| Username |
Post |
| sparsha |
Posted
on 12-Jul-02 09:31 AM
Hi all,
Couple of nights ago as I was lying down on my bed listening to the nosie of rain fall outside and "Duita fula deuralima" inside with a cup of tea by my side, "Chapyieka Anuhar" by Daulat Bikram Bista out of nowhere descended in my mind.
I wanted to read that novel then but alas! I didn't have that book with me and there is no Ratna Pustak Bhandar around and Barnes & Noble cares less about Daulat Bikram Bista or Chapayieka Anuhar. I felt sad. I was getting "sick" for a Nepali book and started to search for one all over my place.
Lucky me, I found Nepali Kath Sangraha after a while. The first story was "Paral ko Aago". I enjoyed it so much. kasaile dekheko bhaye bahula bhanthiyo hola, I was smiling and occasionally laughing out loud as I was going thru the story. I finished reading all the stories in that sangraha. That quenched my thirst for Nepali reading not completely but to a considerable extent.
How often do you feel like reading Nepali books (Stories, Novel, Essays, Poetry...)?
If you were to order a (some) book (s) what or which book(s) would you order?
How would you like to have a place here in the US where you can place an order for your Nepali book and have it delivered right in your mail box?
I am thinking of doing just that. Provide Nepali books to readers here (at cost, of course). I am willing to do that as a service to the community not for PROFIT. I have spoken with some of friends and they are also lending their support. So, it will be a group effort.
I am requesting for your inputs. How practical/pragmatic or realistic is the idea?
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| here's a thought |
Posted
on 12-Jul-02 10:17 AM
sparsha,
i'd probably buy at least a few for my collection. you might consider contacting antonia at myths and mountains and propose setting up a nonprofit book swap, as her org's involved with building library collections in nepal. best of luck with bringing your excellent idea to fruition.
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| supporter |
Posted
on 12-Jul-02 10:44 AM
Great Idea ! Support !!!
I don't know which edition of 'Nepali Katha Sangrah' were you reading? but I also like it's stories very much. PARALKO AAGO by guru prasad mainali is a classic story in nepali literature in deed. It's main characters chame and guanthali have been able to leave their deep impact in nepali film Paralko Aago by pratap subba also.
Guru Prasd Mainali is a one of the most respected nepali story write to me. i think his stories BIDA(narendra/prabha), NASO(subhadra/deviraman), PARALKO AAGO(chame/guanthali, CHINTAKO JWALA(sanu dai/..), CHHIMEKI(gumane/..) etc. are all great stories which have shown clear social picture of that time.
I think your effort would be helpful to promote nepali literature abroad. In fact, many nepali literary works like SETO BAGH, SHIRISHKO PHOOL, MUNAMADAN, BASANTI, CHPAIYEKA ANUHAR, GHAMKA PAILAHARU(?), ..... have been translated in foreign languages and popular among foreign readers also hence proved that our literature is not weaker than other south asian literature in quality.
I read in Biography of DEVEKOTA(written by chudamani bandhu) that he had great plan to write and translate nepali literary works into english and make it popular among foreigners also but alas ! his dream could not be realized due to his deteriorating health.
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| Suman Dhakal |
Posted
on 12-Jul-02 11:30 AM
Hello Sparsha. You have brought up a good idea. However, I wanted to let all the university students know that there does exist a system by which one can order books for free. This is true in most of the state universities in the US.
Most of the major universities have this system called the ILL(Inter Library Loan). I'm not sure if that is the exact term used in other universities. Universities have contracts with other universities and also with universities over seas. So if u want a nepali book or any book for that matter, u give the ILL office the name of the book and the author and all other necesarry info. And they check the database of other universities and try to locate the book. Better yet, u can browse the library database of other universities and once u find the book, just tell ILL which university has the book. this makes thir job easier. And there is no chrage. Well at least in my school. Its part of the service provided by the university and i guess included in my tution fee.
I have orderd several books from University of California, Barkeley and University of washington. They have a good collection of nepali books. And the delivery takes less than a week. So folks, take advantage of this system.
Suman Dhakal
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| ? |
Posted
on 12-Jul-02 11:47 AM
May I add, instead of paper format, you could try ebooks. Capital wise and in the long run, it will be cheaper for you to supply books in ebooks. Allmost all Nepalese( in US) interested for sure will have internet connection. So the cost factor is automatically downgraded.
Since you want to run it as a non profit organisation, this may be the easiest and effective way to go.
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| Logical Sense |
Posted
on 12-Jul-02 12:12 PM
Suman, why are you taking away the satisfaction from Sparsha?
