Muna Madan
" मनिस ठुलो दिले हुन्छ, जातले हुँदैन ।"
The rhymes of Muna Madan are song by many famous singers. Laxmi loved Muna Madan the most. Before his death once he mentioned " you can burn all my works but Never Burn My Muna Madan".
Mahakavi gave local folk rhymes to the flavor of Muna Madan. Muna Madam was first publish on BS 1996, which was 1939 AD. After 70 years of first publication, it is as popular as it was at the time of first publication.
Muna Madan is a story of a Nepali man who goes to foreign land in search of work leaving home his old mother and his loving wife. He becomes very ill on the way back home. His friends leave him in the middle of the forest and walk towards their destination. They reach home and convey false message of Madan's death on the way back home.
However, a man comes to Madan's rescue and saves his life. The man happens to be from different caste (under old caste system on those days). Madan happens to be from a upper caste, he would even not drink water touched by that man. However, because the man takes care of Madan and takes him out of the mouth of death. Madan bow on him and touched his feet as respect. Madan then realize man becomes great from the heart and not from the race and ethnicity or caste.
There Laxmi writes " मनिस ठुलो दिले हुन्छ, जातले हुँदैन ।" - Meaning - "Man becomes great by his heart not by his caste". This is the best moral of the Muna Madan which is quoted in almost all article which mention the ill effect of caste system in Nepal.
Muna when hear the news of Madan's death, she dies in despair.
This is the story of each Nepali from hundreds of years. Because of poverty, now also we are working in foreign lands leaving our family behind at home. We are working thousands of miles away from our home to give our family a good food, shelter and better life ahead. The story of Muna Madan is repeating itself each day in our life somewhere with a Nepali.