Friday, November 2, 2007

Desh Bidesh and Divine musician

Dr Ram Dayal Rakesh has penned down the third travelogue Desh Bidesh.
Desh Bidesh shares the author’s travel experiences across different places in Nepal , India , Sri Lanka , Bangkok , Dhaka and Singapore .
The book, unlike his earlier travelogues, gives us vivid pictures of the cities of Nepal and the cities of South Asian regions, their differences and likelyness. “I have tried to pen down the famous but not very well written places of historical and cultural importance in Tarai,” writes the author. Tarai has many cultural and historical places like Barahathawa and Murtiya that need preservation.
Desh Bidesh includes 17 memoirs of the authors visit across Nepal and 15 memoirs of the visit in different South Asian countries — mostly to the Indian cities — and Singapore, Bangkok at different times on different occasions.
Being an ardent culture-lover, he is successful in presenting the cultural background of almost all the places he has visited and the readers can benefit from his experience.

 

BOOK REVIEW

Desh Bidesh
Author: Dr Ram dayal Rakesh
Publisher: Bidhyarthi Pustak Bhandar
Pages: 131
Price: Rs 100

 

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Divine musician - Dibya Sangeetkaar

 

Dibya Sangeetkaar, Dibya Khaling is a book that has memoirs of musician-cum-lyricist late Dibya Khaling written by his friends and family members from a very senior poet Madhav Ghimire to his collegues Kiran Pradhan and Bulu Mukarung to his juniors.
Dibya Khaling was not only musician, but a well-known lyricist also whose ever-green songs like Sadhai Ma hanse, Timilai ruwae (I always enjoyed, making you cry), Mera Geet Sabai Timilai (All my songs are for you), and Preyashika Yaadharu (memoirs of girl-friend). “These hit numbers make him immortal and he doesnot need any adjectives for his introduction,” writes Bulu Mukarung in his memoirs. Famous singers from late Narayangopal, Arun Thapa, to present Gyanu Rana and Mira Rana are remembered because they all sang his songs on his composition.
Dibya Sangeetkaar, Dibya Khaling has the collection of Dibya’s lyrics and his family pictures that makes this book a real memoir. Grace Khaling, Dibya’s wife; Prakash Sayami and Bhuwan Devkota have put their hard labour to bring this book out and what could have been a good present than this for a man, according to his own son, “who lived, slept, and breathed with his harminium, and with the joy of playing his instrument.”  
BOOK REVIEW

Book — Dibya Sangeetkaar, Dibya Khaling

Publisher — Ekata Publication
Price  —  Rs 250

Pages  — 336

Posted by Myself at 06:23:50 | Permalink | Comments (1) »

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Revisiting Mithila

Dr R D Rakesh has authored the fifth book on Maithali folk culture, ‘Maithili Lok Sanskriti’. This trend is indicative of the increasing importance of the Mithila region and its culture.
 The author being an expert of Mithila culture and art has described folklores, cultural practices and art of Mithila region in-depth. He has even quoted the famous culturists in many places to prove his points.
Rakesh has in this book included the festivities like Bhaitika and Bibaha Panchami in Mithila region. He describes many colours, sights and sounds of the Mithila region; a montage of joys and miseries; be it the colourful festival Fagu, the folk dance of Mithila or Madanostsav, Ram Nawami or Chhath.
 He even tries to find the similarity between the culture of worshipping of sun god in Konark, India and sun worshipping culture in the Mithila region. Rakesh explores Sikki work (folk art of Mithila), which is considered an expression of the feelings of the folk-women of Mithila.
 And he closes the book in the humorous note with a story of Gonu jha, the mythical Maithila protagonist, as a desert to the readers. You are impelled to read such folklores as they give insight of the human life and its society.
The name Mithila is originated from the king Mithi, writes Rakesh, who is devoted in the penning of the Mithila culture and keep it alive for the next generations. From Mithi to date, Mithila have survived its folk arts, culture and social beliefs.  But Mithila needs more exploration and more research, as it is still rustic, appealing and yet mystical. The doors with sikki art — signs and symbols printed with the mixture of bright colours — still mystify the onlookers.
The writer believes that in-depth study of the Mithila region and its culture will unfold various mysteries of the folk culture and its importance.
 “Culture is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society,” E B Tylor
And the book ‘Maithili Lok Sanskriti’ fits into the E B Tylor’s definition. 
 Radha Krishna Choudhary, a famous Indian scholor, in his book ‘History of Muslim rule in Tirhut’, writes, “Mithila is perhaps the only region, which has been able to preserve her cultural continuity since the beginning of the Aryan civilisation. Mithila goes back to the age of the vedic literature.

And Dr Rakesh is one of the devoted sons of Mithila, who is dedicated to keep the most acclaimed culture alive, in print at least.
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Book: Maithali Lok Sahitya
Writer: Dr R D Rakesh
Publisher: Ekta Books Distributors Pvt Ltd
Pages: 204
Price: Rs 165.00

Posted by Myself at 07:35:19 | Permalink | Comments (1) »