Aadikabi Bhanubhakta’s fire-ravanged house awaiting reconstruction

CHUDIRAMGHA, TANAHU: Ravaged by fire around 20 years ago, the house of the pioneer poet (Aadikabi) Bhanubhakta Acharya has turned into ruins without conservation.

Located at Chudiramgha Shikharkateri in Bhanu Municipality-4 in Tanahun district, the remnants of the house have weeds growing on burnt windows and doors, and the ‘Ramayan’ building is in a sorry state.

However, the authorities including the governments of all three levels are least concerned about conserving the house and blamed the local people. The residence of the poet could become a research center, and attract tourists after conserving it, they said.

It feels hurt seeing the dilapidated building, said a local Min Bahadur Shrestha. “Bhanu Municipality has been left behind. There have been no initiatives taken for its development although many have taken advantages in the name of Bhanubhakta. Visitors and local people have been hit without accessible roads,” he said.

The road leading to the residence of the Aadikabi should be repaired after allocating the budget, he suggested.

It seems the state could not substantially compensate for the contribution made by the towering person to the Nepali language by leaving his residence in a dilapidated condition, the locals accused.

Bhyange Sunsar, 85, who lives near the house of Bhanubhakta has charged local people’s representatives with not taking the initiative in conserving the dilapidated building.

Actor Dilip Rayamajhi, who played a Bhanubhakta in the Nepali movie ‘Aadikabi Bhanubhakta’ feels sorry for the residence being in a sorry state. It feels Bhanubhakta has not received the due honor by getting his house left in a shabby condition, he said. On the contrary, residents of neighboring Darjeeling and Sikkim in India honor Bhanubhakta, he said.

The Bhanubhakta birthplace development committee formed in 2052 BS in a bid to conserve the birthplace of the poet was renamed the Aadikabi Bhanubhakta birthplace development committee. The house of Bhanubhakta got reconstructed in 2055 BS in the course of making a Nepali movie ‘Aadikabi Bhanubhakta’ about the life of poet Bhanubhakta. The movie producer Yadav Kharel provided Rs 100,000 for the reconstruction of the house.

The calls by the local level to establish posts of Nepal Police and Armed Police Force in the area to provide security and protect the Ramayan building and the house of Bhanubhakta have not been heard so far, said the committee’s chairperson and then Bhanu VDC chair Rishiram Panta.

The thatched house situated in the middle of a forest was damaged in the 2060 BS fire. Reconstruction efforts took place following the fire incident. In 2073 BS, then chief secretary Dr Somlal Subedi, former chief secretary Leela Mani Paudyal and chair of the Western Region Development Forum Ramji Kone jointly laid the foundation stone for the reconstruction of the damaged building. The estimated cost for the project was around Rs 6.8 million.

However so far, budget has not been released for the project, said the committee’s executive director Shankar Ranabhat.