Secular Aesthetics in Bhutanese-Nepali Poems
Dr. Tara Lal Shrestha
This research attempts to explore secular aesthetics reflected in Punarwaspachhika Bhutani Nepali Kavita (Post-Resettlement Bhutanese Nepali Poems), an anthology of Nepali poems representing post-resettlement Bhutanese-Nepali literature published by Nepal Academy in 2022. Religion is still a dominant aspect of the everyday politico-cultural life. It has been more than three decades the people of Bhutan were evicted and made refugees. Majority of those are now resettled in the Global North countries. Their call for human rights, equality and democracy echoed from exile since 1990. But finding secular aesthetics in Bhutanese-Nepali literature is very rare. This qualitative research primarily explores secular aesthetics in the post-resettlement Bhutanese Nepali representative poems. The anthology Punarwaspachhika Bhutani Nepali Kavita has been assessed from the notion of hegemony and counter-hegemony. And this research analyses historicity of the selected post-resettlement Bhutanese Nepali poems with an aim how this text exists (or fails to act) in the counter-hegemonic actions.
[This is a journal article published in The Bhutan Journal – Editor]