Sunakhari-The Pioneering Nepali Literary Journal of Sikkim...

Sunakhari is one of the pioneering Nepali literary journals of Sikkim. A contemporary of Kanchenjungha, the earliest news based journal of the previous Himalayan Kingdom of Sikkim, Sunakhari has played an imperative part for the endorsement of the literary ideas among the Sikkimese masses. The journal was started in 1957 by the earliest Nepali Literary Association of Sikkim, Apatan Sahitya Parishad, Gangtok. The picture pasted with this post is of Sunakhari which was published on the special eve of Bhanu Jayanti on 13^th July 1958 (B.S 2015). Published by the very famous Apatan Sahitya Parishad, the front page of this issue is all about the introduction of Apatan Sahitya Parishad the first Nepali Literary Association of Sikkim. Published through typewriter, this issue of Sunakhari has given detail information about the various literary figures of then Sikkim with their portfolios in the Literary Association.
According to the report of this issue, the late Rai Saheb Hari Prasad Pradhan (M.A. L.L.B) was elected as the first President of the Apatan Sahitya Parishad. Further, through this issue of Sunakhari, the Apatan Sahitya Parishad has express gratitude to the eminent Nepali writers of Nepal like Bal Krishna Sama, Lakshmi Prasad Devkota, Mahananda Sapkota, Tara Chandra Sharma, Narayan Upadhyay, Shiva Kumar Rai (A Sikkimese by birth, latter settled in Darjeeling) and to Dev Kumari Sinha. The most interesting facet of the publication is that on every issue of Sunakhari the word Sikkim is written as Suk-kim.
(Picture Above Sunakhari  published on 13th July 1958 from Gangtok)

First Nepali literary meet of Sikkim...

The growth in the awareness about the Nepali literature in India was undoubtedly pioneered by the Nepalese of Darjeeling. People of that expanse got enlightened about their language and literature due to their propinquity to the British. Sikkim was thence in a nap which was a sleep of illiteracy and unawareness. Very few of the Sikkimese were educated on the eve of the First World War and who belonged to the Super class and were not engrossed to make their subordinates aware about their literatures nor did they themselves had written anything. They were simply cramped in their revenue making practice. In such a state of affairs, to imagine a literary society was not less than a hallucination in the Sikkimese scenario. When Chandrika (A Nepali Newspaper edited and published by the jewel of Indian Nepali Literature lt. Paras Mani Pradhan) was widely circulated in the contiguous of Darjeeling, there were hardly a small amount of people in Sikkim who could write their names in their language. Though, the establishment of educational institutes was taken place in the first decade of the 20^th century, but they were unable to produce the literary minds with their out dated theological syllabus. It was only after the arrival of Lt. Rashmi Prasad Alley to Sikkim the system of imparting education in Nepali language was started. The vigorous attempts of Lt. Alley are unforgettable and would be considered the same by every Sikkimese ceaselessly.

The credit for the prologue of the Nepali language in the Sikkimese schools goes to the then Maharaja Tashi Namgyal who allowed to approve Nepali as a language for the idea of giving out education to his Nepali subjects. With the introduction of Nepali as a vernacular language in the educational institutes, Sikkim had contributed lots in the Nepali Literary world. Many radical and rational writers were born in Sikkim among them the writers of the APATAN literary society are of importance. The Apatan Sahitya Parishad is the pioneer literary association of Sikkim founded by four eminent Sikkimese Nepali poets namely Agam Singh Tamang, Padam Singh Subba, Tulshi Bahadur Chettri and Nima Wangdi Lepcha. They had a cry in their writings a legitimate cry against the crooked practices customary in the society like landlordism and its associated vices.

Under the inventiveness of the APATAN literary society, the first literary meet was organized at White Hall Gangtok on 18^th and 19^th of November 1952. The important literary figures who were present in that meet were Kavi Siromani Lekh Nath Poudyal, Lt. Rashmi Prasad Alley, Bal Krishna Sama, Padam Singh Subba Apatan, Tulshi Bahadur Chettri Apatan, Lt. Kashi Raj Pradhan and among them the figure of great importance was Mahakavi Lakshmi Prasad Devkota. The conclusion of the first literary meet had a far reaching impact in the Sikkimese literature in general and the Nepali literature in particular. The essential accomplishment of the meet was the publication of the first news based journal of Sikkim Kanchanjunga from 15^th of August 1957. The Newspaper was edited and published by Lt. Kashi Raj Pradhan which had played an imperative ingredient in heralding a new epoch of democracy in Sikkim. 

