NEW NEPAL

 Siddhicharan Shrestha (1912 - 1992)

Translated by - Shreedhar Lohani

Arise! Wake up!

Reveal the hidden

O New Nepal

Speak up truth and beauty!

Let the cleanest current of consciousness

Gush forth with vigour 

O New Nepal

Jump up and soar over

This black uphill precipice.

Set free the courage

Stifled with age-long persecution

O New Nepal

Send packing the worn-out disorder

With furious laughter.

Let the advancing foot

Take the new step

To bring forth the bright day

O New Nepal

Bless us with courage and caution

Power and union.

Distasteful rituals

Heartless class divisions

Away with all such idle forces

O New Nepal

Let the living thoughts 

Resplendent within Nepali hearts

Conflagrate and open up.

Those not-to-be done acts

Performed in desperation

Under the cankerous inequality of wealth 

By hungry stomachs and barebacks

Annihilate all such evil elements

O New Nepal!

Glossary: 

Consciousness - awareness

Gush - flow out of something in a rapid and plentiful stream

Forth - ahead in time

Vigour - energy/physical strength and good health

Soar - rise rapidly

Precipice - a very steep cliff

Stifled - suppressed

Persecution - torture

Furious - enraged/angered

Resplendent - having great beauty and splendour/attractive and impressive

Conflagrate - inflame/kindle/cause to start burning

Desperation - a state in which all hope is lost or absent

Cankerous - having an ulcer/a destructive disease

Annihilate - kill in a large number

New Nepal written by Siddhicharan Shrestha, and translated in English by Shreedhar Lohani is a political poem that voices a strong call for Nepalese to rise above the inequities of the past and bring in a resurgence (revival) of freedom and human dignity. The poem is all about the frustrations and hopes of contemporary Nepalese who were struggling for democracy whilst Ranas were in power and politics dominating; suppressing and discriminating against the rights of people residing in the country. For writing revolutionary poems like There can be no Peace without Revolution Shrestha was sentenced to eighteen years of detention. In this poem, he prayed for Nepalese people to speak up for their rights.

During the Rana regime, because of their superiority, common Nepalese people were not courageous enough to speak anything against cruelty and domination. If anyone tried to speak or even alarm others about reviving rights, that person would be punished, even killed. A lack of courage resided in the heart of the public due to the massive domination throughout. They could not bring new thoughts. Through this poem, the poet wanted to inspire innocent people, who had been suppressed by Rana’s rule and their brutality as well as who suffered from racial, political and cultural economical discrimination. 

He prayed to wake up, raise their voice against such ill-treatment, and answer their injustice. He told the reader to speak the truth, show bravery, and move forward to bring a bright day. He prayed mother Nepal to bless us with courage and caution, bless us with power and union. Our unity can make it possible. He advised us not to follow distasteful rituals, heartless class divisions, and chains of discrimination. And to eliminate (remove) completely such evil elements to change our Nepal into a new Nepal.

Simplified Summary:

The poem calls for a new beginning for Nepal, urging people to wake up and speak the truth. It encourages bravery and unity to overcome past struggles and injustices. The poet asks Nepal to bless its people with courage and caution, so they can move forward together. The poem rejects harmful traditions and divisions, calling for a brighter future where equality and justice prevail. It urges the elimination of oppression and inequality, so Nepal can truly flourish.