Suman Pokhrel | |
|---|---|
 Pokhrel in 2017 in New Delhi | |
| Born | (1967-09-21)21 September 1967 (age 57) Mills Area,Biratnagar, Nepal |
| Occupation |
|
| Nationality | Nepali |
| Education | BSc,MBA,BL |
| Notable works |
|
| Notable awards |
|
| Relatives | Bidhyanath Pokhrel(Paternal grandfather) Ganesh Prasad Rijal(Maternal grandfather) |
Suman Pokhrel (Nepali:सुमन पोखरेल; born 21 September 1967) is aNepali poet, lyricist, playwright, translator and artist. Universities inNepal and India have included his poetry in their syllabi.[1][2][3][4]
Pokhrel is the only writer to have received theSAARC Literary Award twice. He received this award in 2013 and 2015. He is recipient of several other national and international literary awards includingShaluk International Literature Award andAsia's Inspiring Poet Award.[5][6][7][8][9]
Pokhrel was born on 21 September 1967, in Mills Area,Biratnagar, to Mukunda Prasad Pokhrel and Bhakta Devi Pokhrel.[10]
Pokhrel attended Bal Mandir, a government ownedKindergarten inBiratnagar, until he was five. Pokhrel got moved to his ancestral village of Kachide inDhankuta at the age of seven and raised there by his paternal grandmother. His paternal grandfatherBidhyanath Pokhrel was a poet and a politician. He was introduced to literature early through the influence of his grandfather's library, filled withNepali,Hindi and classicSanskrit literature. At the age of twelve, he moved back toBiratnagar to live with his parents. Pokhrel was mentored by his father, who was an engineer by profession and a bibliophile with a keen interest in art and literature.[10][11][12]
Pokhrel earned hisBSc, MBA andBL from theTribhuvan University, Nepal.[13]
Pokhrel joined the Nepali civil service inNepal Government as a Section Officer in February 1995. He left the job and joinedPlan International in December 1998 as a development activist and went to the remote hilly region of the country. The job demanded visits to the more remote areas of the region.[13]
A multilingual poet, Pokhrel has written inNepali, English,Hindi andUrdu languages. Whereas, his works have been translated into several other languages, and are published in magazines and journals from across the countries. Many of his works have been translated into other languages by various translators including himself.[14]
Pokhrel has read his poems for both national and international audiences. He has read his poems inSAARC Festivals of Literature in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2015. He read his poem in SAARC Charter Day Celebrations on 8 December 2013, in New Delhi, India as an especial invitee. He recited his poems inNepali during a monthly two-poet poetry recital program inKathmandu in March 2015. He read his poems at the All India Poets' Meet in Orissa, India, in February 2016 as a specially invited poet from a foreign country. He further participated and read his poems at the First Forum of Asian Countries’ Writers inNur-Sultan,Kazakhstan, in September 2019, Vishwa Rang inBhopal, India, in November 2019,Kokrajhar Literature Festival inAssam, India, in January 2023, and Shaluk International Literature Festival inDhaka,Bangladesh, in March 2023, as well as theBIMSTEC Literature Festival in March 2023 in New Delhi, India, among several other national and international literature events[15][16][14]
Suman Pokhrel published his debut book,Shoonya Mutuko Dhadkanbhitra, a collection of poetry in Nepali language in 1999. Following this, he releasedHazaar Aankhaa Yee Aankhaa Maa in 2003, andJeevanko Chheubaata in 2009, which was reissued in 2018. In 2016, he published two more books,Soundaryako Sangeet andMalai Zindaginai Dukhdachha, comprising Ghazals and lyrics written by him, respectively.[14]
Pokhrel recorded his songAaaja Yo Andhyarole in 1999, and subsequently, he recorded several other songs includingDharti Aakash Bhanda Para,Timi ra Ma Ani Yo Madhumas,Na Ta Din Bhayo,Pagliyera Pokhiyun Jhain, andKati Mitha Kati Nyana, among others in music composition ofBednidhi Poudel. Audio albums titledBhitra Kahan Kahan andYo Ke Bhayo? have been released in 2017 and 2019 respectively, featuring songs with lyrics written by him.[14]
In 2016, Pokhrel wroteYajnaseni, a play based on theSanskrit epicThe Mahabharata, which premiered inIrving,Dallas,TX, US.The Unheard Plea (2019) featured his lyrics, with music composed and vocals by Sudha Raghuraman and stage performed by Neha Mondal Chakravarty. The performance debuted in New York in 2018 and was later recorded.[14]
