CMI Arts Initiative Talk
Date: Thursday, 21 March 2024.
Time: 3:30 PM
Venue: Seminar Hall
The life and times of BP Koirala
Dinesh Kafle
Kathmandu University.
21-03-24

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Abstract

Bisheshwar Prasad Koirala, one of Nepal's foremost politicians and writers, once said: "As a socialist, I am searching for better laws to bind the people; as a writer, I am breaking all the laws. My friends find it difficult to reconcile these two. They say my writings do not mirror my political struggles. That is because I am not a politician when I write."

BP's friends and foes also found it difficult to reconcile his reverence for Mahatma Gandhi while following in Bhagat Singh's path, his attempts at 'national reconciliation' with the monarchy even as he waged an armed struggle against the state, and his attempts at balancing China and India while defending his country's sovereignty. As a thinker, BP was aware of the contradictions, but as a politician, he saw no alternative to reconciling disparate ideas and actions. This talk assesses the awakening and pragmatism that define BP's literary life and political career.

About the speaker: Dinesh Kafle is a writer-in-residence at the Chennai Mathematical Institute. He is an assistant professor at Kathmandu University and an opinion editor at the Kathmandu Post. At CMI, he is translating Bisheshwar Prasad Koirala's short stories from Nepali to English and working on the first draft of his novel.