Tirtha Shrestha's poetic journey began when he published his poem for the first time at a school wall-magazine at the age of 13. His popular poems include ‘Prajatantra’, ‘Singha Durbar’, ‘Hiuma  lekhieyaka namharu’, ‘Lahure fulma timro nam ferna chahanchu’, ‘Aama’. His poems are especially centered on the theme of patriotism. A four-decade-long journey in writing, he owns six volumes of poetry collection so far.

In conversation with My City’s Sonam Lama, Shrestha revealed the five things that many may not know about him.

Environmentalist
One of his regular routines at home includes gardening. Actively participating for social and environmental cause for the past few years, he takes pleasure in gardening at Bindhyabasini temple garden in Pokhara. He has grown about 65 types of flowers including some rare species in the region like Laligurans and Sita Ashok. 

Keen reader
He likes visiting book store and keeping an eye on newly arrived books in the market. Mostly preferring epics and the works of Nepali literature, he takes pleasure reading the works of Gopal Prasad Rimal, Haribhakta Katuwal, Kumar Nagarkoti, Nayan Raj Pandey among others. “I prefer buying books and enjoy close reading rather than reading online, I am currently reading ‘Ashtavakra Geeta’,” said Shrestha.

Fond of painting
Although he has never tried out his hands on experimenting colors, painting falls is his area of deep interest. Of all the genres, he is fond of semi abstract paintings that have the reflections of society and culture. Having attended myriads of painting workshops, he admires the works of Nepali artists Kiran Manandhar and Asmina Ranjit. 

Ardent hiker 
From setting out on an adventurous journey to Annapurna Base Camp and Lomanthang to relishing on the greener landscapes of Nepal, he takes pleasure to hike the rural places close to nature. He has recently hiked from Poon Hill to Ghandruk to Pokhara. For him, hiking is an opportunity to experience the world without actually having the need to travel across the globe. 

Classical music lover
He often listens to classical and instrumental music while driving or spending his time in solitude. Being an expert of words and diction, he believes that lyrics in a song composition play a powerful role to enchant its listener. “Listening to the songs and poems of Narayan Gopal and Harivansh Rai Bachchan is my all-time favorite thing to do,” he added.