New Nepal by Shiddhicharan Shrestha

                                                                         New Nepal

                                                                Siddhicharan Shrestha

 

About the poet

He was born in Okhaldhunga in 1912 He started writing poetry around the 1930s. in the 1940 and 1950s, he continued articulating the hopes and frustrations of politically suppressed people who were struggling for democracy. In 1940 he wrote, “there is no peace without revolution”. For this, he was sentenced to eighteen years of detention. He was fortunately released from jail in 1944, he continued writing about poverty, Injustice, untouchability, and other social issues of the time. He has written more than fifteen books of poetry including Kopila (1958), Mero Pratibima (1959) Urwasi (1960), and others. He has received many awards including Tribhuvan Puraskar (1970), Prithvi Pragya Puraskar(1980)

 

About the poem:

This poem written in the Nepali language, and translated by Shreedhar Lohani, is a political poem that voices a strong call for Nepalese to rise above the inequalities of the past and bring in a resurgence of freedom and human dignity.

Summary

The speaker in the poem urges Nepali people to wake up and rise for a new Nepal. He pleads for people to speak about truth and beauty, and revolt against Rana's rule and their suppression on common people. The speaker calls out advancing fast the new steps to bring a bright day and avoid the darkness of Rana regime. The speaker wishes to have courage and strength for the new Nepal. It is possible through the purity of consciousness and strength. He sees distasteful rituals and heartless class divisions among the people. New living thoughts should draw attention to the new Nepal. It is necessary to be the flame of fire to catch up and destroy the Rana spirit for the birth of New Nepal and social justice and equality. This action should be done with vigorous strength to destroy the cankerous inequality of wealth by hungry stomachs and bare backs of poor people. It is necessary to destroy such evils to emerge the New Nepal. He pleads to arise, wake up, and reveal the truth and beauty of Nepal through a revolution against Rana and their oppression for freedom and equality. He wishes to destroy all evil elements of Rana rulers.

 

Comment

Siddhichran Shrestha is a revolutionary poet. He imagines new Nepal. He sees great inequality and social discrimination among people during the Rana regime. Few people were filthy rich. Most of the people were burning in the flame of social injustice. He wants to see all the people enjoying the freedom and a classless society. He wants to avoid all ill-treatments, worn-out disorder, distasteful rituals, class division, idle forces, not- to- be done acts, cankerous inequality, and hungry stomachs and bare backs. New Nepal can be truly achieved if we can eradicate all social evil that was in existence in Rana society. people should not be punished for the not to be done acts. if the destructive diseases of inequality and wealth do not root out in society, people won’t experience the New Nepal. The speaker shows his anger against Rana and the way of their discrimination against Nepalese people.

 

Question for practice

1. What wrongs of “Old Nepal” does the poet want “New Nepal” to amend?

2.SSiddhicharan Shresth inspires the Nepalese people to move forward with promising Nepal in his poem ‘New Nepal’. Are you optimistic about his vision?