With the release of ‘Ligligko Ukaloma’, a collection of his poems, last week, Oli has now his identity as a poet as well.
The book, released jointly by Tulasi Diwasa, Prof Dr Khagendra Luitel and Netra Atom amidst a function held in Kathmandu, has 34 poems on different themes, mostly drawn from the diplomat turned poet’s own personal experiences while working at home and various Nepali missions abroad.
Although all the poems in ‘Ligligko Ukaloma’ carry a theme that touches the hearts and minds of people, a few of them deserve a special mention.
As a Nepali diplomat, Oli served at the Nepal’s mission in Cairo before he was posted to New Delhi. He was specially touched by the plights of Nepali migrant workers in general and particularly housemaids in various Gulf countries. This has been beautifully presented in his poem titled ‘Malai Maaf Gara Sanu Maya’.
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Poet Oli in his capacity as a Nepali diplomat stationed in Cairo, Egypt, visits the El Alamein War Memorial but finds no mention of the brave Gurkhas who sacrificed their lives while fighting on behalf of Britain. In his poem, ‘El Alameinko Yuddha Smarakbata’ (From Alamein War Memorial), Oli presents the plights of Nepali Gurkhas who were forced to fight for other nations to sustain themselves and their families.
The title of the book brought to the market by Pinnacle Publications itself is highly suggestive. There used to be an annual running competition on the difficult trail of the sloppy Liglig Hill in modern-day Gorkha District to pick its winner as the successor to the incumbent king until the House of Gorkha was established by the forefathers of King Prithivi Narayan Shah. The title is suggestive of the continuation of the Liglig race in different forms as foul races among leaders at the heart of Nepali politics even today to attain power.
Oli’s frustration with the current political situation is manifest in the poem entitled ‘Desh Ra Shripech’ (Country and Crown). He argues that although Nepal abolished the 240-year-old institution of monarchy, lately a number of new palaces and kings have taken birth.
“All his poems attempt to present facts that negative tendencies of the main elements of Nepali society have yet to change, despite the changes in time,” argued poet and folklorist Tulasi Diwasa on the occasion.
