Any discourse on Nepali literature would be barely complete without mentioning the works of celebrated litterateur Bhakta Raj Shrestha. He has written most of his works under the penname Sarubhakta.

A poet, playwright, lyricist and an essayist, Sarubhakta has published around four dozen literary works. ‘Pagal Basti’, ‘Tarunikheti’, ‘Samay Trasadi’, ‘Chulee’, ‘Adhyaro Kotha’, ‘Padartha Haru Ko Geet’ are some of his popular works, among which ‘Pagal Basti’ was awarded Madan Puraskar in 2048 BS.

In conversation with My City’s Sonam Lama, Sarubhakta revealed five things that many may not know about him.

Messi fan

Grown up playing various sports like volleyball, cricket, boxing, he now prefers watching football matches on TV. He revers Brazilian footballer Pele as the king of football and also admires watching the games of Lionel Messi. "I an avid Messi fan. I like every game that Messi plays, even if the team wins or loses," he said.

Fond of science and philosophy

Most if his literary works, including ‘Chhori Bramanda’ and ‘Padartha Ko Geet’ share a common root to science and philosophy. He quenches his philosophical thirst by reading the works of Bertrand Russell, John Paul Sartre and Rene Descartes. Also much drawn to Hindu and Buddhist philosophy, his works are found juxtaposing eastern philosophy to that of the western.

Keen song-writer

Sarubhakta has written in diverse genres. Besides being an impeccable storyteller, he has penned numerous songs, including ‘China Company’, ‘Hong Kong Pokhara’, Saruma Rani’, ‘Yanimaya’, ‘Lampate Surati’, which are performed by Nepathya in many of their national and international  shows.

Animal lover

Studying animal behavior has always fallen under his area of interest. "I am much fascinated watching their reactions and behaviors in every sort of situation. I try to learn more about animals by watching discovery and national geographic channels in my spare hours,” he said.

Environmental activist

He has written several works on global warming and its effect after conducting research and studies. Among many of his works, ‘Prithivi Ko Sawai’ is a children's epic that is soon to be published. Meanwhile, he is also looking forward to publishing a children's story book ‘Prithivi Aama’.