Lakshmi Prasad Devkota: Birth Vs. No. 1966, accordingly November 12, 1909 - Death v. No. September 29, 2016, accordingly September 14, 1959) is a great poet of Nepali literature. Devkota was a man of many talents in various genres of Nepali literature. His contributions to the genre of poetry and essays are considered to be of the highest order. He wrote immortal works like Munamdan, Sulochana, Shakuntal. He is especially famous for his Munamadan masterpieces.
Early life:
Devkota was the third son of Pandit Tilmadhav and Amar Rajyalakshmi Devi. He was born in Dhobidhara, Kathmandu on the day of Tihar's Lakshmi Puja. As Bikram Samvat was born on the 27th of Kartik, 1966, on the day of Gai Tihare Aunshi Laxmi Puja, his name has been changed to Laxmi Prasad, but his name is Tirthamadhav Devkota.
From the time Devkota was born, many afflictions entered his house. The managerial structure of his house was also very poor. Also, his house did not reach the poverty line. So when he was young he used to say, ‘I study English and after studying a lot I earn money by doing tuition.’ But he was sick from birth. Devkota had read Amarkosh and recited hymns in his childhood. He used to recite his father's poems from an early age. As his father's poetry progressed, so did his interest in literature. His father tried to make him a Pandit.
Education:
When Devkota was born in 1966, the country was under Rana rule. The Rana wanted the people to have no education, but after repeated attempts, Devkota's family enrolled him in Durbar High School, the only school in the Kathmandu Valley. Devkota Durbar High School used to recite poems to his friends. Most of his friends did not accept that the poems were written by Devkota.
In the meanwhile, one day all the students took a test to write a poem to humiliate him. He also wrote poems among all the students. And at the same time, the teachers gave him the status of 'Kopilaundo Kavi'. In 1925, he enrolled in Devkota Tri-Chandra College in Science. After completing his certificate level studies in science, he moved to the Faculty of Humanities. After completing his undergraduate studies in 1929, he went to Patna, India in 1931 on a scholarship to pursue a master's degree in English. He studied law as he could not find a place in English.
Literary Journey:
Devkota was a versatile and prolific writer, who in his short life had no genre of untouched literature. He has written epics, long descriptive poems, essays, stories, plays, songs, and critiques. Devkota's essays, which feel like reading poetry, are highly commendable for their style and subject matter.
Munamadan, a tragic play written by him, is one of the best-selling works even five decades after his death. Munamdan is the first Nepali work soaked in Nepali public life. Devkota also taught at Trichandra Campus for some time. He was once Nepal's education minister. Tribhuvan University was established during this period.
Devkota had a unique talent for writing poems very quickly. He wrote Shakuntal epic in 3 months, Sulochana epic in ten days and Kunjini in one day. He took Nepali literature to new heights. "Munamadan," a work written in the popular Lok Vaka, ended the influence of Sanskrit in Nepali literature. The poem "Crazy" is another of his great works.
In which he answers those who call themselves crazy in a poetic style [1] Devkota became the pioneer of romantic trend writing in Nepali language and literature. Devkota was also the first to translate Nepali language literature into English language literature and bring it to the western countries.
The great Indian scholar Dr. Rahul Sankrityayan had said, "I consider Devkota to be the greatest human incarnation after the Buddha." [2] Devkota understood fourteen languages. Poems written by him in nine languages also came to the masses through Sarada monthly.
Devkota was also known as the water god of Kavyasagar. He was not out of poetry when he got up, sat down, walked, slept, ate or in any moment of his conscious and unconscious. He used to wander in the world of poetry even in the dream world after opening his eyes in the morning and closing his eyes at night. One of his lifelong friends was a poet and another was a cigarette. At the time of writing, he had lit his own manuscript and lit a cigarette.
Personal life:
At the age of 15, Laxmi Prasad Devkota married Mandevi Chalise. In 1985, their first child, daughter Savitri, and their eldest son, Prakash, were born in 1989. Mahila's son Krishna Prasad Devkota was born in 1993 BS. After graduating in law, he returned to his hometown, where he faced various personal crises. Within two years, her father, mother and two-year-old daughter died. These traumatic events shocked him, and perhaps this is why he became addicted to cigarettes. In recent years, the untimely deaths of her young sons, Prakash and Krishna, have made her even sadder, and it has even hurt her brain. He also spent some time in a mental institution.
Last years:
Adding to the grief, Devkota was diagnosed with cancer in 1958 (2015). After 3 inches of large intestine was removed from India, he was convinced that he had died. He stayed up all night and started writing his compositions. One year later, on 29th September, 2016, he passed away.
While at Sant Bhawan Hospital, he wrote in a letter to his friend Hari Shrestha: "Death is before me. I look for the stars in the sky but do not find them. I cannot give myself peace. If I could get up, I would kill myself and my children." Throughout his life, he did not believe in God.
In Aryaghat, he said, "I have spent my life as an atheist without naming Harinam. Now I want to go!" And he expressed the eternal spiritual thing of life through poetry in this way.