Avikavi Bhanubhakta Acharya remembered across the nation

KATHMANDU: Different programs were organized across the country and even abroad to mark the 200th anniversary of Adikavi Bhanubhakta Acharya on Saturday.

Dignified personalities, Chairman of  the Interim Election Council of Ministers Khil Raj Regmi, littérateur and students attended the functions in different parts of the country.

Separate functions were organized in Kathmandu, Ghansikuwa of Tanahun and Chundi Ramgha, the birth place of Adikavi.

At a program organized at Bhanu-Ghansi Memorial Park at Ghansikuwa in Tanahun, the participants offered floral tributes to Adikavi Bhanubhakta Acharya and Ghansi. A large number of literary figures including Local Development Officer Chhabilal Rijal, leaders of different political parties, industrialists and others were present at the programme.

Speakers at the programme hailed the contribution of Bhanubhakta for bringing all Nepalis in a single thread of unity by translating the Ramayana into the Nepali language.

Meanwhile, a three-year master-plan has been prepared to develop Bhanubhakta´s birthplace Shikhar Kateri in Chundi Ramgha as a literary hub. The total budget of the master plan is estimated to be Rs 120 million.

Similarly, at a separate program organized in the capital, Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Khil Raj Regmi, garlanded the statue of the Adikavi Bhanubhakta Acharya on the premises of the Darbar High School in the capital city this morning.

On the occasion of the 200th birth anniversary of Adikavi Acharya´s today, many Nepali literati garlanded Adikavi´s statue amidst a programme organized jointly by various literary organizations, including the Banu Bicentenary Celebration Ceremony, Bhanu Foundation and Nepal Education Council.

Amar Chitrakar had carved the Adikavi´s bust under the direction of dramatist Bal Krishna Sam in 2016 BS. The bust is of special significance, as it was the first statue of the pioneering poet Bhanubhakta Acharya created in the country.

Born in Asar 29 in 1871BS at Chudiramgha of Tanahu, a hilly district in the western region of Nepal, Adikavi Bhanu Bhakta Acharya is famous for the translated version of spiritual Ramayan in Nepali.

It was earlier in Sanskrit language. The Nepali version of the spiritual Ramayan is an evergreen literature which established Acharya as a bard among Nepalis. Considering this contribution, poet Motiram Bhatta conferred him the title of Adikavi (pioneering poet) and Kavi Chakrachudamani.