Bhutanese and Nepalese community in Adelaide, Australia celebrated the 102 birth anniversary of great Nepali poet Laxmi Prasad Devkota amidst a special function on Saturday.

At the beginning of the function, the participants observed silence for a minute in memory of Druk National Congress president Rongthong Kunley Dorji and prayed for the peace of departed soul. Dorji died recently in Sikkim due to liver ailments.

The function was jointly organised by International Nepali Literary Society (INLS) Australia chapter and Bhutanese Association in South Australia (BASA). The organisations had come together in Bhanu Jayanti to organise literary function earlier this year.

According to Bhuwan Sharma, INLS-Australia chapter president, the function has been organised in advance considering the tight working and studying schedules of the Nepali speaking community here.

Over a dozen personal poems were recited. They range from politics to satire and love to nature. Participants also recited Devkota’s poems including Pagal (Lunatic) and Muna Mada, the most popular creation of Devkota. They also sang Devkota’s poem Kun Mandirma Janchau Yatri. Participants were awarded certificate of their participation.

Nepalese businessman in Adelaide and INLS founding chairman Deepak Bista expressed satisfaction over joint initiatives of Bhutanese and Nepalese community in Adelaide to keep Nepali literature alive in Diaspora. BASA chairperson Jogen Gazmere expressed hope to organise more literary and culture functions in future with joint efforts of the two communities and thanked Sagarmatha Restaurant and Anil Ranabhat for sponsorship of the function.