(In the picture tall man in suit is Rashmi Prasad Alley, left to him in black suit is Kavi Tulshi Bahadur Chettri Apatan, Right to Alley is Bal Krishna Sama, next to Sama tall man in Nepali attire is Padam Singh Subba Apatan, the last man on the row in a black coat is Kavi Siromani Lekh Nath Poudyal)
Muna Madan: A Play in the Jhyaure Folk Tradition

Mahakavi Laxmi Prasad Devkota at Gangtok.....

Lakshmi Prasad Devkota is regarded as the propounding father of romanticism in the Nepali literature. Devkota was deeply influenced by the writings of William Wordsworth, P.B. Shelley, Byron and John Keats. He is the pioneer of modernity or modernism in Nepali literature, especially in essays and poetry, and he is also regarded as 'Anshu Kavi'(spontaneous poet). He could write poems in a spontaneous manner and even while signing autographs for his fans, he used to write a poem before putting his signature. Devkota’s poetry depicts the romantic characteristics like humanism, metaphysical relationships, aesthetic values, past glories, praise of nature etc. Apart from romantic writings, he wrote some potent revolutionary poems possibly under the impact of P.B.Shelley.

The  masterpiece which renders him the loftiest position in Nepali Literature is his 'Muna-Madan'  in which he tried to depict the deplorable economic condition of Nepal in the most celebrated characters of two youths  Muna- a Nepali village girl and Madan- a Nepali peasant. The short epic can be compared to 'Romeo and Juliet' of William Shakespeare in the context of love and emotion 'Muna-Madan' is written in Jhyaurey prosody, the typical Nepali folk lore. This work of Devkota has been translated into several languages like German, French, English, Russian, Hindi, Japanese, Chinese etc. and it has gained same popularity as it gained in the Nepali literary world. 

The glorious Nepali poet had once visited the Demasong Valley. He was invited here by the APATAN Sahitya Parishad in November 1952. The Apatan Sahitya Parishad is the pioneer literary association of Sikkim founded by four eminent Sikkimese Nepali poets namely Agam Singh Tamang, Padam Singh Subba, Tulshi Bahadur Chettri and Nima Wangdi Lepcha. This Association has contributed a lot for the propagation of literary ideas among the Sikkimese society. He was felicitated at White Hall, Gangtok on November 15^th 1952, where Lt. Kashi Raj Pradhan made an introductory speech about Devkota and Padam Singh Subba read the Letter of Appreciation, which was presented to him. The then Sikkim Maharaja Tashi Namgyal roared in laughter when Devkota recited an English poem in Vedic prosody. His Majesty, the Maharaja of Sikkim Sir Tashi Namgyal was splendidly hailed by Mahakavi Lakshmi Prasad Devkota in a poem which reads like the following:

Hail! Glorious ruler of this mount in state, 

Sikkim, the paradise of peaceful peaceful hills,

This lively sweet abode of angels, great,

Great in thy name. Thy well known bounty fills

With plenty of thy kingdom. Stainless soul,

Deeply devoted to the God that thrills

Thy inmost depth, thou findest him all whole

Thy own angelic subjects in their wills

Amassed forever in love to their great good

Selflessly hast thou lived, the Buddha life

In thy keen veins where human love must brood 

And multiply, rich and intense to thrive

Thy teeming millions to whom a holy shire

Thou dost with sense of human sacrifice aye in spire.

(The tall man in a coat in the middle of the row is Lt. Rashmi Prasad Alley, to his right Mahakavi Lakshmi Prasad Devkota, Right to Devkota is Padam Singh Subba of  'Apatan' literary association of Sikkim, to the left side of Alley, is Bal Krishna Sama a legendary figure of Nepali Language. The picture was taken at the palace corridor Gangtok in November 1952)

Laxmi Prasad Devkota got enchanted by his visit to Sikkim

Laxmi Prasad Devkota (12th November1909 – September 14th 1959), was an eminent Nepali poet. He is arguably the best writer in the Nepali Language. Devkota was the third son of Pandit Tila Madhav and Amar Rajya Laxmi Devi. He was born at Thatunati (now Dhobidhara), Kathmandu on the day Laxmi Puja, the Festival of Lights, which is a celebration of Wisdom and Wealth. He showed poetic genius from a very tender age by Starting poetic career at the age of 10 with the writing of his first poem: -


“Ghanghor Dukhasagar Sansar Jaana Bhai, Nagarey Ghamanda Kahiley Marnu Cha Hamilai”.

Which reads like...

“Brother, this world's a great sea of tribulations.

We all have to die. Be not arrogant."

