Kathmandu, October 19:

Poet Durgalal Shrestha is one of the few persons to receive a lavish invitation of the traditional “Gwaydan” kind, which earlier was limited only for priests, kings and deities.

The coordinator of the 155-member organising committee, comprising of all major cultural organisations of the Newar community, Malla K Sundar today offered symbolic five balls of beetle nut, five leaves of it and five antique coins to the 72-year-old poet, as an invitation to the year-long programme being organised. Traditional music bands followed the procession.

“This is very symbolic. This kind of invitation was suitable only for extraordinary personalities and the gods in temples when we invite them for special functions. Now, we expanded the meaning and took it to a literary figure from our society,” he said.

He said that receiving the beetle nut means the strongest form of commitment to be part of all such programmes where he will be invited. “Jhi Durgalal Hane” is the name given to the organising committee.

Shrestha has composed around a thousand songs and poems, including a dozen of books on other genres in Nepali and Newari. Some of his creations have been translated in English, Hindi, Chinese and Japanese as well.