“For Nepali writers to progress, they need to be able to self-critique. You may have written several books but what’s the point if no one’s reading them?,” puts in Buddhi Sagar Chapain.
The young poet and writer recently turned 29 and in a few weeks, he will be coming out with his first Nepali novel.[break]
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Buddhi Sagar’s first poem was aired on radio in 1997, when he had just moved with his family to Kalikot, in the mid-hills of Karnali, from Kailali in the south.
“I wrote it because I was depressed in Kalikot,” recalls Buddhi Sagar, now sitting in one of his favorite restaurants in the capital, the Delima Garden Café in Thamel. The poem, which was read on air, 21 days after he had posted his letter, would be the first of many to come.
With nearly a dozen poems read each week on the radio, the young poet had gathered listeners by the time he was in Kathmandu to study journalism in 1999. His words, however, hadn’t been published anywhere.
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Despite having friends in the city, the shift from Kalikot to Kathmandu came with its set of blues. Buddhi Sagar struggled to survive, to make himself heard, and often contemplated giving up.
“I stopped going to college after a year and began meeting poets and writers at the tea shop in New Road,” he takes a sip of his coffee. The poet smiles as he goes on, “There were times when I had only a few rupees in my pocket and I ate chiura and aapko achar (mango pickle) for dinner or slept on empty stomach.”
Even when he succeeded, Buddhi Sagar lost friends whom he had trusted.
Winning the National
Poetry Festival in 2003, when he was 23 years old, left several in the field dumbfounded.
“Many protested that it was an insult to literature and that the Festival had been reduced to a children’s poetry contest,” states Buddhi Sagar. It was poet Yuyutsu’s encouraging words that helped him move on: “If no one is jealous of you, you haven’t succeeded.”
With the award money of Rs 12,000, the now acclaimed writer, paid his overdue rent of nine months. He didn’t have a rupee left to celebrate.
Four years later, with the support of curator Sangeeta Thapa, he came out with an anthology of 30 poems titled “Hajarau Prithvi, Hajarau Akash.” The second edition of which is on its way.
Buddhi Sagar began writing beyond verses after joining Naya Patrika in 2008. For over a year now, he has been writing for Nagarik Daily.
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“My book is half fiction and half fact,” he states of his much-awaited novel titled “Karnali Blues.” It is a story about the relationship of a father and a son – a journey that begins in a hospital where the son sees his dying father, after five years. It isn’t much different from Buddhi Sagar’s life, having lost his father a few years back. Moreover, the novel is based much around his hometown.
“My book has simple characters and simple thoughts. It is filled with thin layers of emotions that connect to people rather than big philosophies,” reveals the lover of Nayan Raj Pandey, Bhupi Rimal, Pearl S Buck, and Paul Coelho. And his poetic side does come through in the novel, says Buddhi Sagar, who is known for his humor-filled yet poignant words that make one think beyond the pages.
Published by Fine Print, Buddhi Sagar’s book is coming out a year late on September 4. A 16-page excerpt of “Karnali Blues” will be available free at the 14th Educational Book Fair, which opens at Bhrikuti Mandap in Kathmandu today, August 6.
“My dream is to write in my own language,” he asserts, refuting the notion that Nepali writers who write in English are the only ones who can succeed worldwide.
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