He is regarded as the propounding father of romanticism in the Nepali literature. Devkota was deeply influenced by the writings of William Wordsworth, P.B. Shelley, Byron and John Keats. He is the pioneer of modernity or modernism in Nepali literature, especially in essays and poetry, and he is also regarded as 'Anshu Kavi'(spontaneous poet). He could write poems in a spontaneous manner and even while signing  autographs for his fans, he used to write a poem before putting his signature. His poetry depicts the romantic characteristics like humanism, metaphysical relationships, aesthetic values, past glories, praise of nature etc. Apart from romantic writings, he wrote some potent revolutionary poems possibly under the impact of P.B.Shelley.

Devkota is also credited with the innovations of native Nepali vocabulary. He not only had a deep vision of literature, but  was also well versed in theology, philosophy, history and in all inter-disciplinary genres. Devkota is the first Nepali epic writer showing individuality in Nepali literature and the first ever epic of Nepali language is his Sakuntal. In connection with his 'Sakuntal,' his views were immensely critical. He said   –“To date  an epic in Nepali literature before the publication of Sakuntal is utterly resembling to the task of finding a snake in the ice land”.

The  masterpiece which renders him the loftiest position in Nepali Literature is his 'Muna-Madan'  in which he tried to portray the deplorable economic condition of Nepal in the most celebrated characters of two youths  Muna- a Nepali village girl and Madan- a Nepali peasant. The short epic can be compared to 'Romeo and Juliet' of William Shakespeare in the context of love and emotion . 'Muna-Madan' is written in Jhyaurey prosody, the typical Nepali folk lore. This work of Devkota has been translated into several languages like German, French, English, Russian, Hindi, Japanese, Chinese etc. and it has gained same popularity as it gained in the Nepali literary world.

He was indeed a genius who contributed towards the Nepali literature with many of unforgettable creations  like Pramithas, Maharana Pratap etc. Devkota has written in every genre of literature like poems, stories, and essays. A poet who could write a poem instantly, a charming orator, Devkota really was  a glorious wonder and the conferring upon him with the title 'Electric Poet' by the Nepali poet of Darjeeling Lt. Paras Mani Pradhan is, in real  terms, a great tribute to the diceased poet.

He had once served as an Education Minister in the Nepal’s Royal Cabinet headed by K Y Singh under His Majesty King Tribhuwan Bir Vikram Sahadev. Apart from this, Devkota contributed with his alluring writings in the various fields of Nepali literature like essays, novels, epics, dramas, and criticism etc. But, he could not publish all these  in his life time due to his poor economic condition. Recently, his new short epic has been published and is named as “Mayabini Sarshi”. This great poet of Nepali literature breathed his last on September 14th 1959 at 6:10 P.M (Nepal Time) due to cancer.

This glorious Nepali poet had once visited Sikkim. He was invited here by the APATAN Sahitya Parishad in November 1952. The Apatan Sahitya Parishad is the pioneer literary association of Sikkim founded by four eminent Sikkimese Nepali poets namely Agam Singh Tamang, Padam Singh Subba, Tulshi Bahadur Chettri and Nima Wangdi Lepcha. This Association has contributed a lot for the propagation of literary ideas among the Sikkimese society. He was felicitated at White Hall, Gangtok where Lt. Kashi Raj Pradhan made an introductory speech about Devkota and Padam Singh Subba read the Letter of Appreciation, which was presented to him. The then Sikkim Maharaja Tashi Namgyal roared  in laughter when Devkota recited an English poem in Vedic prosody.

An impressive programme was organized by the APATAN Parishad to felicitate the visiting literary personality. The then Chogyal of Sikkim, Sir Tashi Namgyal was the Chief Guest of the occasion. On this occasion, dramas like Satya Harish Chandra, Taramati and Mukunda Indira were staged.  His Majesty, the Maharaja of Sikkim Sir Tashi Namgyal was splendidly hailed by Mahakavi Lakshmi Prasad Devkota in a poem which reads like the following:

Hail! Glorious ruler of this mount in state,

Sikkim, the paradise of peaceful peaceful hills,

This lively sweet abode of angels, great,

Great in thy name. Thy well known bounty fills

With plenty of thy kingdom. Stainless soul,

Deeply devoted to the God that thrills

Thy inmost depth, thou findest him all whole

Thy own angelic subjects in their wills

Amassed forever in love to their great good

Selflessly hast thou lived, the Buddha life

In thy keen veins where human love must brood

And multiply, rich and intense to thrive

Thy teeming millions to whom a holy shire

Thou dost with sense of human sacrifice aye in spire.

Gangtok, 19th of November 1952

Sd/- Lakshmi Prasad Devkota