 In
addition to being one of the foremost scholars of folk culture in Nepal,
Dr. Ram Dayal Rakesh has accomplished a great achievement in the comparative
study of literature. While engaged in research and teaching at Tribhuvan
University, Nepal's preeminent educational institution, he has confronted
the problems facing Nepalese society through the field research, and actively
worked to improve them.
Dr. Rakesh's birthplace
is the Mithila region, which lies between central Nepal and the Indian
state of Bihar. This region is viewed in two different ways. On the one
hand, Mithila is viewed by the Nepalese state, centered in the Kathmandu
Basin, as a peripheral area, despite its long and brilliant history. On
the other hand, it is a spiritual center when viewed from the perspective
of the Hinduism in South Asia. Dr. Rakesh's own educational background
reflects the dual nature of his birthplace, as he also studied English
at Bihar University in India and was awarded a master's degree for his
study of Hindi literature at Tribhuvan University. Later, he was awarded
a Ph.D. from the University of Delhi in India for his comparative study
of contemporary Hindi and Nepalese poetry. Thus, he has established an
identity as a literary scholar while moving across contemporary national
boundaries and fields of specialty. He also has assiduously conducted
research into folk literature, and is a pioneer in this field in Nepal.
Janakpur, the central
city of the Mithila area, was the birthplace of Sita, wife of Rama, in
the epic poem "The Ramayana". While traditional Brahman rituals
remain strongly rooted there, the region's unique Maithili-language literature
and the folk art that is handed down from mother to daughter through successive
generations are still a part of daily life.
Dr. Rakesh has studied
the rich folk culture of this area from its literature, folk tales and
songs, and essentials of daily life, including food, clothing, and shelter,
to its annual festivals and events, ceremonies, and rituals, and explained
them to the world through his books. Many have learned about Nepalese
culture and visited Nepal because of these works.
At first, Mithila art
was known only for its unique style and creations, but it was largely
through Dr. Rakesh's work that people have understood the underlying culture
and society that gave birth to the unique art. During that process, he
became intensely aware of the severity of the problems faced by the women
of the region, who are the people responsible for transmitting this artistic
culture. The Mithila region has a particularly strong bias against women,
even for the male-centered Hindu society as a whole. In 1999, he was recommended
for membership in the Royal Nepal Academy, and also founded the Maithili
Women Empowerment Centre, an NGO whose objective is to promote the economic
and social independence of the women of Mithila.
In addition to his
noteworthy achievements in folk culture study, the region's literary and
cultural legacy, he has focused on contemporary problems and worked as
an active intellectual to deal with them. For these activities, Dr. Rakesh
is unquestionably worthy of the Academic Prize of the Fukuoka Asian Culture
Prizes. |
