Dinesh Adhikari

Dinesh Adhikari, born on December 7, 1959 in Kathmandu, is a well-known poet and songwriter of Nepal. Adhikari's poems and songs not only speak out the woes of the people but also strive to guide society to a good path. Poet and songwriter Adhikari is capable of taking on the darkest human realities in his writing. Adhikari uses indigenous phrases and metaphors to convey his feelings. As a child, he was groomed in a literary environment. He says, "As a child I wrote to win contests and now I write for self satisfaction". Presently (2006) he is in the Nepal government service, holding the position of Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Health. He served for twenty years as a government lawyer and traveled to various districts in the course of his job. This period of employment, during which he traveled to the villages and got to witness the difficult lifestyle of Nepalese people of some of the most remote parts of the country, provided him with much of his inspiration to write. His ingredients for writing are both the woes and the pleasures of these people. His sweet and bitter experiences in the villages of Nepal are reflected very well in his writings. Dinesh Adhikari has been honored with more than 20 major awards including the much-revered Madan Puraskar and Suprabal Gorkha Dakshinabahu.