Remembering Motiram Bhatta

Motiram Bhatta was born in Kathmandu on 8 Sept 1866 at Bhosiko Tole as the second son of Dayaram Bhatta and Ripumardini Devi Bhatta. He was born on Kuse Aunshi (The dark fortnight of the month of Bhadra) and died on the same day on Kuse Aunshi in 1896. This is considered a good coincidence.

The contributions of Yuvakavi (the youth poet) to Nepali literature are enormous and incomparable. He is considered the first  biographer of Nepali literature. He wrote the biography of ‘Adikavi’ Bhanubhakta Acharya titled ‘Kavi Bhanubhaktako Jiwancharitra’. His other works include a rather long poetical work  Gajendramoksha (based on the myth of an elephant’s emancipation at the hands of Lord Vishnu), Prahlad Bhakti Katha (Prahlad’s story of devotion) and Ushacharitra, also based on mythological themes. Pikdut in which he makes a bird his messenger to his separated beloved in the style of great Sanskrit poet Kalidas ‘Meghdut’. Kamal-Bhramar Sambad (dialogues between the lotus and the bumblebee), Bhramargit (the song of the bumblebee) and Kavi Samuhnam (the description of poets) are his other marvels and so are ‘Manoveg Pravaha’ and ‘Panchak Prapanch’.  He was also a playwright, who wrote ‘Shakuntla’, ‘Priyadarshika’ and ‘Padmavati’. In the words of critic Kumar Pradhan, “His creative period started in 1883 and before his death at the age of 30, Motiram is reported to have written many more works than that have been published.”

Thus, he established himself as the genius and the living legend of Nepali literature. He was exposed to the outside world, especially in the neighboring India where he learned Hindi, Urdu and Persian languages. He also wrote a couple of ghazals and became a pioneer in this genre but this was not his main purpose. At that time, Varanasi (Venaras) was also the center of Nepali language. So, he concentrated mainly on the development of Nepali language and literature as it was his mother tongue. 

Critic Abhi Subedi is right in his observation. I quote him here: “In reality Motiram is the first  conscious artist and a very dexterous craftsman. On top of  being a good scholar and lover of language and literature he was the first critic and the first poet to bring literature to the common people.”

He also started to write Kuta Padya (knotty poetry) and poems related to problem-solving (poetic problem solving), which is called Samasyapurti in Nepali, which was the fashion of that time. He learned it from famous Hindi poet Bhartendu Harischandra and also imitated the trend of ghazal writing from him. Thus he became a pioneer ghazal writer in Nepali language.

We Nepali writers are fortunate enough to have known Bhanubhakta Acharya due to Motiram, who brought him to light first of all by publishing his immortal poetic epic, the Ramayan. He did some research first of all and then compiled his poetic creations and also published them. Firstly, he published the Balkand (child episode of Ram) and then wrote the whole biography of Bhanubhakta. He also became a pioneer in the field of journalism, which was unknown at that time. 

No journal was in publication at that time. So, he published a literary monthly journal named ‘Gorkha Bharat Jiwan’ in 1863, in cooperation with his friend Ram Krishna Verma, who was the owner of a printing press in Venaras.

To paraphrase Prof Govind Raj Bhattarai, “In a remarkably brief period of time, the life of Motiram, the visionary, vibrant and multi-talented youth, was extinguished. Motiram introduced Bhanubhakta by writing Bhanubhaktako Jeevan Charita, which has been translated into English by Mitbir Rai of Darjeeling. This is the first book of biography of the first poet as well as the foundation stone of Nepali criticism.”

He commenced a historical work in the field of journalism. Thus, he is remembered as a legendary  litterateur as well as a legendary journalist. He was also an expert on ghazal writing and his ghazals are very sweet and popular with a very soothing and balmy tone.

I would like to quote here the famous Pakistani ghazal singer Mehadi  Hasan: “For me, ghazal is delicate. When a deer is deeply wounded by a hunter, it runs into the forest for its life and the sound that comes from it just when it’s about to die, that sound is ghazal.’Tone, words and rhythm from the face of ghazal, the subjects of love lost, even love won and wounded sensibilities are deeply enmeshed within the ghazal form. But take it a step further and it can become metamorphic, the subject in the ghazal can become a country, the love for a country, the love for two countries to mingle again. And on a higher level, the words in the ghazal associated with the beloved can be a reaching out to God.”

In short, ghazal is a gossip between the lover and the beloved in solitude. Motiram’s ghazals create a soothing effect on the listeners and audience equally. He was a  romantic poet and ghazal writer. So he wrote some romantic ghazals such as “ Dubai ankhi bhaun ta katar chhan, tarbar kina chahiyo. Timi afai malik bhai gayau  sarkar kina chahiyo.” The translation goes something like this: Your eyebrows are like knives, why do you need a sword? You are the lord yourself, why do you need a government? His another popular ghazal is “Jata heryo utai mera najarma Ram pyara chhan,” which translates into: I see my dear Lord Ram everywhere. 

Motiram is considered the father of ghazal writing in Nepali language and literature. He was the  first singer of love and beauty in Nepal. John Keats’ words “A thing of beauty is a joy for ever” ring true in the case of Motiram’s works. 

Madhav Lal Karmacharya is quite correct in his observation. He goes: Sometimes after 1883, a new phase appeared with the introduction of the elements of love and beauty, and that period came to be known as the period of ‘Sringar Sahitya’ meaning the literature marked with the traits of love and beauty. The pioneer poet of this period was Bhatta, thanks to his zeal and enthusiasm, a number of dramas, novels, lyrics, gazals, folk songs, literary criticisms, etc were published.”