Devkota conference: A treasured experience

AKASH DEEP GURUNG

KATHMANDU: With an aim to explore information about Mahakavi Laxmi Prasad Devkota and his literary works, Devkota Study and Research Centre (DRSC) has been organising a conference every year.

Giving continuity to its yearly trend, DRSC organised the Fifth Annual Conference on June 8 and 9 at the Padma Kanya Multiple Campus, Baghbazaar.

Students from various colleges participated in the event where they got a chance to listen to and interact with a number of writers and academicians. As

such the conference turned out to be an unforgettable experience for the students of literature.

The students also got to know about the multi-dimensional approaches to Devkota’s writings that helped the students understand Devkota from closer and newer perspectives.

The two-day conference comprised a total of 11 scholarly papers, a talk programme, a panel discussion, and singing/recitation of Devkota’s poetry. Everyone in the audience was delighted to know about Devkota’s extraordinary ability to understand life. All the participants seemed to grow with a sense of love and affection for Devkota in these two days. The most engaging moment for the students, however, was the panel discussion among the senior literary figures — Bhanu Bhakta Pokhrel, Kamal Mani Dixit and Ghanashyam Kandel — on metrical pattern in Devkota’s poems.

Literary conferences usually turn out to be unbearable for youngsters due to the never ending and monotonous reading from lengthy research papers. This event, however, was distinct in the sense that it had a beautiful combination of music, recitation, interaction, intellectual discourse, and it also invited active participation of every single participant.

Mahakavi’s song Siyoko Tuppole Mutu Bijhyo Damai Dai performed by Sishir Yogi, one of the participants, touched the heart of all the listeners.The event appeared to be a wonderful platform for youth to harness their skills for research, writing and exploring Nepali literary figures.