And, in the broader sense, let him have a book delivery system (may be non profit, but is better because authors will get royalty and blah blah blah). That know how might turn out to be a bigger delivery system company for him, and who knows it will be a yet another Nepali success story.
Also, library delivery system is good during student life. Once you start earning 'buy your own books' my friend and contribute to the economy.
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| link |
Posted
on 12-Jul-02 12:17 PM
http://kantipuronline.com/kantipur_html/kantipur_news4.htm#5
Related link for more nformation:
http://spinybabbler.org/publications/index.htm
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| sparsha |
Posted
on 12-Jul-02 12:57 PM
Thank you Suman Dhakal. I was not aware of that ILL thing. ILL sounds pretty good to me.
My primary interest is to make Nepali books available to all interested readers not establish a non-profit delivery system. I was not looking for any business opportunity. So, if ILL is the answer for our quest for Nepali books then let's entertain that.
Once again, thanks Suman. I also would like to thank other participants for their support.
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| Bostonian-s |
Posted
on 12-Jul-02 01:13 PM
Sparsha,
Well, those people who have done their undergraduate form the US universities right after their high school from English medium schools form Nepal and India, migh have that thirst of reading Nepali Books for the sake of happiness of having $75 K in a year.
We most of students who had attended In Tribhuvan University have already read those "Paral Ko Ago" etc. We had to take exams, you knew it. There there will be a limited number of people for it.
How long can you be an intelctual " Bharia". Are you motivated by " Ghasi" like Bhanu Bhakta Acharya?
good luck
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| Mitra 2 |
Posted
on 12-Jul-02 01:29 PM
Sparsha,
You have started a very thoughtful thread. I had a similar experience in the past. When I was still in high school, I used to cry/weep every time I read ‘Gauri’ written by Madhab Pd. Ghimire. I liked it so much that I wanted to bring those two little girls (Ghimire’s daughters) to my home to play with and make them happy. The more I read it, the more I felt like I knew them for a long time. I was disappointed to find out that those little girls were older than my mom, so they could not be my friends :( A couple of years ago, I remembered about ‘Gauri kabya’ and was so desperate to read it again, but it was nowhere to be found. The same day I called back home and asked my brother to ship that book. Even though the cost to arrive the book was high (including postage, phone call), I enjoyed reading the book very much. The best part was that I was able to remember back the exact pictures of the patra and scenes that I imagined some 15 years ago.
It would be nice if we could establish such a system and enjoy reading nepali books at low cost. How about if we donate the books we have to sajha as a gesture to support sajha.com and ask San to create the library of books. Those who want to check out the books will pay a minimum fee + shipping/handling using paypal from Sajha. There are some people helping sajha by other means and new members could contribute some used books they have. Create a section for book reviews, recommendations of good books, reader’s comments, and what not! Who knows this could create some revenue to support sajha in the long run. If that happens, I will donate some books that I have and will have an opportunity to read more nepali books. We could also ask INLS (international nepali literature society?) based in DC to take initiative for such a system. But, I still prefer to go with sajha, which has wider audience and already established system (paypal, web, technical skills, and so on).
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| sparsha |
Posted
on 12-Jul-02 02:03 PM
Bostonian-s,
Bhankubhakta or Ghasi neither individually nor together 're not in my mind when I proposed for a non-profit delivery sys. of Nepali books for readers here. There are many books in Nepali that I want to read but I have no access to them. I thought may be there are many others who also feel the same way.
"We most of students who had attended In Tribhuvan University have already read those "Paral Ko Ago" etc. We had to take exams, you knew it. There there will be a limited number of people for it. "
Yes, many of us have read many Nepali books whether they 're part of the curricula or not but what I am finding difficult to convince myself is just because I''ve read a book once I don't want to read it again. I've read Paralko Aago more than once and still feel like reading it again. If some one does not want to read the old books then one does not have to. There are new books published every year. Is there not a single Nepali book you would like to read?
I am probably not so enthusiastic in being an intellectual "bhariya". I am not sure what "intellectual bhariya" means but just that word "bhariya" is not so appealing to me.
Before I conclude, I would like to take a moment to sincerely appreciate your input. Thank you.
Mitra 2, by talking about the girls you reminded me of Pratima. Have you ever read "Meri Sani Bhatiji Pratima" by Ramesh Bikal?
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| Suman Dhakal |
Posted
on 12-Jul-02 03:41 PM
Hello logical senseji. i was not trying to take away the satisfaction from Sparsha. I just wanted to let the students know that there are other options available as well. There are some of us who are always a nickle short for a $2.65 burrito lunch at Maria's u know.
