Nepali Sahitya Sammelan, Darjeeling

Last updated

Nepali Sahitya Sammelan
नेपाली साहित्य सम्मेलन, दार्जिलिङ
Formation25 May 1924;98 years ago (1924-05-25)
PurposePreservation, promotion and uplifting of Nepali language
Headquarters Darjeeling, West Bengal, India
Location
Coordinates 27°02′32″N88°15′52″E / 27.042288301°N 88.26437°E / 27.042288301; 88.26437
Official language
Nepali

Nepali Sahitya Sammelan (Nepali : नेपाली साहित्य सम्मेलन, lit. 'Nepali Literature Conference') is an organisation dedicated to promotion of Nepali literature in India. It was formed on 25 May 1924 in Darjeeling, a Nepali speaking town in West Bengal state of India.

Contents

The organisation was awarded with Jagadamba Shree Puraskar for the year 2049 BS (1992-1993), for preservation, promotion and uplifting of Nepali language. [1] The organisation conducts various conferences, publish books and journals and works for the overall preservation of Nepali literature.

Formation

The organisation was formed on 25 May 1924 after a public assembly by eminent Nepali scholars Surya Bikram Gyawali, Dharanidhar Koirala, Parasmani Pradhan as well as other contemporaries. [2] A session was then held on 27 July 1924, outlining the objectives of the organisation.

On the completion of three year of the organisation, Parasmani Pradhan prepared a three-year report listing the history and activities of the organisation. According to the report, in the first three year of the organisation, there were eleven lifetime members and twenty two general members. General membership was provided to those who paid a fee of six rupees annually and lifetime membership of the Nepali Literature Conference was distributed to those who paid a sum of fifty rupees at once. The organisation had members from Nepal, the British India and the United Kingdom. Some of the non Nepali members of the organisation were Kalimpong scholar John Anderson Graham, Brigadier General Charles Granville Bruce of London, as well as Ralph Lilley Turner, professor of Sanskrit at the SOAS University of London. [3]

Objectives

The objectives of the organisation are given as:

  1. To promote and improve Nepali literature.
  2. To publish original and/or translated texts in Nepali language.
  3. To consider how Nepali literature can be promoted and improved by holding conventions in different places from time to time.
  4. To create love for Nepali literature among people by
    1. Publishing books periodically.
    2. Publishing monthly, fortnightly or weekly newspapers.
    3. Conducting debates and lectures periodically.
  5. To study different languages and literature of Nepal and to publish the best literature related to it.
  6. To study the ancient history, civilization etc. of Nepal and to publish books related to that.
  7. To explore the ancient literature of Nepali language.
  8. And try to improve the Nepali language by whatever means possible.

Activities

The organisation holds various conferences and literary meetings occasionally. The organisation also organises Bhanu Jayanti, the birth anniversary of Bhanubhakta Acharya, on 13 July every year in Darjeeling with huge fervour. [4]

The organisation installed a bust of Bhanubhakta on 17 June 1949 in the main square of Darjeeling. The installation was one of the first and led to a series of Bhanubhakta's bust and statues being installed all over various parts of Nepal and India. The bust was sculpted by a Norwegian sculptor. The original bust was beheaded on 10 July 1992 by the anti–Gorkhaland faction. A life size statue was then installed in the same place on 13 July 1996 (29 Asar 2053 BS). [5]

The organisation also present various literary awards every year.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bhanubhakta Acharya</span> Nepalese poet (1814- 1868)

Bhanubhakta Acharya was a Nepali writer, poet, and translator. He is widely regarded as the first poet in the Nepali language, for which he was conferred with the title of "Aadikabi": literally, "the first poet".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nepali literature</span> Literature of Nepali language

Nepali literature refers to literature written in the Nepali language. The Nepali language has been the national language of Nepal since 1958.

Nepalese literature is the literature of Nepal. This is distinct from Nepali literature, which is the literature in only Nepali language. The major literary languages of Nepal are:

PanditKavirajNara Nath Acharya (1906–1988) was a Nepalese Pandit, Kaviraj and writer of Sanskrit and Nepali language. He is best known for his biography of the poet Bhanubhakta Acharya, first published in 1960. He was a grand nephew of Bhanubhakta Acharya.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Motiram Bhatta</span> Nepalese poet (1866–1896)

Motiram Bhatta (1866–1896) was a Nepalese poet, singer, essayist, publisher, literary critic and biographer. He is considered the first biographer and literary critic of Nepali literature and is credited for starting the first private printing press in Nepal in c. 1888. He also introduced the Ghazal style of poetry and singing in Nepal. Bhatta was a polyglot and alongside Nepali, he had studied in Sanskrit, Persian, English and was also proficient in Bengali, Urdu and Nepal Bhasa.

Ganga Prasad Pradhan was born on July 4, 1851 in Kathmandu and was the first ordained Nepali Christian pastor, main translator of the Nepali Bible, co-author of an English-Nepali dictionary and author of children's textbooks.