Suman Pokhrel's poetry, translated into several languages by various translators, including himself for some languages, is featured in notable international anthologies, literary journals, and magazines. Translations of his poems are available inArabic,ssamese,Bengali, English, French,Georgian, German,Hindi, Italian,Maithili,Odia,Persian, Russian,Sanskrit, Spanish, andVietnamese, granting him a wider audience and recognition.[14]
As a translator, Pokhrel has translated works of several and writers from around the world intoNepali. He has translatedWilliam Shakespeare's playThe Tempest into Nepali as Aandhibehari which was published byNepal Academy in 2018. His translations of poetry ofAnna Akhmatova,Anna Swir,Allen Ginsberg,Delmira Agustini,Forough Farrokhzad,Gabriela Mistral,Jacques Prévert,Mahmoud Darwish,Nazik Al Malaika,[17]Nazim Hikmet,[18]Nizar Qabbani,[19]Octavio Paz,[20]Pablo Neruda,Yehuda Amichai. andSylvia Plath, are collected in Manpareka Kehi Kavita, an anthology of poetry in Nepali translation. His translations of fifty one ofKannada Language poets includingKuvempu,G. S. Shivarudrappa,D. R. Bendre,V. K. Gokak,U. R. Ananthamurthy,Siddalingaiah,P. Lankesh,K. S. Nissar Ahmed,Chandrashekhar Patil,Baraguru Ramachandrappa,Doddarange Gowda,Chennaveera Kanavi,Sumatheendra R Nadig,H. S. Venkateshamurthy,Gopalakrishna Adiga,Allama Prabhu,Manu Baligar,S. R. Ekkundi andJayant Kaikini are collected in anthology titled Shashwat Awaj. Other prominent poets that he has translated into Nepali includeFaiz Ahmad Faiz,[21]Sahir Ludhiyanvi,Atal Bihari Vajpayee,Langston Hughes,Maya Angelou,Gulzar andUday Prakash among others.Ajit Cour,Indira Dangi,[22][23]Sheema Kalbasi,Anamika,Azita Ghahreman andHélène Cardona[24][13] are other contemporary writers and poets whom he has translated into Nepali. Pokhrel's Nepali translations have been considered as among a few best literary translations brought into Nepali.[24][25]
Pokhrel has translated works of many ofNepali-language poets and writers, includingLaxmi Prasad Devkota,Gopal Prasad Rimal,Bhupi Sherchan,Ishwar Ballav,Abhi Subedi,Krishna Bhooshan Bal,Sanu Sharma, andGeeta Tripathee among other into English,Hindi andUrdu languages.[14]
Additionally, from 2019 to 2022, Pokhrel directed the seriesKavyaarohan in collaboration withAarohan Gurukul,Biratnagar, which featured emininent Nepali poets likeBairagi Kainla andTulasi Diwasa among other.[14][26]
The appearance of Suman Pokhrel's poetry on international platforms granted him a wider audience and recognition. His poetry has garnered attention and admiration from people from all walks of life, with many citing and sharing his work. Additionally, his poetry is being included in university curricula, further solidifying his impact and influence in the literary world.[4][14]
Suman Pokhrel's poetry has been part of university literary curricula across countries. His poems are included in syllabi ofTribhuvan University andPurbanchal University in Nepal and inUniversity of Kerala,GD Goenka University, andCauvery College For Women in India. His verses have left impact that admirers have tattooed them onto their bodies. Writers frequently cite his works in their writings, and his poetry is widely shared across social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.[7][14][9]
In 2023, Suman Pokhrel was honored with the 'Asia's Inspiring Poet Award' by the Asia Award and the 'Shaluk International Literature Award' by the Shaluk Literary Magazine in Dhaka, Bangladesh. That same year, he was recognized as the 'Author of The Month' by Spillwords Press in New York, USA. Earlier, he was awarded the prestigious SAARC Literary Award in 2013 and again in 2015, making him the only person to receive this honor twice.[14]
Suman Pokhrel belongs to an academic and politically active wealthy family within the Nepali context. Both his paternal and maternal grandfathers were politicians. His paternal grandfather,Bidhyanath Pokhrel, was also a poet. His maternal grandfatherGanesh Prasad Rijal was a member of the first parliament of Nepal, who was exiled to India afterKing Mahendra'scoup in 1960. His father,Mukunda Prasad Pokhrel, was an engineer with international degrees and a government employee, while his mother,Bhakta Devi Pokhrel, was aBHU graduate and also a Nepal government employee.[14]
Suman Pokhrel married Goma Dhungel in 2002. They have two children: a daughter, Ojaswee, and a son, Ajesh, also known as Mansoon. They live in their personal residence inBiratnagar.[14]
Definitions from Wiktionary
Media from Commons
Quotations from Wikiquote
Texts from Wikisource
Data from Wikidata| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| Artists | |
