| Bairagi Kainla | |
| Native Name: | |
| Birth Name: | Til Bikram Nembang Limbu |
| Birth Date: | 9 August 1939 |
| Birth Place: | Pauwa Sartap, Panchthar, Nepal |
| Nationality: | Nepalese |
| Education: | Bachelor of Arts |
| Alma Mater: | Calcutta University |
| Occupation: | Poet, Former Chancellor of Nepal Academy |
| Movement: | Tesro Aayam |
| Spouse: | Dev Kumari Nembang Limbu |
| Children: | 1 daughter |
| Parents: | Kharga Bahadur Nembang Limbu (Father) Saraswati Nembang Limbu (Mother) |
| Relatives: | 7 brothers, 6 sisters |
| Awards: | Sajha Puraskar Jagadamba Shree Puraskar |
Til Bikram Nembang Limbu, professionally known as Bairagi Kainla or Bairagi Kaila, is a Nepalese poet and litterateur.[1] [2] [3] He has served as Chancellor of the Nepal Academy from 2009 (2066 BS) to 2013 (2070 BS).[4] Part of his significant literary struggle was the Tesro Aayam (Third Dimension) movement. During the early 1960s, he, along with Ishwor Ballav and Indra Bahadur Rai, searched unexplored realms of Nepali literature and added a new dimension – the third dimension – to Nepalese literature.[5]
He is currently working in the field of Folklore of Limbu ethnic people of Eastern Nepal. He is also working to promote the culture, language and literature of the minor communities, nationalities and indigenous people of Nepal. Bairagi Kainla was nominated as a member of the Royal Nepal Academy in 1990.
Bairagi Kainla was born in 1939 and learnt his first letters at home. He was taught by local teachers. He lived in a joint family and his father had six wives. Kainla's father was quite ahead of his times. He was liberal enough to send him to study Science in Darjeeling. But more than formal studies, Kainla became busy in literary programmes.
In Darjeeling, Kainla met Indra Bahadur Rai and Ishwar Ballav in college whose encouragement became pivotal in shaping his poet-personality. These trio's incessant debates on writing incited the publishing of their magazine titled Phool Paat Patkar where they published poetry, essays and short stories.[6]
Born in joint family, Kainla grew up with eight brothers and six sisters. Always having someone around him was the best part of having grown up in big family, Kainla remembers. He also remembers that the sad part of big family was that the women in the family had to wake up around four o'clock in the morning and start their daily chores.
He recalls that his father was among the first of Limbu to emphasize education and he had sent his children far away from home for further studies. His father had also published the first Limbu lyrical poetry Kirat Mikhan Samlo (Kirat Jagaran Geet) which was later transliterated to Devanagari by Kainla in 2038 BS.[7]
In conversation with Para Limbu, Chairperson of Spiny Babbler, he said,
He studied Science and completed Intermediate of Science (ISc) from Darjeeling Government College affiliated to Calcutta University.
Bairagi Kainla's poetical works began since the early 1960s while he was a young student in Darjeeling. During the time, hand written magazines were popular as printing was costly. Kainla published lot of his work in them.[7]
Kainla met Indra Bahadur Rai and Ishwor Ballav in college in Darjeeling, whose encouragement became pivotal in shaping his poet-personality. Their incessant debates on writing incited the publishing of their magazine Phool Paat Patkar with their pocket money where they published poetry, essays and short stories.[6]
Kainla formed a trio with Indra Bahadur Rai and Ishwor Ballav who came like a thunder with new literary trend and a powerful movement called Tesro Aayam (The Third Dimension). In 1963 AD, Kainla, Rai and Ballav first experimented with Tesro Aayam writing.[8] They started the Aayameli movement from Darjeeling with the publication of a journal titled Tesro Aayam triggering a theoretical jolt in Nepali literature at the time.[6]
Kainla did not write much, whatever he wrote he did most powerfully. He hails from Limbu community of eastern Nepal. He uses local myths and lore in his poetry leading to a diversion in traditional writing. Kainla's poetry is the song of freedom. He is a great freedom-fighter and participated actively in different movements. Deep undertone of love and revolt can be heard in his work. His poems of Bairagi kainlakaa Kavitaharu contains some masterpieces in Nepali.[8]
Kainla served as a Chancellor of Nepal Academy from 2066 BS to 2070 BS.