With the divine touch of the magical pen of Laxmi Prasad Devkota, a glittering exponent of Nepali literature, the children’s literature has been greatly blessed and enriched. He was born on Kartik 27 1966 BS (2009 AD.) on the pious day of Laxmi Pooja at Dillibazar, Dhobidhara Tole, Kathmandu. He was the third son of his parents: Mr. Tik Madhav Devkota and Amar Rajya Laxmi Devi Devkota. He passed away in 2016.
Devkota started writing poems from a tender age of ten. Raj Kumar Prabhakar (1997), Putali (2009 BS/1952 AD), Sunko Bihan (2010 BS/ 1951 AD), Chillapat (2021 BS/1964 AD), Katak (2026 BS/ 1966 AD) and Chhanga Sanga Kura (2026 BS/ 1966 AD) are six invaluable creations he has bequeathed to the children’s literature. Raj Kumar Prabhakar that appeared as the first work of the poet is infact, the first semi epic in Nepali language.
Katak, another epic by the Mahakabi is an epic of bravery that got published in 2026 BS (1966 AD), edited by Mohan Raj Sharma. The epic celebrates the story of Nepalese heroes, and is pregnant with the feelings of patriotism, bravery and pride for history. The epic that takes the war between the English and king Girban Bikram Shah Dev fought around 1873 BS (1819 AD) has made a high estimate and felicitation of the bravery, valor and patriotism shown by the great Nepalese fighters. Besides these epics, we also fifteen poems in Putali, nineteen in Sunko Bihan, thirteen in Changa Sanga Kura, and six in Chilla Paatharu by the same poet.
The uncollected poems by Devkota show that he held the view of educating and entertaining children through ordinary themes woven into verses in simple and child-friendly language. Thematically, his poems are about depiction of nature, love for birds and animals, love for the nation, devotion to God, and other social themes.
