Seven questions with Prajwal Adhikari: On poetry, existence and identity

In his first poetry collection, Astitwako Brahmand, poet Prajwal Adhikari explores existence, coexistence and human experience while reflecting on his decade-long journey in poetry

KATHMANDU: Poet Prajwal Adhikari‘s first poetry collection ‘Astitwako Brahmand‘ has been released. Having made an identity through various poetry competitions after mid-2016, he is also known for influential poetry recitation on stage. Presented here are the answers to seven questions asked by Tumaraj Koirala to understand Adhikari regarding his work and poetry:

You were writing poetry for a decade and had even been awarded at the National Poetry Festival. But why did it take a long time to publish your first poetry collection? Was there less confidence in your own poetry, or was it because you were in no hurry to publish a book?

If a period of 10 years is considered long, then it is fine. But poetry writing is a confluence of meditation, knowledge, and practice. For this, I am still in the initial stage. Because I feel I came to the field of poetry very late. At the time when I used to go to recite poetry on platforms such as Udgar, Hatemalo, Madhuban, and Srashta Pratishthan Nepal, among others, many poets and ghazal writers of my age had already become popular.

I feel that the spring of poetry sprouted in me after mid-2016. After that, I participated in various competitions. I succeeded in many competitions I took part in, which helped a lot in introducing me and my poems.

In between, I wrote many poems. I also posted some poems on social media. But I had kept many poems only collected. I was never in a hurry to publish a book of poetry. It was also delayed because I felt that the first collection should be brought out with some effort.

Poet Shrawan Mukarung, Dinesh Adhikari, and Pratisara Sayami releasing the work along with Muktinath Adhikari, Madhav Subedi, and the author. Photo courtesy: Prajwal Adhikari

When talking about confidence in poetry, I hold the belief that only after the poet has faith and trust in the written poem can the faith and trust of the audience, listeners, and readers be won.

You have included 71 poems in the first collection itself. It is said that selecting one’s own poems is the hardest job for a poet. How ruthless could you be while selecting? Has the obsession with poems you couldn’t leave out also made it into the book?

I had kept many unpublished poems on ‘Google Drive.’ After the publisher, Bhupendra Khadka, asked for the manuscript of the poems, I collected the poems that were on ‘Drive.’ When I could not select them myself, I gave them to some friends and brothers to select. The poems selected by them are in this collection.

When 71 poems were selected, many poems fell outside the collection, and I felt as if I had marginalized those excluded poems. I told them, “Do not worry, slowly you too will come in the shape of a book.” That moment was very emotional for me. Why be ruthless? I have spoken to my poems with love and reasoned with them, and those poems will definitely come in later collections. I was ruthless during writing; now there is only love for those poems.

The title of the collection is ‘Astitvako Brahmand.’ What is ‘existence’ for you, an individual’s private life, their relationship with society, or the philosophical restlessness searching for the meaning of being oneself? Does this book give any answer to that or only add questions?