Krishnahari Baral - Biography

Biography

Krishnahari Baral was born in a middle-class family on 4 January 1954 in Hatpate, Sindhuli, Nepal. He spent most of his early childhood in the same village and near the bank of Kamala River. 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 started writing lyrical poem when he was in grade five. Unfortunately, there were no publications of any kind in the village at the time.

There was no High School in the village at that time. So, he moved 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 different from his village. Here, he was exposed to Hindi movies, which usually contained excellent songs with melodious tunes and great lyrics. In 1973 A.D., he published his two lyrics for the first time in Usha magazine.

After completing undergraduate studies in Janakpur, he moved to Kathmandu in 1977 A.D. The same 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. 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. He completed Masters Degree and Phd in Nepali from Tribhuwan University. Currently he is a professor of Nepali literature at Central Department of Nepali, Tribhuwan University.

He has written books of linguistics, collection of lyric poetry, and literary criticism. He has co-written course books on Nepali from grade one to masters Level also. He published many 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.

Dr. Baral is also one of the most popular lyricists and songwriters of Nepal. 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) during his youth. He even wrote a letter to the program which was broadcast on air. Later in a meeting, it was them who suggested him that he should write lyrics. He did so and there was no looking back. Until now, he has written many lyrics and almost 400 of those have been recorded. He has contributed many solo albums, numerous published songs, and two song collections. 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 song writing, 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. 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).