Rima brings out 'Bagawatnama'

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Jan. 12: Poet and TV programme presenter, Rima KC, has come up with her third anthology of poetry, titled 'Bagawatnama'.

Authors Aahuti, Bhupal Rai, Laxmi Mali, Deepak Sapkota and poet KC herself jointly launched the book amid a function held in the capital on Saturday. 

Divided into four sections, the book comprises 40 poems dealing with themes such as contemporary love, separation, hope, despair, social justice, rebellion, and self-respect.

Offering a critical opinion on the book, poet cum communist leader Aahuti stated that literature must serve society and necessarily embody political, social, and ideological perspectives. "A middle-class worldview can no longer carry the ideological weight of the present era," Aahuti said, asserting that literature should be written from the standpoint of the working class.

Chancellor of the Nepal Academy, Bhupal Rai, remarked that KC’s poems possess a sweetness akin to a breeze whispering softly past one’s ear. "Poetry should primarily be understood as a form of perception and awareness," he said, "KC’s work is strong from a reader’s perspective." 

He noted that rising above the confines of theory, canon, and grammar, her poems articulate the cries of the oppressed.

Poet Laxmi Mali observed that KC’s poetry has the potential to generate debate within contemporary poetic discourse and possesses the strength to guide society in the right direction through a contemporary voice.

Essayist cum journalist Deepak Sapkota described KC's poems as a serious voice in contemporary poetry. 

"Love is not always gentle and can at times involve questioning, rejection, and resistance," he pointed out, adding 'Bagawatnama' stands on a dialectical ground between love and resistance. 

"While the poems are simple in language, they are profound in meaning," he added.

In the event, poets Swapnil Smriti, Asmita KC, Prajwal Adhikari, Suraj Rana, and Meera GM recited poems from 'Bagawatnama.'

Published by Indigo Ink, the book is priced at Rs. 549.

Previously, she had two books including 'Yatrama Akshar' (2018), and her poetry translation collection 'Amrita Pritamka Chhanieka Kavita' (Selected Poems of Amrita Pritam) had been published.