Krishnahari Baral

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Dr. Krishnahari Baral (born 4 January 1954) is a Nepali lyricist, songwriter, poet, literary critic, and author who teaches at Tribhuwan University, Kathmandu. Dr. Baral has written more than forty books including course books, literary criticisms, song collections and others.

Biography

He loves to tell his childhood stories to an interested listener, and one of those stories he enjoys telling is about an old ‘oak tree’ of his village which he used to climb, because from its top, he believed, it was possible to touch the sky. Although a successful man he is, it does not require a long conversation for anyone to find out that he still is a humble man who is intrigued by simple things in life. And simply observing things from a distance is probably his best pastime.

Krishnahari Baral was born in a middle-class family on 4th January, 1954 in Hatpate, Sindhuli a beautiful village in a small Asian country, Nepal. He spent most of his early childhood in the same village. Those days, as he confesses, nature was his playground and nature was his toy. He grew up in an environment where his Grandmother was putting her own words in local folk tunes and singing them unprofessionally, while his Grandfather was regularly reciting verses from Hindu epics. His father, Khadananda Baral is a farmer and his mother Late Padma Kumari Baral was departed early in his childhood. He was the eldest among a brother, a sister, and two step-brothers. Although no one had achieved formal education in his family before, he was admitted to a local school where he completed his Lower Secondary education. As he still recalls, it was in Class 5 that he wrote his first lyrical poem. Unfortunately, there were no publications of any kind in the village at the time. Also, there was no High School in the area. So, he moved alone to Janakpur in 1967 AD and joined Shri Saraswati Multi Purpose High School.

Moving to Janakpur was a milestone in his career. It was a city much larger, much developed and much different from his village. Here, he was exposed to Hindi movies, which usually contained excellent songs with melodious tunes and great lyrics. In addition, the comprehensive content of the ‘Compulsory English’ of the High School, which he describes as 'tough' and which included poems and essays by internationally renowned poets and writers, impressed him deeply. He successfully completed High School and obtained his School Leaving Certificate in 1969 AD. He then completed his Diploma in 1973 AD with Nepali, Psychology and Economics as major subjects from the R.R. College of Janakpur itself. In the same year, he published his two lyrics for the first time in Usha magazine. From the same college in Janakpur, he received his Bachelor’s degree in 1976 AD, and this time his major subject was Nepali.

After that, in 1977 AD he moved to Kathmandu, which is the capital of the country. Obviously his dreams were big, so was his determination. That year, his lyrics ‘Ma Bhakta Hu Yo Desko (I am a devotee of this nation)' was sung and recorded for the first time in Radio Nepal , the only radio station of the country at the time. He got married in 1981 AD to Sushma Baskota, who is now a successful advocate and a writer. His wife gave birth to their first child, a daughter in 1982 AD, followed by another daughter in 1986 AD and a son in 1987 AD.In 1988 AD, he received his Masters Degree in Nepali from Central Department of Nepali, Tribhuwan University (TU). He worked as Nepali teacher in various schools and colleges until he finally became a lecturer in Central Department of Nepali, TU in 1993 AD . In 2007 AD, he finally did his PhD on ‘Ghazal history’ which is based on extensive research and study.

He has written books about linguistics, lyrics collections, literary critiques and is continually writing new ones as well. He has co-written course books on Nepali from Class 1 up to Masters Level also. He published most of his books after 1994 AD, which include 'Bhasa Bigyan Ra Nepali Bhasa (Linguistics and Nepali Language)' in 1994 AD, followed by 'Sandristi (Critique Collection)' and, 'Upanyas Sidhdhanta ra Nepali Upanyas (Theory of Novel and Nepali Novels)' in 1999 AD, 'Kabi Bhupi: Bishleshan ra Mulyankan (Poet Bhupi: Analysis and Evaluation)' in 2001 AD, 'Geet Sidhdhanta Ra Itihas (Theory and History of Lyrics)' in 2004 AD, and 'Bastuparak Samalochana (Objective Critique)' in 2005 AD. His lyrics collections are 'Ek Phool, Anek Patra (Single Flower, Myriad Mails)' published in 1995 AD and 'Geetkar Krishnahari Baral: Srijana ra Samalochana (Lyricist Krishnahari Baral: Creation and Critique)' published in 2002 AD. The latest among his books is 'Ghazal: Sidhdanta Ra Parampara (Ghazal: Theory and Chronicle)', published in 2008.

