Books from Another Life
Kathmandu Saga and Other Poems
I was writing short stories and poems in Nepali until I completed my Master’s in English literature. Around that time, I realized that when it came to literary expression I was better in English than in the Nepali language. It would take me many years to understand why it was the case, even though my proficiency in the English language was not impressive—I was introduced to English at the age of 10. However, but I could clearly feel that I lacked strength in Nepali literary expression. My literary experience was shaped more by the English language than Nepali.
In 2001, I joined an English literary organization, and, in fact, became the founding president of the Society of Nepali Writers in English. I organized regular reading sessions for over six years, in addition to publishing and co-editing its bi-annual publication Of Nepalese Clay. Most of the poems included in this collection, Kathmandu Saga And Other Poems (2004), were shared during those meetings.
A reviewer wrote in The Rising Nepal, “Although the anthology is the poet’s first attempt, he has exhibited his command over the medium . . . . The verses offer insights to readers of English literature about the typical Nepalese perceptions and philosophy of life.” Another reviewer wrote in Nation, “The book is worth a read for its witty unraveling of the deepest ironies prevalent in the society today and for its colloquial appeal.”
Epic Teashop
This collection of poems, published in 2009, can be seen as a quasi-sequel to Kathmandu Saga. Many of the poems in this collection were also shared during the monthly reading sessions of the NWEN. But, at the same time, I was traveling abroad during those years, and I composed some of the poems while living in countries like Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia.
In an article in The Kathmandu Post, Dr. Mohan Lohani wrote on Epic Teashop, “The language he uses is deceptively simple but it is expressive, connotative, and emotionally evocative. He makes use of strikingly fresh imagery to convey his own vision of reality.”
Reviewer Richa Bhattarai, in The Rising Nepal, commented, “Having proven his affinity with poetry with his first collection named ‘Kathmandu Saga and Other Poems,’ Aryal goes all out to broaden his horizons in this one . . . . He uses the simplest words that can be comprehended and pondered over by anyone. This remains his strength throughout—the use of everyday words to create philosophy and cadence. Yet . . . Aryal’s poems are not merely poems—they are a string of beautiful words woven together. And also much more: stories, travelogues and essays laid out in verse. They entertain, inform, and touch the hearts.”
Shishiraka Sheetaharu
I joined a literary organization called “Pratibha Samuha” after I moved to Kathmandu from my village for my undergrad studies in the early 1990s. I was a shy, introverted teenager, and I listened to songs all the time. I loved listening to ghazals, both Nepali and Hindi. I didn’t know then that it was a moment when ghazal writing was reviving in Nepal because of the work by Gyanu Walker Paudel, known as the “Ghazal Samrat,” the king of ghazal, and some other poets such as Lalijan Rawal and Nakul Silwal. I had read Gyanu Walker Poudel before moving to Kathmandu (I had even torn a page from Madhupark and carried his muktaks in my wallet for a long time.) Those days, I wrote songs and dreamed of getting them recorded at Radio Nepal. In the process of getting the songs “approved” for recording, I got to meet Gyanu dai, the official assigned to approve songs at the radio station.
After writing a few of ghazals following our meeting and also learning the craft of radif and kafiya, I thought maybe I should publish a ghazal book. (I had started getting my poems and stories published at that time.) I wrote the ghazals included in this book within a month or two. Gyanu dai wrote a preface for it, and the book was published as the 13th or the 17th full-length ghazal collection in Nepali. Some wrote stellar reviews of the book. And I remember reading a ghazal at a function attended by Madhav Prasad Ghimire, who asked me to reread the ghazal. Ghimire formally released the book at a function in the Nepal Rastra Bank hall in Kathmandu.
So many memories that won’t just fit in here . . .