On the occasion of the 67th anniversary of the Nepal Academy, 10 poems were declared the best at the ‘National Poetry Festival-2081’ held in Kathmandu on Sunday.
The academy selected top 10 poems out of 600 submitted poems. According to a press release issued by Dhana Prasad Subedi, an academician of Nepal Academy, the best poems in the Nepali language included ‘Mato Ko Udan’ by Agra Awaj from Bardiya, ‘Achel Kahan Harairaheka Chhan Bachchaharu’ by Anita Neupane from Makwanpur, ‘Phool Ko Postmortem’ by Anjan Pradeep from Nawal Parasi, ‘Aamako Anuhar’ by Rumani Kulung from Morang, ‘Bagnu Ek Niyati’ by Sharmila Dulal from Lalitpur, and ‘Birsi Janeharu’ by Suman Sahayatri Yonghang from Panchthar.
In addition, the best poems in other languages were ‘Prasnak Bas’ in Tharu by Chhabilal Kopila from Dang, ‘Masinyiu Chhakalya’ in Magar by Dilip Budha Magar from Rolpa, ‘Bagarla Dungal’ in Tamang by Rupak Jamara Ghalan from Sindhuli, and ‘Ardu Thum Pyok’ in Khaling by Rejina Khaling from Solukhumbu.
The National Poetry Festival is organized annually on Asar 9 (June 23) to mark the anniversary of the Nepal Academy. Traditionally, the festival focused only on Nepali language poems, awarding first, second, third, and two consolation prizes. However, starting last year, the festival began recognizing top poems in other languages as well.
A jury committee, coordinated by Baba Basnet, the chief of the Prose Department of the Academy, and comprising members Shrawan Mukarung, Mahesha Prasai, Avaya Shrestha, Keshav Silwal, and Bimala Tumkhewa, selected a total of 25 poems for recitation from the 600 submissions.