Talking about his career as lyricist, it all began when he used to be fascinated by a radio program and its hosts (Devi Sharma and Pandav Sunuwar) in his youth. He even wrote a letter to the program which was broadcasted on air. Later in a meeting, it was them who suggested to him that he should write lyrics. He did so and there was no looking back. Until now, he has written many lyrics and almost 300 of those have been recorded. He has 8 solo albums, numerous published songs, and two song collections to be proud of. Some critics have even called him ‘magician of words’ and ‘lyricist of lyricists’. Not surprisingly, he has received most of the nation’s big awards for his contribution in writing lyrics, which include the ‘Chhinnalata Musical Award (2000 AD)’, the ‘Nai Kalanidhi Musical Award (1999 AD)’ and many other awards. Recently, by Kantipur FM, a leading FM station, he was named to be the lyricist whose songs were aired the most throughout a year.

What is more, he is as successful as a literary critic as he is as a lyricist. His critiques on songs, novels, dramas, poems and various other subjects are considered to be neutral and very significant. Dr. Baral is recognized as a brilliant critique by the respected academicians and the recognized writers of the country. He has published his criticism in many magazines as well as in his books. He is the first and only person to write a book about song criticism in Nepali. Other than that, he has written books on criticism of novels, and dramas as well. His PhD thesis itself was a research paper about criticism of ghazal (a kind of lyrical poem). Not to forget that he is a highly esteemed lecturer of Nepali. He is very serious about the things that he gives to the students and researching the subject matter that he teaches is his trademark. Also, he is an amateur but a dedicated honeybee keeper, so much so that he sometimes forgets other things while spending time with the bees.

Dr. Krishnahari Baral is always finding something in everything to smile about, something to look at and ponder, and something to be curious about. As stated earlier, observing the life is his nature and observing the nature is his life. More than an open book, his life is like a clear sky; without any hidden side, without anything to hide. When I think of it, maybe that is how he stands out among everyone.

As lyricist

Dr. Krishnahari Baral is one of the most successful contemporary lyricists of Nepal. He has provided lyrics for popular songs to be used in movies, television serials, and commercials. Most of his songs however are ‘modern songs’, which is considered to be the ‘evergreen’ form of music. Until now, almost 300 of his lyrics have been recorded. His solo albums are eight and his other lyrics are featured by various established musicians and singers in their albums. On the other hand, his lyrics have also helped various artists to establish themselves and be very successful in the music field. Also, he has published two song collections books to the date, first of which is ‘Ek Phool, Anek Patra (Single Flower, Myriad Petals)’. The second collection book ‘Geetkar Krishnahari Baral; Srijana ra Samalochana (Lyricist Krishnahari Baral; Creation and Critique)’ contains his lyrics as well as their criticism by others.

His well formed lyrics invoke human emotions in the readers and the listeners, due to its numerous poetic qualities. Although he writes on many subjects, the contents of his songs can be primarily classified as patriotic, philosophical, love songs, and about nature.

The patriotic songs are usually about the geographical and historical contexts of Nepal as well as the bravery shown by Nepalese warriors and martyrs. They also contain the message that Nepalese should build their nation on their own.

In Baral's songs, we can find reflection of romanticism and existentialism in addition to the discussions of life and its mystery. His various songs have many qualities, such as materialistic love in surface and spiritual attachment in deeper sense. His songs represent more of the inner power of the god and less of the physical description.

In his love songs, description of beauty, happiness of being together, and grief of separation is available. He has been found to describe love as worship in some songs. In fact, love is a highway to reach to the Lord or the beloved ones. While reading some of his love songs, it is difficult to resolve whether he is referring to the Lord or the lovers. In his love songs, occasionally we can find traces of contemporary contexts and satire as well. He has in some places looked at love as a means to forget our daily scarcity. He has also offered a comparison between nature and love in some of his songs. His lyrics are usually about daily problems and happenings in life, to which his readers and listeners can relate to. Some of his lyrics due to the same reason have gained the grade of quotations as well.

Both subjective and objective description of nature and the personification of nature are found in his lyrics. In many songs, nature has been used as simile, metaphor and symbol. Using nature to describe persons, or using persons to describe nature is his favorite tool. The transition of seasons has been viewed as the ups and downs in life. Depending on the content of songs, both fierce and calm form of nature has been discussed in his lyrics, very much like Wordsworth.

Excessive use of feelings and fantasy in his lyrics makes them very original and superior. Usually, his lyrics contain natural emotions and expressions, catchy symbols and outstanding figurative language. Writing excellent lyrics in either prose or metrical verse is the quality of Dr. Baral.

