Raju Syangtan is an influential poet of this time. He stirs up opposition to the system in the majority of his poems. At the tender age of 16, Raju's dream of establishing an egalitarian society through the people's war was shattered as the war ended.
A friend who walked with him later became a martyr.
The memory of burying the dead body of his comrade with his own hands is still fresh in his mind. Numerous of his friends are still listed as "missing."
Time saved him from being listed as a ‘martyr’ and ‘missing’ but the lingering anguish of that time made Raju a poet.
Raju Syangtan, the poet of Khairmara, Mahottari, witnessed extreme oppression and deprivation in his life. He then joined the line of young people who were marching with the determination to transform society.
One day, Raju stood in the school premises to proclaim revolution and start a new journey.
Before him were friends and teachers. But he could not see. His lips spoke the word "revolution" as his gaze fixed on the ground.
When Raju looks back on the road he took in life during the energetic time of his life, he sometimes becomes furious since he was living the dream of social change at the time.
He doesn't regret his "journey," either.
His idealized system does not exist. However, he is content with the life many people in the society are living.
The ‘class’, the life of which he had hoped to change are now are hoping to leave the nation.
Their only concerns in their dreams are for clothing, housing, and food.
In the name of dowry, daughters are still being raped and daughters-in-law are being forced to be burned.
In the name of falling in love with the purported upper caste, Dalits are being murdered. The indigenous people still have to battle for their cultural role.
Yesterday, Raju had thought all this was going to end. Raju's heart melts with such things that he wants to destroy but could not, which he expresses in his poetry. Last week, Syangtan launched his book of poetry, "Oh Pengdorje," in the market.
We had a video conversation with him in this regard.