I encourage Sparsha to persue his ideas. In fact, I would love to hear another nepali sucess story. If I have inadvertently detered Sparsha from his plans, then please accept my sincere apologies. I did not have ill intentions when i posted my message.
hijo ko challa
Suman Dhakal
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| manashalu |
Posted
on 12-Jul-02 04:30 PM
>>Have you ever read "Meri Sani Bhatiji Pratima" by Ramesh Bikal?
I have read this story. While I was reading this story, I felt like Pratima is my own 'bhatiji'. When she was beaten by her mother in cruel way I though how helpless my dear cousin 'pratima' ! I just wanted to cry seeing her in such a pathetic situation.
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| Truth |
Posted
on 12-Jul-02 06:17 PM
"Meri Saani Batiji.." Was that written by Bikal or by Bhavani Vikshu? I read Bhavaani's
story in the same text book as that of Bhatij.. so got confused.
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| ? |
Posted
on 12-Jul-02 07:12 PM
I really wish I could get some older issues of 'madhuparka' magazine for a reasonable price. That's a jewel of a literary magazine.
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| answer |
Posted
on 12-Jul-02 07:53 PM
Mero Sano Sathi - Bhawani 'Bhikchhyu'(story of one train passanger with another small child friend met in the train)
Meri Sani Bhatiji Pratima - Ramesh 'Vikal'(story of writer with his bhatiji 'pratima' in his neighbourhood who likes to read books like his brother but it is unacceptable for her mother)
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| Biswo |
Posted
on 12-Jul-02 08:27 PM
Sparshaji,
Thanks for putting up this subject for discussion here. This is a subject which should
concern everyone, even those parents who love to tell others that 'their kids speak
only in English'!
I don't know why you love this 'not for profit' thing. Come on, we shell out $300 per
semester for calculus and database management books, and we surely can
pay the Nepali books more than what it costs.I paid Samrat's story-sangraha 10+
dollars, and I would definitely pay more than that to 'chapaaiyakaa anuhaarharu'.
I have to beg with people to send me recent good books whenever some people
come here,( not to mention the guilt of making others porter !) and in deed
I can pay more to avoid all that. Those who 'ship and handle', they need money,
and if people are so averse to have profit, why not they send that 'profit' to the
education of Maobadi piditkaa chhoraachori haru, or care of evicted helpless
lazaruses of Pashupatinath area?
Need of Nepali books for children, books of grammar and alphabets etc. is going
to increase in future. Those who don't teach their kids Nepali have only something
to lose, frankly. It will be great if someone pairs up with a publishing house in
Nepal, brings book here in Boston or Washington, and sells them to people in
USA and Canada. Most of the Nepali people I have met have strong apetite to
read, and are going to buy those books.Going online is must , however.
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| link |
Posted
on 12-Jul-02 08:41 PM
Another realted link og pilgrim's book house for nepali language books:
http://www.pilgrimsbooks.com/nepali_language_books.html
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| link |
Posted
on 12-Jul-02 08:44 PM
Classic Nepali books of EPICS and POEMS from soc.culture.nepal posted by ashutosh tiwari
http://groups.google.com/groups?q=nepali+literary+books&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&selm=8fshkj%247u0%241%40nnrp1.deja.com&rnum=10
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| link |
Posted
on 12-Jul-02 08:51 PM
Book review from press:
http://www.nepalresearch.com/culture/literature.htm
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| Logical Sense |
Posted
on 12-Jul-02 10:18 PM
Sumanji,
You don't have to be apologetic though about what I said, I was drawn to the idea and was trying to create more interest in this important thread Sparshaji created. I have found your input very thoughtful and timely (most of the time :-)).
I know, we all go through the same phase of 'short of dime'. But, as someone earlier put we could always buy some books we liked and it is question of priority. Starbucks coffee or home made Chiya plus ''Gham Ka Pailaharu' - my favorite. I would definitely go for second choice.
Keep these awesome discussions coming.
