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Chhanda Diwas

National rhyme day of Nepal (Rastriya Chhanda Diwas)
Background of Rastriya Chhanda Diwas
Rhyme Day is being celebrated today by programs related to the conservation of rhymes and their usage in the poetry genre of literature. Expressing concern over the declining use of rhymer verses in poetry literature, poet Madhav Viyogi commenced national rhyme day on 20th April 1996 as a campaign of protecting rhyme (Chanda Bachau Aviyana.) Chhanda is the Nepali and Sanskrit translation of rhyme. The verse is mentioned in the Rig Veda. Regulation of prose writing is done by grammar while the regulator of poetry is rhythm.

Later Nepal Panchanga Nirnayak Samiti also accredited this day as national rhyme day. Panchanga Nirnayak Samiti is the government authority to decide festivals, dates and approve festival calendars in Nepal. Various literary events are organized on the occasion of Chhanda Day by reciting rhymed poems on most of the country's literary platforms. This day is celebrated to protect the poetic culture in literature and highlight the style of poetry.

Importance of rhymes in poetry
Rhyming is an important element of poetry because it adds a musical quality to the language and helps to create a sense of rhythm and unity within the poem. It can also make the poem more memorable and easier to recite, as well as enhancing its emotional impact on the reader or listener.

Rhyming can take many forms in poetry, including end rhymes (where the last words in two or more lines rhyme), internal rhymes (where words within a line rhyme with each other), and slant rhymes (where the words have similar sounds but are not exact matches).

Some poets use rhyme more extensively than others, but it can be an effective tool for creating a certain mood or atmosphere in a poem. For example, the use of perfect rhymes (where the rhyming words are exact matches in sound and spelling) can create a sense of stability and order, while the use of slant rhymes can create a more subtle, nuanced effect.

Ultimately, the importance of rhyming in poetry depends on the individual poet and the specific poem they are creating. Some poets may choose to use rhyme sparingly or not at all, while others may rely heavily on it to create a certain effect or mood.

Whenever poetry combines volume or number of characters, punctuation, motion, rhythm, the rhythmic composition is created. Chhanda is also called Padhya and Brita. The composed balance of vowel and consonant brings a pure rhyme in poetry, in this aspect rhyme is an accumulation of sounds. Reciter slows or increases their sounds and manages their rhymes of poetry aligned with the words of poems and their feelings. Rhymes have the power of mesmerizing listeners and give them several opportunities to dwelling inside the open sky of imagination. Contemporary poetry has an increasing trend of decreasing rhymes which is deviating it from the true sense of poetry. Writing in chhanda is not an easy task, one who must write poems must surrender themselves to poetry and words. This day also alarms every poet and creators to have adequate knowledge of words, articulation, and comprehension. It's indeed very challenging to write poems under its preset rules and science, eastern literature defines specific laws into every aspect of creation and expression.

Every poet should live their poems and every poem should be a reflection of their creator and audiences, merely gathering words is not poetry as there should be rules, science, and a stream of feelings that connects everyone.

Meaningful chhanda diwas.

-Suyog Dhakal