KATHMANDU: An elegy, The Restless Mind, that commemorates the lives of advocates of wildlife conservation, who died in the Ghunsa helicopter crash, was launched on July 23. Young poet Shambhu Karki is the author of this elegy, which tells the sad tale of the tragic demise of those people.

The helicopter with 20 environment conservationists and four crew members was heading towards Fungling of Taplegunj from Ghunsa when it crashed at Ghunsa on September 23, 2006, leaving all of them dead. The then state minister Gopal Rai, environment conservationists Dr Harka Gurung, Dr Tirthman Maskey, Dr Damodar Parajuli were a few among those ill-fated passengers who met their untimely demise during their venture for conservation of environment.

Gopal Prasad Upadhyaya, director at Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, appreciated Karki’s work and said, “This work not only reflects Karki’s honour to those who demised at Ghunsa but even urges us all to follow their dream of conserving bio-diversities.” Upadhyaya even offered support from the department to those willing to work for bio-diversity conservation.

The poet said, “I prepared this elegy as an honour to the brave lives of great martyrs in Ghunsa accident. With this, I have tried to give voice to the Nepali way of life and its innocence too”.

Mahesh Paudyal is the translator and editor of the Nepali version Bichhipta Maan.