BIO
Known as a people’s poet of Nepal, Durga Lal Shrestha is an essential name in contemporary Nepali and Newari literature. He has written over a dozen books many great lyrics. Some of his works written in the Newari language are Gvinnila, Inkalabaya palahsah, Ji svayambhu tvathah: nyecyapu kavitaya chajhvah and Phyakham pica. His poem “Phool ko Aankhaa Maa” (In the Eyes of Flowers) sung by the Buddhist nun Ani Chhoyang Lama has made her one of the most beloved singers of Nepal. His other song “Jhee Masini” (We Are Not Dead Yet) became a voice of the Nepali Bhasa Movement, against the suppression of Bhasa language by the ruling dynasties. He is awarded the “Shrestha Sirapa”, the Sole Award given to a writer in Newari literature. The Library of Congress includes twelve of his masterpieces in its collection.
(In the Eyes of Flowers has been translated into English by Kalpna Singh-Chitnis from the Hindi rendition of the song written in the original Nepali/Newari)
BIO
Kalpna Singh-Chitnis is an Indian-American poet, writer, and Editor-in-Chief of Life and Legends. Author of Bare Soul and three collections of poems in Hindi, she received the prestigious Bihar Rajbhasha Award for her first poetry collection, Chand Ka Paivand in 1987, and the title of Bihar Shri in 1988. She is also the recipient of the 2014 Rajiv Gandhi Global Excellence Award for her contributions to literature and cinema, and the 2017 Naji Naaman Literary Prize for Creativity. Kalpna Singh-Chitnis participated in the “Silk Routes” project of the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa from 2014 to 2016 and studied “Buddhism Through Its Scriptures” at HarvardX. She has published her work in notable journals like World Literature Today, California Quarterly, Levure Litteraire, Pirene’s Fountain and others. Her poetry has been translated and published in many languages.
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In the Eyes of Flowers
In the eyes of flowers,
the world is a flower.
In the eyes of thorns,
the world is a thorn.
A shadow is always relative to an object.
When a heart is pure, the tongue is enlightened.
May I trample not even a worm under my feet,
and behold the world beautiful in my eyes.
In the darkness of the night, may I see the moon!
In dry leaves, may I hear the tune of life!
In my pure heart, may I see the universe unfolding in brilliance;
not as a thorn, in the eyes of thorns.
फूलको आँखामा / दुर्गालाल श्रेष्ठ
फूलको आँखामा फूलै संसार
काँढाको आँखामा काँढै संसार
झुल्किन्छ है छाँया बस्तु अनुसार
काँढाको आँखामा काँढै संसार
चित्त शुद्ध होस् मेरो, बोली बुद्ध होस्
मेरो पैतालाले किरै नमरोस्
राम्रो आँखामा खुल्छ राम्रै संसार
काँढाको आँखामा काँढै संसार
टह-टह जून देखूँ, कालो रातैमा
जीवन संगीत सुनुँ म सुख पातैमा
सङ्ग्लो मनमा खुल्छ है, संग्लै संसार
काँढाको आँखामा काँढै संसार
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“In the Eyes of Flowers” sung by Ani Choying Drolma at – http://lifeandlegends.com/ani-choying-drolma-a-heavenly-voice-from-nepal/
