“Qatar workers who have left with MRPs – stories of their pain and grief – are also included in a creative, poetic way,” said Professor Rajendra Subedi while introducing Damodar Pudasaini ‘Kishor’s Nametiyeka Chitraharu (Unerased Pictures), which was granted the 2013 Uttam Shanti Puraskar on 26 May, 2014, in a small ceremony in Kathmandu.
Nametiyeka Chitraharu is a collection of essays based on Kishor’s travels through the Middle East, Europe, the US, and India during a three-week period in 2005. Professor Subedi admired the novelty that Kishor brings to every essay, describing his work as “photographic”, and Kishor as a “consciousness infused with feelings”. “Qualities such as these make this collection literary, not mere travel writing,” he added.
In a humble, sing-songy acceptance speech, Kishor said that he likes to excavate the mysteries of life. “I like traveling,” he said. “And while traveling, I like to write. Reflecting through innumerable waves of questions… about death’s certainty and life’s uncertainty… I can’t write about everything while trying to balance a jāgiré (employed) life and a creative life. But I have seen the struggles of our mountain people in a desert, talked to them about their lives and loans, and through all these experiences I have realized that the most important thing a person can give to another person is love.”
The Uttam Kunwar Memorial Fund was established by the late writer’s wife Shanti Kunwar in 1986 to commemorate his life and continue his literary legacy. Renamed the Uttam Shanti Puraskar after Shanti Kunwar’s death, the ceremony has been taking place every year for the past twenty-seven years. The literary prize is given out to a Nepali language essayist whose work is selected for its originality, creativity and poignancy – aspects Kunwar valued and tirelessly promoted through his monthly literary journal Ruprekha.
“We used to gather at Indira Restaurant in New Road and talk about history, literature, writing, politics… everything under the sun,” reminisced Dr. Mohan Prasad Lohani as he briefly introduced Uttam Kunwar. “Four or five of us were regulars. Kunwarji was very friendly with Dr. Tulsi Giri, despite his politics. Sometimes we had heated debates. It was the Panchayat era… After one of these gatherings, Kunwarji dropped me in Gyaneshwor in his Volkswagen and headed towards Chabahil. The next day I heard that he had passed away.” Uttam Kunwar was only 44 years old. Apart from his publication Ruprekha, Kunwar is known for his collection of literary essays Srasta ra Sahitya, which won the Madan Puraskar in 1966 .
This year, the Puraskar ceremony was attended by a mixture of family members, Kunwar’s colleagues and a sprinkling of Nepali litterateurs. Nayan Raj Panday, who is known for his novel Lu, was the master of ceremonies. Due to its regularity and longevity, the Uttam Shanti Puraskar is relatively well known among Nepali language literary circles. After all, this is one of the very few annual rituals in Nepal that acknowledges literature and the literary life.
But it may be time to rethink some aspects of the ceremony so that many more Nepalis are aware of it and the Uttam Shanti Puraskar receives the attention it truly deserves. Perhaps increasing the prize money through fundraising, or by putting extra energy into outreach, would send an important message to a wider, younger audience that there is value in writing and reflecting on one’s life.
The committee that oversees the Fund is headed by Thakur Parajuli and supervised by Kunwar’s younger daughter Anamika Kunwar Singh. Kunwar’s older daughter Anima Kunwar Khadayat, who lives in the United States, remains in close consultation with the Fund.
