| Username |
Post |
| ashu |
Posted
on 23-Nov-00 11:14 AM
Earlier this month, I had posted an item about
some of us Nepalis starting a "sahitya initiative"
in Kathmandu.
The aim of such an initiatve was and is to attract
gather and retain non-sahityakaar Nepali professionals or first-time readers to discuss, once a month in a
no-holds-barred peer-group setting, the classics of
Nepali literature.
Well, I am happy to announce that, after countless
cups of chiya, phone calls and emails back and forth
over the past two months, such an initiative is about
to take off under the umbrella of Martin Chautari.
Set for the evening of December 12, the first of this
initiative will discuss Parijaat's famous novel:
"Siris Ko Ful". The tone of the discussion will
be informal; substance, formal; and this is all
an INVESTMENT on creating readers and critics of
Nepali sahitya.
Manjushree Thapa (a graduate of the Rhode Island
School of Design and whose own first novel in
English is being published by Penguin India early
next year) and Sangeeta Pandey (who works in a
tourism business and has published a few stories in
Nepali) will LEAD the first discussion centered on
Parijaat's book.
Khagendra Sangraula, C K Lal and other formidable
writers have agreed to come in and join the
discussions -- of course, without intimidating us,
the first-time readers of Nepali sahitya who are
too busy doing other things but have agreed to devote
one evening a month discussing a Nepali classic.
oohi
ashu
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| Trailokya Aryal |
Posted
on 23-Nov-00 03:11 PM
This certainly is a good initiative!
So many good things going on in Kathmandu these days, I wish I were there to take part on those.:-)
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| Biswo |
Posted
on 23-Nov-00 08:25 PM
>This certainly is a good initiative!
>
Giving impetus to creativity is laudable task :no matter where you
do this.
Probably we still remember literary salons of France in eighteenth
century.They were significant because they not only provided the
forum to discuss stuffs,but also provided a view of wide world to
the then repressed gender:ladies.Ladies were also allowed to
discuss in those salons where they could evince their interest
and creativity to all male counterparts.
I am not trying to insinuate anything here,but what I say is I
remembered this significant part of history of Europe.The
British followed the suit, and the literature that was created
in those periods are still considered masterpieces of the world
literature.
Even to those who deplored Parijat's political ideology,Parijat
remained respected writer.It is great that your group chose
her as your first writer to discuss about.
However,literature is a really serious thing,especially good
literature.An extra ordinary degree of creativity is required,
and that can be less than fun.If my experience is any example,
that can be very taxing .
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| ashu |
Posted
on 23-Nov-00 09:56 PM
Thanks Trailokya and Biswo for your comments.
Just to make a few things clear:
a) The disussions are NOT aimed at creating literature
per se. Rather, they are aimed at discussing an
already-famous book by first-time readers who are
interested in Nepali sahitya but have not gotten around
to start reading books on their own.
b) My sense is that many of us, educated Nepalis,
ONLY know the names of our famous authors but have
not read any of their great Nepali books due to
various reasons. That is why, this initiative will be
a small but regular attempt to make a commitment to
read and discuss AT LEAST a good book once a month.
c) Most discussants will NOT have a formal sahitya
background. This is precisely the point.
If, in Kathmandu, young bankers, engineers, doctors,
journalists, management consultants, businesspeople,
researchers, environmentalists and the like are
getting together one evening a month to read and
discuss a famous book, that's pretty good.
d)Whether we live in Nepal or in America or elsewhere.
we are all concerned about the state of the Nepali
societies. Often we use newspaper ko accounts or
tools of economics, logic, bits of anecdotal history
and so on to comment on Nepali societies. These are
all fine and good.
The point of this inititive is: If we are all
concerned about Nepali in our own ways, why not also
use Nepali Sahitya as a means to understand our own various
Nepali societies better? After all, great books of
Nepali sahitya do have something worthwhile to say
about the way we live in Nepal, and as human beings.
The discussions will be OPEN to all. Participating fee
is none. The only requitement is that one must have read
the book BEFORE coming to the discussion. Copies of
the book, thanks to a deal with a publisher made by
Ajit Baral, are available for purchase at Martin
Chautari.
Again, starting a group like this is easy. Getting
it going for a long time is difficult. Let's see how
this group develops over time into an
institution of its own.
oohi
ashu
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