ITAHARI: ''The sand is going to envelope our eatables,'' said poet Bhupeen Khadka, who hails from Chitwan. ''No worries. This sand is organic,'' chuckled poet Dewan Kirati, who is from Itahari.

Such exciting talks went through all the day during recently held bushcraft at the riverbank of Koshi river, Nepal's biggest river on 16 Falgun (February 28).

Together with poet duo Khadka and Kirati, poet from Hetauda Nimesh Nikhil and one-time poet Umesh Bhandari from Dharan were among the bards present to celebrate their first-of-its-king bushcraft at Koshi riverbank. Nature guide Bimal Timsina and a published novelist Yogendra Bhattarai were other member of this brshcraft band.

They sailed the eastern flank of the Koshi river via manual boating and reached the island called Srilanka Tappu, which is surrounded by Koshi river. At the Srilanka Tappu, they camped, created a bonfire and cooked a day meal using the stone stand. They swam in the Koshi, sunbathed at the sandy riverbank, and watched the flying and swimming birds.

Before the break of dusk, they came back to Itahari. The necessary skill to survive at the purely natural environment away from the hustle and bustle of the human settlements is what many term bushcraft, said poet Bhupeen Khadka, who started bushcraft from Salleri of Baglung district in November 2020.

Since then, he has enjoyed bushcraft at different locations which include Narayani riverbank, Kaligandaki riverbank, Rapati riverbank, among others. He uploads his bushcraft videos at his YouTube account ''Bhupeen Khadka'' with titles 'Outdoor poet'. Bhupeen is the first Nepali poet to pioneer bushcraft.

''It has not been long'', said Bhupeen while speaking during his Koshi riverbank bushcraft, ''But, I am so excited to enjoy bushcraft. This is very exciting and adventurous at the same time''. He said bushcraft gives traditional skill and natural setting to spend some quality time close to nature and natural wonders. ''As Nepal is a magnet of natural wonders, this land is all-time favorite place for all those who want bushcraft from across the planet'', said the popular Nepali poet who has published five literary volumes so far. -RSS