Jagadamba Shree Puraskar is an award given for contribution to Nepali Language, Literature, Art and Folk Culture Field. It is awarded to a person or an organization who has contributed in the field of Nepali language, literature, art or folk culture fields.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vishnu Raj Atreya</span> Nepalese writer (1944–2020)

Vishnu Raj Atreya was a Nepali writer and poet, who wrote in Nepali language, Sanskrit language and Awadhi language. He used the title Latosaathi in his poetry works since 1963 A.D. He is considered to be the first person to start writing Haiku in Sanskrit language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shiva Kumar Rai</span> Indian writer of Nepali language

Shiva Kumar Rai (1919-1995) was a Nepali language writer and politician from Darjeeling, India. He won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1978 for his collection of short stories Khaharey. He was the first Gorkha minister in the state of West Bengal after becoming a deputy minister in 1952.

Kumar Pradhan was an Indian historian and writer whose research interests include the History of the Eastern Himalayas, Genealogical studies and the Nepali literature. Pradhan has also edited and written a number of literary journals and anthologies and published learned articles in Nepali. He was the chief editor of Sunchari Samachar and other prominent Nepali newspapers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nepali language</span> Indo-Aryan Language

Nepali is an Indo-Aryan language native to the Himalayas region of South Asia. It is the official, and most widely spoken, language of Nepal, where it also serves as a lingua franca. Nepali has official status in the Indian state of Sikkim and in the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration of West Bengal. It is spoken by about a quarter of Bhutan's population. Nepali also has a significant number of speakers in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Uttarakhand. In Myanmar it is spoken by the Burmese Gurkhas. The Nepali diaspora in the Middle East, Brunei, Australia and worldwide also use the language. Nepali is spoken by approximately 16 million native speakers and another 9 million as a second language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dev Kumari Thapa</span> Indian Nepali writer

Dev Kumari Thapa was an Indian Nepali-language writer, who mainly wrote stories.

<i>Bhanubhakta Ramayana</i> Nepali translation of Ramayana

Bhanubhakta Ramayana, commonly known as Ramayan, is the Nepali translation of Valmiki Ramayana by Adikavi Bhanubhakta Acharya. It was posthumously published in its complete form in 1887. It is widely considered to be the first Nepali epic. The prose style of the epic has been termed Bhanubhaktiya Laya since it was completely original in Nepali literature, being the first work. Due to this distinction, the author, poet Bhanubhakta Acharya is known as Adikavi in Nepal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dharanidhar Koirala</span> Nepali poet (1893–1980)

Dharanidhar Koirala was a Nepali poet sometimes known as Pandit-ji.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Surya Bikram Gyawali</span> Nepali historian

Surya Bikram Gyawali was a Nepali historian. He wrote biographies for numerous people including King Prithvi Narayan Shah and writer Bhanubhakta Acharya. Gyawali also served as a head teacher in Darjeeling. He is also a recipient of the Order of Gorkha Dakshina Bahu, the Order of Tri Shakti Patta, and the Tribhuvan Puraskar (1971).

Hridaya Chandra Singh Pradhan was a poet, writer and social worker of Nepal. He wrote against the ill customs and corruptions against the Rana regime.

Sharda was a monthly Nepali literary magazine from Nepal. It was one of the most popular and renowned literary magazine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parasmani Pradhan</span> Indian Nepali-language writer (1898–1986)

Parasmani Pradhan was an Indian Nepali-language writer, poet, translator, grammarian, educator and publisher. He published multiple Nepali language textbooks and played an important role in shaping the modern Nepali grammar. He was one of the key figures who contributed in establishing Nepali as one of the official language of India.

<i>Bir Charitra</i> First Nepali language novel

Bir Charitra is a Nepali fantasy novel written by Girish Ballabh Joshi. The first part of the novel was written in c. 1899 and was published in 1903 by Pashupat Press but soon the Rana government restricted the publication of other volumes. The complete all four parts of the novel was published only in 1965 by Jagadamba Press. It is considered to be the first novel of Nepali literature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rudra Raj Pande</span> Nepali educator and writer (1901–1987)

Sardar Rudra Raj Pande (1901–1987) was a Nepali educator, writer and historian. He served as the Headmaster of Durbar High School from 1925 to 1938, the Headmaster of Tri-Chandra College from 1938 to 1951 and the Vice Chancellor of Tribhuvan University from 1964 to 1969. He wrote multiple novels including Rupamati, which is considered as one of the earliest novels written in Nepali language. He also played an active role in establishing SLC examination board and Department of Archaeology.

References

  1. "नेपाली साहित्य सम्मेलन, दार्जीलिङ – मदन पुरस्कार गुठी". guthi.madanpuraskar.org. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  2. Paudyal, Nabin. "नेपाली साहित्य सम्मेलन, दार्जिलिङ: अब शताब्दीको यात्रातिर | नवीन पौड्याल". Samakalin Sahitya (in Nepali). Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  3. Khaderi, Santosh. "नेपाली साहित्य सम्मेलनका तीन वर्ष (१९२४-२७): सन्तोष खडेरी". Shilapatra (in Nepali). Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  4. चापागाईं, भीम. "भानुजयन्ती मनाउन राष्ट्रपति मुखर्जी दार्जिलिङ आउँदै". nagariknews.nagariknetwork.com (in Nepali). Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  5. "गोर्खाल्यान्डमा भानुको सम्झना". Annapurna Post (in Nepali). Retrieved 3 March 2023.