the vehicular movement.

He said that the efforts are on to resume the traffic by removing the landslide debris.

Vehicular movement along the road section has remained frequently disrupted due to the landslides time and again.

The World Day Against Trafficking in Persons is being marked today by organizing various programs in Nepal.

The international day is spectacular to raise awareness towards eliminating human trafficking and call on governments, law enforcement agencies and stakeholders to enhance their commitment to that end.

The day is being observed this year with the theme 'Reach every victim of trafficking, leave no one behind'.

In the context of trafficking in persons, leaving people behind means failing to end the exploitation of trafficking victims, failing to support victim-survivors once they are free from their traffickers, and leaving identifiable groups vulnerable to traffickers.

Trafficking in persons is a serious crime and a grave violation of human rights. Every year, thousands of men, women and children fall into the hands of traffickers, in their own countries and abroad.

Almost every country in the world is affected by trafficking, whether as a country of origin, transit or destination for victims.

The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons defines Trafficking in Persons as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.

Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs, the UN noted.

The World Day against Trafficking in Persons was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly, in its resolution A/RES/68\192.

According to the United Nations, global crises, conflicts, and the climate emergency are escalating trafficking risks. Displacement and socio-economic inequalities are impacting millions of people worldwide, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation by traffickers.

Those who lack legal status, live in poverty, have limited access to education, healthcare, or decent work, face discrimination, violence, or abuse, or come from marginalized communities are often the primary targets of traffickers.

Globally, national responses, particularly in developing States, appear to be deteriorating, the UN agency stated.  Detection rates fell by 11% in 2020 and convictions plummeted by 27%, illustrating a worldwide slowdown in the criminal justice response to trafficking.

The COVID-19 pandemic also changed the characteristics of trafficking, pushing it further underground and potentially increasing the dangers to victims by making the crime less likely to come to the attention of the authorities. In fact, 41% of victims who manage to escape their ordeal reach out to the authorities on their own initiative – another clear sign that anti-trafficking responses are falling short.

According to the National Report, 2076 of the Ministry of Women, Children and Senior Citizen, lately women and children are being increasingly trafficked in different countries of Asia, Arab, Africa, Europe and America.

With the expansion of the human trafficking dimension, it has posed a serious challenge to prevent and control the crime associated with trafficking in persons.

Stakeholders have laid emphasis on amending and framing the laws for the control of human trafficking.

"Nepal's existing law is not adequate and practical to prevent and check human trafficking in persons, socialist Meena Poudel said, adding, "Its dimension has been expanded. Now men are also becoming vulnerable to trafficking".