As Literary Critic

Dr. Krishnahari Baral is a famous name in the field of Nepalese literary criticism. His journey of criticism began in 80's with the publication of his first critique "Rupmati Upanyas: Adhuniktako Prashna (Rupmati Novel: Matter of Modern times)". Now his theoretical as well as practical critique creations have spread to different genres like Novels, Poems, Songs, Ghazals, Essays etc. His works have been published in many books and articles.

Some of his critiques are focused entirely on the works of an individual, while others are detailed analysis of various subject matters and their historical account. Whereas "Geet Sidhdhanta Ra Itihas (Theory and History of Lyrics)", "Ghazal: Sidhdanta Ra Parampara (Ghazal: Theory and Chronicle)" and "Upanyas Sidhdhanta ra Nepali Upanyas (Novel theory and Nepali Novels)" contain theoretical stuff as well as the entire history of songs, ghazals and novels respectively, "Kabi Bhupi: Bishleshan ra Mulyankan (Poet Bhupi: Analysis and Evaluation)" is limited to thorough examination of works of poet Bhupi Sherchan. Besides, "Sandristi (Critique Collection)" and "Bastuparak Samalochana (Objective Critique)" are collections of many scattered analytical essays.

Baral's works expose his extensive knowledge of theories, literary devices and emerging experimental aspects of both, western and eastern literature. Depending upon the situation, his works are found to have formulated new theories also. His analysis technique is basically objective and he is of the school of thought that creations should not be examined from a single point of view only. Baral's works, packed with solid subject matter and decorated by crafty language, are valuable in the collection of Nepali Literary Criticism. Historically, among Nepali critiques, Baral's name comes after Motiram Bhatta, Suryabikram Gyawali, Ramkrishna Sharma, Dr. Taranath Sharma, Dr. Ishwor Baral, Dr. Basudev Tripathi, and Indra Bahadur Rai. Moti ram Bhatta, Surya bikram Gyawali, Ram krishna Sharma, Dr. Tara nath Sharma, Dr. Basu dev Tripathi, and Indrabahadur Rai

The views expressed by Dr. Taranath Sharma, Dr. Govindaraj Bhattarai, Dr. Himanshu Thapa, Dr. Durga Prasad Bhandari, and Prof. Mohanraj Sharma also prove the abilities of Dr. Baral as a critic. Dr. Govinda raj Bhattarai, Dr. Mohan Himanshu Thapa, Dr. Durgaprasad Bhandari, and Prof. Mohan raj Sharma

As Author

In addition to being a lyricist and a critic, Mr. Baral is involved in other fields too. He has made an important contribution by writing many course books. Most of those books are co-written. Among them, "Bhasa Bigyan Ra Nepali Bhasa (Linguistics and Nepali Language)" is co-written with Prof. Mohanraj Sharma and remaining course books with Netra Atom.

He has published Nepali Grammar books for students from Grade 1 up to Grade 10. These consist of "Sachitra Bal Byakaran (Children's Grammar with Illustrations)" for grade 1-5, "Nimna Madhyamik Nepali Byakaran (Lower Secondary Nepali Grammar)" for grade 6, 7 & 8 and "Madhyamik Nepali Byakaran (Secondary Nepali Grammar)" for grade 9 & 10. He has also published "Anibarya Nepali Byakaran, Abhibyakti ra Abhyas (Compulsory Nepali Grammar, Expression and Exercise)" for I.A., +2 & B.A. and "Sadharan Nepali (Simple Nepali)" for B.Ed. He has provided foreword in many books of many writers too.

Awards

* Topmost lyricist: First Video Movie Competition (1990 AD)
* INHURED First prize nation wide poem competition (1992 AD)
* Nai Kalanidhi Musical Award (1998 AD)
* Chhinnalata Musical Award (1999 AD)
* Dovan Honor (2000 AD)
* Music Nepal Honor (2000-2001 AD)
* Bhupalman Shingh Youh Literature Award (2002 AD)
* Ghazal Shri Honor (2003 AD)

List of Music Albums

* Rishaideu Na Binti
* Hallaharu
* Pahilo Bhet
* Safalatam
* Ki Ta Timi Maan Parchau
* Maya Baiguni
* Basai
* Bimba

Bibliography

References

* [http://www.khbaral.com www.khbaral.com]

Persondata
NAME=Baral, Krishnahari
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Nepalese singer and poet
DATE OF BIRTH=4 January 1954
PLACE OF BIRTH=Hatpate, Sindhuli
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=