Lumle’s new identity as a ‘poetry village’ gaining popularity

Gandaki, April 5. Lumle in Annapurna Rural Municipality-6 in Kaski district is known as receiving highest amount of rainfall in the country.

The village, a blessing of nature, popularly known as ‘Cherapunji of Nepal’, an area in India which receives highest amount of rainfall, is also rich in Nepali literature. It has produced many noted litterateurs and literary figures.

Declared as a village of poetry on 28 March, 2009 as envisioned by popular poet and late lyricist Binod Gauchan, the place has received presence of litterateurs and literary figures from time to time.

The village housing around 400 houses is also important and culturally with pilgrims cutting through it to reach Muktinath Temple as there is no transportation facility. Its glory and dignity has reached national and international level with its declaration as a village of poetry, said Bhakti Ram Devkota, the Lumle Poetry Village Founding chair.

“Those interested in literature have visited the village and organised various programmes, which has helped create awareness among the local people in a way or more,” he said. Gauchan has written songs like ‘Jati maya laye pani, Jati kasam khaye pani’, ‘Tagaroma rumal rakhi bato chhekyau timle’ and ‘Kasto thauma phulyau timi tipnai garho vo’ and written poems entitled ‘Dhungesanghuko melama’ and ‘Pokharama phul fuldaina’.

Lumle with majority of Gurung, Thakali, Brahman, Chhetri and Bishwakarma communities, which was hit by a devastating landslide on 29th July, 2015 causing deaths of 28 people, is enhanced by the natural beauty. With its declaration of poetry village, unofficial literary activities from the institutional level have got a momentum. According to a teacher for local Siddha Basic School, Shiva Devkota said with the literary activities taking place here, the awareness level of locals has increased.

The village is also a birthplace of late notable lyricist Praveen Gurung who had died on 6th August 1994 BS in a road accident in Kathmandu. As said by rural municipal chair Yubraj Kunwar, recently a park in the commemoration of the late Gurung was constructed and the local government assisted Rs 500 thousands for the park construction.

Gurung is the creator of very popular Nepali songs such as ‘Yo dajuko mirmire aakhan’, ‘ salaijo hitaiko maya,’ ‘ phul mayama nabhula’, ‘ mathibata ko aayo salako paat bajaundai’ and so on. The Gurung family had contributed Rs 170 thousands to set up the statue of the late Gurung on the park premises. Promotion of art, literature and development is in priority of the local government, according to chair Kunwar.

It plans to honour one national level figure contributing to art, literature and culture and those artistes born in the village each year. Poetry village founding chair Devkota said he was confident that the village would be developed as a pilgrimage site of literature followers.