Lyricist Kiran Kharel Honored with 'Parshu-Kalpana Creator Award-2082'

The 'Parshu-Kalpana Creator Award-2082', established in memory of the renowned fiction writer Parshu Pradhan, has been conferred upon senior lyricist Kiran Kharel. At a special program organized by the Nepal Srijana Samaj in Kathmandu on Saturday, Chief Guest and senior critic Prof. Dr. Dayaram Shrestha presented the letter of honor to lyricist Kiran Kharel. Along with the honor, a cash prize of NPR 111,111 was also awarded.

Chief Guest Prof. Dr. Shrestha congratulated lyricist Kharel and discussed the fiction writing of the late Pradhan. He emphasized the need for a re-evaluation of Pradhan's stories. He stated, "Have the critics truly reviewed Parshu Pradhan's stories correctly? In my opinion, they have not. Therefore, his stories must now be reviewed and evaluated with a new perspective."

Chief Guest Dr. Shrestha mentioned that he had written a 35-page long preface for one of Pradhan's story collections, saying, "I read that preface a few days ago. After reading it, I felt that I had not been able to evaluate Parshu Pradhan's stories properly." He noted that he was 40 years old when writing the preface and now, having passed the age of 80, his perspective has also changed due to age. He discussed two of Pradhan's stories. He said, "I will attempt to write something on the topic of 'Parshu Pradhan's Stories and their Aesthetics'."

Speaking about the veteran lyricist Kharel, lyricist Raman Ghimire stated that song creation is Kiran Kharel's only 'addiction,' noting that despite achieving higher education, he remained continuously engaged in song creation instead of pursuing other professions. Ghimire described Kharel, who is also a skilled announcer, as a college of Nepali song creation. Ghimire said, "Song composition is like chewing iron chips. He has not only explored love and romance in songs but also experimented with new forms. Rebellion can also be found in his songs."

Ghimire highlighted Kharel's four-time win of the Best Lyricist award in the Radio Nepal song competition, discussing his modern songs and film songs, concluding that Kiran Kharel is an indispensable artisan of songs.

At the event, litterateur Shailendra Sakar shared some memories with his elder brother Parshu Pradhan. Discussing the relationship between Kiran Kharel and Parshu Pradhan, he said, "Kiran Dai was instrumental in helping broadcast my brother's stories as musical narratives on Radio Nepal."

Sakar mentioned that Kedarman Byathit, Daulat Bikram Bista, and Poshan Pandey were inspirations for the advancement of Pradhan's fiction writing.

Lyricist Dinesh Adhikari praised veteran lyricist Kharel, stating that Kharel deserves the credit for bringing Nepali songs to their current height today. Adhikari also spoke about his relationship with the fiction writer Pradhan. Pratik Pradhan, Editor-in-Chief of Baahrakhari, stated that he and his three siblings established this award in memory of their father. Pradhan said, "The contribution of our father's literary creation is what brought us to this stage. Our father's life was driven by his literary creation, and our lives followed suit. We learned from our father that litterateurs are the gems of society."