Indra Bahadur Rai
Encyclopedia
Indra Bahadur Rai is an Indian Nepali writer and literary critic from Darjeeling. Being one of the most well-known modern authors of Nepali literature
his major works are included on the syllabus of many universities for those studying Nepali in India. He has been an active writer for a span over 60 years and is the receiver of the Sahitya Akademi Award
, Jagadambashri Puraskar and Agam Singh Giri Smriti Puraskar. His first book Vipana Katipaya published in 1960 has had a great influence upon Nepali literature, especially on the genre of short stories. Rai is a very diverse writer and uses a wide range of literary styles which incorporate both traditional as well as modern techniques in his works. The texts he has written deal with a range of topics: from small private whimsies to key historical events
making each document into a unique forceful piece of literature. According to Prem Poddar, the writings of Rai which reflect the heritage of the Gorkha/Nepali nation and national identity can be interpreted in two different ways:
"As I see it, Rai’s reflections on the Nepali language, the Gorkha/Nepali community, and his own writing practice can be read in two ways. The first is in terms of telos: that writing will strengthen the nation or ethnie. The other way is the more troubled interrogative reading that raises the same questions of cultural identity, through textual elisions and ambivalences inter alia, about writing and the Gorkha/Nepali community. I raise the possibility, and vacillate between, both kinds of reading in this introductory essay, but the very act of vacillating veers me towards the latter."
A selection of his short stories were translated 2009 into English as Gorkhas Imagined: Indra Bahadur Rai in Translation.
Nepali literature
Nepali Literature refers to the literature written in the Nepali language and should not be confused with Nepalese literature; a work that is classified as Nepali literature does not necessarily have to be written by a Nepalese/ written in Nepal. Much of today's Nepali literature is widely written...
his major works are included on the syllabus of many universities for those studying Nepali in India. He has been an active writer for a span over 60 years and is the receiver of the Sahitya Akademi Award
Sahitya Akademi Award
Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honor in India which Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of outstanding works in one of the following twenty-four major Indian languagesAssamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri,...
, Jagadambashri Puraskar and Agam Singh Giri Smriti Puraskar. His first book Vipana Katipaya published in 1960 has had a great influence upon Nepali literature, especially on the genre of short stories. Rai is a very diverse writer and uses a wide range of literary styles which incorporate both traditional as well as modern techniques in his works. The texts he has written deal with a range of topics: from small private whimsies to key historical events
making each document into a unique forceful piece of literature. According to Prem Poddar, the writings of Rai which reflect the heritage of the Gorkha/Nepali nation and national identity can be interpreted in two different ways:
"As I see it, Rai’s reflections on the Nepali language, the Gorkha/Nepali community, and his own writing practice can be read in two ways. The first is in terms of telos: that writing will strengthen the nation or ethnie. The other way is the more troubled interrogative reading that raises the same questions of cultural identity, through textual elisions and ambivalences inter alia, about writing and the Gorkha/Nepali community. I raise the possibility, and vacillate between, both kinds of reading in this introductory essay, but the very act of vacillating veers me towards the latter."
A selection of his short stories were translated 2009 into English as Gorkhas Imagined: Indra Bahadur Rai in Translation.
Works
- Vipana Katipaya (1960)
- Aaja Ramita Chha (1964)
- Tipeka Tippaniharu (1966)
- Bhanubhaktaka Kriti Adhyayanharu (1971)
- Kathastha (1974)
- Nepali Upanyaska Adharharu (1974)
- Sandharbhama Ishwar Ballabhka Kavita (1976)
- Darjeelingma Nepali Natakko Ardhashatabdi (1989)
- Kathaputaliko Man (1992 )
- Arthaharuko Pachhilitira (1994)
- Prishta-Prishtha (1995)
- Samayankan Dainikiya (1997)
- Kathastha (1974)
- Lekhanru Ra Jhya (2000)
See also
- Nepali literatureNepali literatureNepali Literature refers to the literature written in the Nepali language and should not be confused with Nepalese literature; a work that is classified as Nepali literature does not necessarily have to be written by a Nepalese/ written in Nepal. Much of today's Nepali literature is widely written...
- Sahitya Akademi Award to Nepali WritersSahitya Akademi Award to Nepali WritersSahitya Akademi Award is given each year by the Sahitya Akademi to writers and their works for their outstanding contribution to the upliftment of Indian and Nepali literature....
- Indian GorkhaIndian GorkhaIndian Gorkha is a term used to describe the Nepali/Gorkhali-speaking citizens of India. This term tries to make a distinction between the citizens of Nepal and the Indian citizens of Gorkha ethnic group....