Suman Pokhrel's Blog: सुमन पोखरेल Suman Pokhrel - Posts Tagged "nepal"

'I DREAD TO THINK OF A SOCIETY DEVOID OF LOVE, COMPASSION AND HUMANITY'
- Suman Pokhrel

An Interview with Suman Pokhrel by Romain Molina


Romain Molina - If I am correct, you're from a village near Biratnagar. Can you describe your childhood there? I imagine the situation here was/is very different from other parts of Nepal (religion, ethnic groups, India's border...)

Suman Pokhrel - I was born in Biratnagar and a part of my growing up years was spent here. I was raised by my poet grandfather and bibliophile parents. I guess it was their influence that prompted me to be attracted towards books and go on to take up writing too. Those days the religion of people across Nepal was same with very few exceptions. However, cultures and customs varied among people of different ethnicity, and living in different geographical areas. The ethnic groups in hills and plains were and are varied. As my childhood got opportunity to grow up amidst variety of geography and people practicing different cultures, I could experience the very essence of our diversity.

Romain Molina - In France, it's very rare to find someone writing poems nowadays; and it's a shame when you remember our tradition with Baudelaire, Victor Hugo, etc. Is it the same thing in Nepal or the poems are really a part of your culture?

Suman Pokhrel - The situation is very much similar here in Nepal. However, poetry is part of our culture in many ways. We have practice of reading Sanskrit verse during our religious and cultural events. Traditionally, there was practice of reciting a form of poetry called KHANDO in Nepali language during marriage ceremonies in my culture. People of different ethnicity have their own types of poetry to recite and sing as folk songs during cultural and religious proceedings. In light of these, I am quite sure that poetry will live long with our generations to come.

Romain Molina - I read a lot of your poems (in English of course). You are, as You are is an amazing piece for me, is my favorite. In each of your poems I read, you talk about love. My question is simple but why ? There's always a connexion to love, humanity, compassion... Values that I share.

Suman Pokhrel - I'm delighted to know that you have read and appreciated my poems. You are, as You are was written years ago and it is good to know it still touches people's heart. When you say that you find the quintessential element of love in my poem; all I want to tell you is that love, compassion, humanity are values which are irreplaceable. They are inherent qualities in human life. I dread to think of a society devoid of these values. In absence of these qualities in our nature, our planet would remain nothing but a material object. Hence, it is my earnest effort through my writing to express my belief on these essential qualities of life.

Romain Molina - You've wrote something beautifull about Taj Mahal. Why this monument and not something else?

Suman Pokhrel - Taj Mahal is not just a monument, but a symbol of love. In my poem, I urge readers to celebrate love throughout life. Instead of the loving the dead, I feel, we should love the living. Moreover, in my view; love is a feeling, and its expression is an art. I found the Taj Mahal as the most appropriate example of artistically expressed love; hence, a proper monument to write on to convey my message of love.

Romain Molina - Tibet, China, India... Nepal seems to be between the roof of the world and the biggest countries. It's a unique situation in the world. What's your point of view? For my foreign point of view, it seems that Nepal separates the Chinese and Indian world. It's a fascinating (and complicated!) situation.

Suman Pokhrel - Yes, Nepal does separate the societies in these two countries. China and India have seemingly different cultures. Nepal’s bordering areas in both sides’ buffer respective cultures across borders. However, in my view, culture is not the single factor to separate these populations. Geopolitical situations and economic ‘spaces’ play vital roles in mixing up and staying separate. Good thing for us is that this is fascinating but not complicated till date.

Romain Molina - The Greeks used to say:"Healthy body, healthy mind." Are you agree with that quote and do you think sports is a process to clean up your body and your mind?

Suman Pokhrel - Certainly. I am agreed with Greeks in this regards. We cannot imagine a mind without body. Body is the container of mind. If we have good container, we can keep the contents safer for longer duration. And it is obviously proven that sports keep the body fit, hence the mind.