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| neer |
Posted
on 12-Jul-02 11:07 PM
Some of nepali books I read in the past but want to read again(still hungry to read) are:
1. Laxmi Nibandha Sangrah(Devkota) 2. Munamadan(Devkota) 3. Dadimko Rukhner( Devkota) 4.Tarun Tapasi(Lekhnath) 5. Chiso Chulho(Sama) 5. Aamako Sapana(GPR) 6. Niyamit Aaksmikta(Sama) 7.Naso(GPM) 8.Shirishko Phool(Parijat) 9. Madhavi(MMD) 10. Ghumne Mechmathi Andho Manchhe(BHUPI) 11.Nadi Kinarka Majhi(Mohan Koirala) 12. Swet Bhairabi(BP) 13.Doshi Chasma(BP) 14.Paribhasit Aankhaharu(Parijat) 15. Naya Sadakko Geet(Vikal) 16. Katha Sangrah(GBG) 17. Euta Budhu Violin Aashavariko dhunma(VIKAL) 18.Banira Girika Kavitaharu(Banira Giri) 19.Alikhit(DCG) 20. Abstract, Chintan ra Pyaj(Shankar Lamichhane) 21. Belait Tira Baralinda(TNS) 22. Pachhis Prabandha(Badari Nath Bhattarai), 23. Paila Aagatma Teker(Krishna Chandra Pradhan) 24.Khai Khai(Keshav Pindali) 25. Anuradha(Vijaya Malla) 26.Pattharko Katha(Vijaya malla) 27. Ek Chihan(HCSP) 28. Maitighar(Lain Singh Bangdel) 29. Story Collections by KUMAR GYAWALI 30.Aafno Katha(BP) 31. Nadi Kinarka Majhi 32.Seto Bagh
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| Suman Dhakal |
Posted
on 13-Jul-02 03:32 AM
Has anyone read BP Koirala's Narendra dai ? I read that book last summer and thought it was real nice. In the beginning and almost until the end you think that Narendra dai has a major character flaw. You see the tharuni(forgot her name) who is haveing an affair with narendra as a home wrecker.
But then everything changes when the stroy reaches its climx towards the end. I was left wondering who to feel sorry for and who to blame for what had happened. It seems that no one really had a free will and they were just creatures of cirscumstance.
Would love to hear from those who have read the book. Please drop few lines here.
hijo ko challa
Suman Dhakal
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| neer |
Posted
on 13-Jul-02 04:20 AM
Sumanji, I read 'Narendra Dai' about 8 years ago when I was a student in KTM. Now I don't remember enough about the story-plot(tyahi pani hatarma kehi ghanta bhitra pana pana paltaundai sakeko;this novel is not so thick). Now you just remind me about the novel. Anyway, novel is worthy to read and my sympathy goes to the 'bhauju(wife of narendra dai)' character of it. BP said that many of his novels and stories were written from his own experiences. When I read this novel, I felt that 'MA'(I) character BP aafain ta hoina?
I think 'SUMNIMA' is the classic novel of BP. I also like MODI AAIN and TIN GHUMTI. HITLAR RA YAHUDI has not read yet although some part of it, I had read in 'Bimochan(Bio-Monthly)' irregularly.
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| Biswo |
Posted
on 13-Jul-02 07:53 AM
I read BP's "Hitler Ra Yahudi" one day in my highschool, and within a month, I read
all of his books. I think BP's literary skill was superb, he set such a literary standard
for his successors that all story writers of today when measured against him look
like a pretender.
Narendra Dai, I remember, was one the stories of Terai life. Don't remember
much about that. The reason is , the story plots of some of his novels really overlap.
---
Radha Krishna Mainali wrote a book about his fellow inmates, Captain Yagya Bdr
Thapa and Bhim Narayan Shrestha. It was a kind of memoir about the monster's
ball (a standar english phrase for the night before death) of the two martyrs.
The day it was published in Nepal, people rapaciously flocked to the bookstores
to buy the book.It sold briskly, and I was the only person in my village to be
able to buy the book.When I finished the book, someone took it to read, and
it never came back. I guess it was circulated among the villagers. They should
consider republishing the book. It was a classic memoir about how inmates were
treated in a despicable despotic regime that was teetering under its own weight
of injustice.
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| The Grocer's Wife |
Posted
on 13-Jul-02 09:14 AM
Talking about BP's books, you may find this article published in Kathmandu in 1998 by Acharya and Wagle worth reading.
http://www.emory.edu/COLLEGE/AS/sinhas/kprb0301.html#0301jasw
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| manashalu |
Posted
on 13-Jul-02 09:30 AM
Among memoir of Jail life written in Nepali, 'Jailma Bish Barsha' by Khadga Man Singh, 'Golgharko Sandesh' by Modnath Prashrit are also worthy to read, Not to say about BP ko 'Jail Journal'. Durga Ghimire had also written her jail memoirs in her book, but has not read yet.
>When I finished the book, someone took it to read, and
it never came back. I guess it was circulated among the villagers
I have also similar experience when I lived in Hostel in Kathmandu. I regularly bought Garima/Madhuparka and was circulated in many rooms possibly lost. I lost 'Narendra Dai' novel also in a similar way.
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