By Amrit Prasad Poudel
Beni, Sept. 24: Chandra Prakash Baniya always likes to write, and he spends his days reading and writing. Originally from Bhirmuni, Beni Municipality – 5, Myagdi district, Baniya has been living in Simalchaur, Pokhara, for the last five years.
Born on April 9, 1951, Baniya has been writing for a long time but he has earned national fame this year after his novel ‘Maharani’ won the prestigious Madan Puraskar.
The novel, based on the history of the Kingdom of Parbat, was awarded the famous literary award on Sunday because it has explored the historical context well and succeeds in exciting the readers, according to Madan Puraskar Guthi.
According to Baniya’s daughter Pramila, he was thrilled when Kunda Dixit, chairman of the Guthi, called to inform him that ‘Maharani’ had won the Madan Puraskar for the year 2076.
“When Kunda Dixit called and informed me that I had won the prize, I immediately called my brother Surya Prakash. He is the only one of my three brothers alive and I wanted to share the good news with him first,” Baniya said. “People call me a scoundrel but I don’t complain.”
He believes people labelled him that because of his habit of writing against established norms and culture.
In addition to being a writer, Baniya was once a teacher and parliamentarian. He taught English for 18 years at Paulatsya Secondary School in Beni Municipality – 5 and Mangala Secondary School in Mangala Gaunpalika – 2 before joining politics from the then CPN-UML.
Baniya was elected to the House of Representatives in 1991 from Myagdi constituency-2 after the restoration of democracy in Nepal. But he did not stay as a politician for long and retired from active political life after the mid-term elections of 1994. Currently, he is not affiliated with any political party.
Living with his daughter in Pokhara, Baniya has published three books ‘Aitihasik Parvat Rajya,’ ‘Mrityu Sanskar Manthan’ and ‘Maharani’ and has numerous newspaper and magazine articles to his credit. His latest work ‘Bhoujyaha’ will also hit the markets soon.
‘Maharani’, the 368-page book, revolves around issues of fraternal conflict, power and love in the ancient Parbat principality.