Sushant Thapa
The dead beat wakes up
On the streets of Kathmandu
With the footsteps of our arrival.
The nearly recumbent Dharahara
Has been re-built to stand taller than
Our pride today.
In Dharahara I see my pride, like you do.
The mountainous whiteness of the Dharahara
Emboldens my pride,
For it has become taller than my pride.
A vendor of water bottle I see
There also are tourists on a rickshaw ride,
Laughing a rickshaw laughter.
All that they can see is the heritage
And ancient carvings of gods and goddess,
On a rickshaw ride in Thamel.
I am no more a human, as I enter
These narrow alleyways;
My mind does the greeting-tandav
For humanity.
This city gives me history
Located at its heart.
I can still learn to appreciate
The task of living
From a man selling
Water bottles on the street,
The man’s smile relinquishes my thirst
Just after making him smile,
As I buy from him.
This is the reason of my art;
I have a mythical city.
The birth of modernity
Rests on the shoulders of enthralling
Traditions.
The youths with vibrant joy
Are not afraid of the crowds
To cheer for the Lakhe dance on the streets.
The youths participate to save the culture.
We are in the valley of gods
In architecture and art
And an energetic culture among youths.
My appreciation bells chime
For good old Kathmandu,
And I find my soul
With my visit to the city.
Sushant Thapa is a Nepalese poet from Biratnagar-13, Nepal who holds a Master’s degree in English literature from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India. He has published five books of poetry namely: The Poetic Burden and Other Poems (Authorspress, New Delhi, 2020), Abstraction and Other Poems (Impspired, UK, 2021), Minutes of Merit (Haoajan, Kolkata, 2021), Love’s Cradle (World Inkers Printing and Publishing, New York, USA and Senegal, Africa, 2023) and Spontaneity: A New Name of Rhyme (Ambar Publication House,2023). Sushant has been published in places like Sahitya Post, The Gorkha Times, The Kathmandu Post, The Poet Magazine, The Piker Press, Trouvaille Review, Lothlorien Poetry Journal, Impspired, Harbinger Asylum, New York Parrot, Pratik Magazine, The Beatnik Cowboy, The Dope Fiend Daily, Atunis Poetry, EKL Review, The Kolkata Arts, Dissident Voice, Journal of Expressive Writing, As It Ought To Be Magazine, Spillwords, Mad Swirl, Ink Pantry, International Times and Outlook India among many. Sushant received Yashaswi Book Awards 2079 for his third book of poems “Minutes of Merit” in the recently held Kaling Literary Festival, Kathmandu.
