I
had heard, read, and forgotten that the Spiny Babbler bird had been
extinct for a century and re-discovered on earth in our country.
A few
months back I saw an English magazine named Spiny Babbler. What
the creators of this magazine are trying to say by naming their
publication after the bird, only its initiators may know but I myself
felt curiosity and delight.
You
could call what I felt a mixture of colors on canvas. You could
call what I felt a complexity, an unknowing depth. It was strange,
like the fact that scientists rediscovered the spiny babbler bird
in Nepal. It is like a fairy tale, a story from the ancient purana
scriptures. I felt a sense of things aged, centuries old.
I was
once captivated by swallows. They fly from the confluence of Teku
along the banks of Bagmati and Bishnumati Rivers, they take water
in their beaks and wash their wings, they come and they go to and
fro from their nests. On my way to my home and while ambling around
the Pachali Bhairab Temple, I would see swallows collect straw for
their nests. They played under Bakaina and Baisa trees. One would
have to ask an ornithologist to tell us of the habitat of the Spiny
Babbler bird, but under its name, I found the names of Param, Para,
Pallav Ranjan and some Shresthas in the magazine.
During
a seminar organized by these creators, I had an opportunity to listen
to poems and to recite my own. To translate our poems and articles
into English and to introduce our writing to cultural enthusiasts
seems to be the main objective of Spiny Babbler.
They
have already presented the poems of Greta Rana, Manjul, Bhuwan Dhungana,
Manju Kachuli, Toya Gurung, and Bairagi Kaila. They look forward
to presenting other literary works and translations.
I was
also introduced to Greta Rana whom I had not met before though I
had been familiar with her name. And if you had been to this seminar
you would not have missed the paintings of Param.
The
parents of Param and Para seem wise; otherwise it wouldn't be easy
to unite the twin sisters with a single word. They named one Param
and the other Para [after the word Parampara, i.e. tradition]. I
am envious and admire their imagination and cultural aptitude. Param
is a talented artist and Para is an appreciated partner in this
literary group. Pallav has already translated my poems into English
and has also translated other poems.
Why
did Spiny Babbler come back to Nepal? Why do Param, Para, and Pallav
want to introduce our poems to others? These are how cultural mysteries
are - there are many ways to make a profit but this way has not
been well utilized. What is the meaning of literature and culture
when it has been declared unproductive by our authorities?
Poems
by Manjul, Manju Kachuli, Toya Gurung, Bhuwan Dhungana have also
been translated into English by Pallav Ranjan. Greta Rana writes
in her own English language and says Nepal is her home.
She
says that England is only the land of her ancestors. Nepalese plants
and soil give her poetry authenticity. Maybe this is because she
loved the country to which Spiny Babbler returned after a century.
And perhaps our brother and sisters admired the bird so much that
they named their publications and organization after it.
Tradition
and civilization is not a relationship between humans but also of
our relationship with the earth, the plants, living creatures, rivers,
and mountains. Spiny Babbler is also a part of our culture. Our
relation is inseparable as that of the earth and the sky. Why would
we need to call the Danphe pheasant our national bird and the rhododendron
as our national flower? |