Durga Lal Shrestha (born July 1935) is a Nepalese

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

Nepal Bhasa Newar (; , ) is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken by the Newar people, the indigenous inhabitants of Nepal Mandala, which consists of the Kathmandu Valley and surrounding regions in Nepal. The language is known officially in Nepal as Nepal Bhas ...

and Nepali. He was conferred with the title of ''Janakavi'' ( lit. people's poet) by Nepal Bhasha Parishad in 2003. He is considered as a progressive litterateur. He was awarded the

Jagadamba Shree Puraskar Jagadamba Shree Puraskar () is an award given to a person or an organization for contribution to Nepali language, literature, art and folk culture. It is presented alongside Madan Puraskar by Madan Puraskar Pustakalaya, on the day of Ghatasthap ...

in 2010 for "enriching Nepalese literature by writing very melodious songs, poems, poetry and children's literature in his mother tongue (Nepal Bhasa) and Nepali language for the last six decades."

Biography

Shrestha was born in a lower–middle class Newar family in 1935 (1992 BS) in the Nepalese capital city of

Kathmandu Kathmandu () is the capital and largest city of Nepal, situated in the central part of the country within the Kathmandu Valley. As per the 2021 Nepal census, it has a population of 845,767 residing in 105,649 households, with approximately 4 mi ...

to mother Asha Moti Shrestha and father Ganesh Lal Shrestha. He received his school level education from Padmodaya Secondary School. He started his writing career in around 1949. His first poem titled ''Dui Thopa'' ( lit. Two Drops) was published in 1952 in ''Suskera'' magazine. He has on multiple awards including Narottamdas-Indira Award, Abhiyan Award, Noor-Ganga Award, Rashtriya Balsahitya Award, JAA Best Playwrights Medal (1991), Harihar Shastri–Savitri Devi Literary Award (2006) etc. He was also appointed as a Honorary Member of Nepal Academy in 1995. He married Purna Devi Shrestha in .

Notable works

Published works

His famous published work are: *''Pija'' (1967) *''Ji Swayambhu Twath'' (1986) *''Yaka Phalecha'' (1987) *''Inquilabya Palasa'' (1991) *''Twists and Turns'' *''A Pick of Durga Lal Shrestha's poems'' (2000) *''Chiniyamha Kisicha'' (1965) *''Taibhaba'' (1966) *''Chiniya Champa'' (1967) *''Kulikasa'' (1967) *''Salachhyonya Bela'' (1969) *''Machabakhancha'' (1995) *''Santaya Kusa'' (2001) *''Macha Bakhancha'' *''Tapaka'' *''Jungle Kabita''

Songs

*Soundtrack for

movie ''

Rajamati ''Rājamati'' () is a 1995 Nepali film made in Nepal Bhasa. The first Nepal Bhasa movie is '' Silu'', released in 1987. ''Rajamati'' is about a luckless Newar girl named Rajamati from Kathmandu who gets involved in a series of failed relationships ...

''. *His song "Jhee Masini" ("We Are Not Dead Yet") is considered one of the most powerful songs of the

Nepal Bhasa movement Nepal Bhasa movement ( Newar: नेपालभाषा आन्दोलन) refers to the struggle for linguistic rights by Newar speakers in Nepal in the face of opposition from the government and hostile neighbors. The campaign aims to i ...

. *One of his popular songs is ''Phool ko Aankhaa Maa, Phoolai Sansara'' with music by Nhyu Bajracharya and sung by the vocalist Ani Choying Lama. It is included in the album ''Moments of Bliss'', on which all of the songs are written by Shrestha. *He also wrote a few songs for the movie ''Balidan'' which dramatized the popular uprising against the Panchayat system and the fight to bring

multiparty democracy In political science, a multi-party system is a political system where more than two meaningfully-distinct political parties regularly run for office and win elections. Multi-party systems tend to be more common in countries using proportional r ...

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

. *He has written a number of songs for new Nepali singer Shweta Punjali, including her debut album ''Udaan''.

References

External links

*
Official website
Newar 1937 births Living people Newar-language writers Nepalese male writers Nepali-language writers Nepali-language poets Newar-language lyricists Newar-language poets from Nepal Jagadamba Shree Puraskar winners {{Nepal-writer-stub