1) Would you please give a brief introduction of yourself.

I am an English teacher by profession. I have been continuing in this role for the last thirty-eight years. I also have experience in journalism with a national broadsheet daily for 27 years, two years online, and about one and a half years on television. I worked as the news editor of the national daily “Nepal Samachar Patra” for 27 years, two and a half years on Tokha Online as a guest editor, more than a year for “Baahrakhari,” and around one and a half years for ACE Channel TV where I conducted a weekly talk show, “Talk with Om.”

I started my teaching career at Nepal Aadarsh Secondary School, Ganabahal, Kathmandu, and currently, I am serving as a vice-principal at one of the best and most popular community-based model public schools in Nepal, Viswa Niketan Secondary School, Tripureshwor, Kathmandu.

2) In which field are you busy nowadays?

Oh, I am not as busy as I used to be. You know, for around three decades, I was affiliated with the journalism sector, and the schedules were tight, handling the accountability of filling one whole page daily. Sometimes, I even had to write the main news for the first page if a major international event took place, for example, the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers in the United States. I was the desk chief of the international affairs section of the Nepal Samacharpatra for many years, and I worked for a long time as the desk chief of the sports page as well. Besides, I contributed to the weekly supplement and the magazines of Kamana Publication, the cine magazine “Kamana,” and the family digest “Sadhana” regularly. However, I never understood why the management of the publication always treated me as a part-timer. Okay, let it be. I was offered jobs with handsome salaries by other publications many times, but the proprietor of Kamana Publication, late Pushkar Lal Shrestha, always stopped me by saying, “You leave only when I die.”

My grown-up son and daughter also insisted that I should not be workaholic, so I gave up my evening shift job, but I still have more than enough translation work. I translate materials both from Nepali to English and vice versa. I am also a ghostwriter and have written about a dozen books for others. Nowadays, I am busy writing a novel for someone else, just for money.

3) All right, what do you do more?

I enjoy listening to music and watching movies, particularly Korean, Chinese, and Iranian. I am a professional lyricist as well. I have sold around four or five songs to well-established and famous bands and individual singers. I can write in Nepali, Nepal Bhasa (my mother tongue), English, and Hindi too. I get the most satisfaction from writing poems. In the last two years, I have released a story collection entitled “Yathartha” and a social novel “Sambandha.”

I am bringing out another novel, “Natalia,” for which I was offered five lakh rupees to remain as a ghostwriter by a gentleman. I am publishing it with my own entire investment. My dear friend based in the USA, Mr. Kumar Mainali, has provided me with adequate encouragement and inspiration in this regard. My other college friend, Mr. Bipin Tuladhar, and my student, a teacher at Kathmandu University, Mr. Anil Shahi, have been helping hands.

4) How long have you been in the field of literature, music, and movies?

I have been writing since I was fifteen. I still remember reciting my poem at a program held on the occasion of Martyr’s Day at the Rotary Club, Thapathali, Kathmandu. The glorious thing is that the program was chaired by the great late poet Siddhicharan Shrestha. I was just sixteen and the youngest participant. My first poem was published in Madhupatrika in 2046, Chaitra. In 2056 or 2057, one of my stories was published in “Garima.” I later learned that the editor, Mr. Gopal Parajuli, had commented that I might be from outside the valley because a Newar from the valley could not write in such splendid Nepali. Anyway, I continued my journey, and so far, around one hundred and fifty songs have been recorded by different established singers. I became a professional lyricist when I wrote the title song for a Nepali feature film, “Timi Bina Ko Jeevan,” sung by Rajesh Payal Rai and Rima Gurung. The director of this movie, Mr. Raj Shakya, made me a professional by paying me for the song.

Along with many well-known singers, bands like “Mukti and Revival,” “Anuprastha,” and “Amedhyan” have also sung many of my songs. So far, around twenty music videos have been made of my songs, and two were shot in the USA, and one was made in Australia. Likewise, Nepal’s leading publication house, “Ratna Pustak Bhandar,” has published my translated worldwide popular story collection, “Biswa Bikhyat Katha Sangrah,” volumes 1 to 6, plus four volumes of the philosopher Swed Martin’s works.

6) Would you tell me some more about your journey in arts, literature, and music?

I am bringing out my new novel, “Natalia,” very soon. The beginning of it is based on a true story—I really met a French lady named “Natalia” in my teenage years. The rest is fiction. I have also acted in some movies. I played a pivotal role in the feature film “Goma,” directed by the popular director Mr. Raj Shakya. I also played a central character in his short movie “Dimag Kharab.” Additionally, I have acted in other movies like “Jamana Gubhaju,” “Hijo Ajako Kura,” and the Nepal Bhasa movie “Tiba, The Support.”