Thaunkanhe is the first magazine in Nepal Bhasa

Nepal Bhasa

Nepal Bhasa is one of the major languages of Nepal, and is also spoken in India, particularly in Sikkim where it is one of the 11 official languages. Nepal Bhasa is the mother tongue of about 3% of the people in Nepal . It is spoken mainly by the Newars, who chiefly inhabit the towns of the...

 to be published from Nepal

Nepal

Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...

. The monthly magazine began publication on 21 May 1951 (Nepal Sambat

Nepal Sambat

Nepal Sambat is the national lunar calendar of Nepal. It was used throughout Medieval Nepal, and into early modern Nepal, until Chandra Sumsher decided to remove it in BS 1960. It was started in 880 AD during the reign of King Raghav Dev to commemorate the payment of all the debts of Nepalese...

 1071 Bachhala), coinciding with the festival of Swanya Punhi, the "full moon day of flowers" marking the anniversary of the Buddha

Buddha

In Buddhism, buddhahood is the state of perfect enlightenment attained by a buddha .In Buddhism, the term buddha usually refers to one who has become enlightened...

's birth, enlightenment and nirvana

Nirvana

Nirvāṇa ; ) is a central concept in Indian religions. In sramanic thought, it is the state of being free from suffering. In Hindu philosophy, it is the union with the Supreme being through moksha...

. It was among the very few magazines published in Nepal at the time.

The first ever magazine in Nepal Bhasa was Buddha Dharma wa Nepal Bhasa

Buddha Dharma wa Nepal Bhasa

Buddha Dharma wa Nepal Bhasa was the first ever magazine in Nepal Bhasa. It was published in 1925 from Kolkata, India by Dharmaditya Dharmacharya...

(Devanagari

Devanagari

Devanagari |deva]]" and "nāgarī" ), also called Nagari , is an abugida alphabet of India and Nepal...

: बुद्ध धर्म व नॆपाल भाषा), which was published from Kolkata

Kolkata

Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...

, India in 1925.

History

Thaunkanhe was launched two months after the Democratic Revolution in Nepal that toppled the Rana dynasty

Rana dynasty

The Rana dynasty ruled the Kingdom of Nepal from 1846 until 1953, reducing the Shah monarch to a figurehead and making Prime Minister and other government positions hereditary...

 and dismantled restrictions on private journalism. The inaugural issue contained a message of felicitation from Minister of Industry and Commerce Ganesh Man Singh

Ganesh Man Singh

Ganesh Man Singh was the commander of Nepalese democratic movement of 1990 AD. He was the first Asian to receive United Nations Human Rights Award. He is one of the most revered politicians of Nepal...

. Among the writers in the first issue were Siddhicharan Shrestha

Siddhicharan Shrestha

Siddhicharan Shrestha is one of the most prominent writers of Nepal. He wrote in Nepal Bhasa and Nepali.His poem 'Okhaldhunga' is considered one of the masterpiece...

, Chittadhar Hridaya

Chittadhar Hridaya

Chittadhar Hridaya was a Nepalese poet. He is regarded as one of the greatest literary figures from Nepal in the 20th century. The title of Kavi Keshari was conferred on him by King Mahendra of Nepal in 1956...

 and Hridaya Chandra Singh Pradhan.

Thaunkanhe was registered at the Magistrate's Office, Bhaktapur

Bhaktapur

Bhaktapur , also Bhadgaon or Khwopa is an ancient Newar town in the east corner of the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. It is located in Bhaktapur District in the Bagmati Zone...

 and given Registered No. 12. The first editor was Purna Kaji Tamrakar and the deputy editor was Pushpa Ratna Sagar. It was published by Ratna Man Singh Tuladhar from 11/122 Asan

Asan

Asan is a city in South Chungcheong Province, South Korea. It is located at , bordering the Seoul Metropolitan Area to the north. Asan has a population of approximately 250,000.Asan is known for its hot springs and is a city of spas....

 Tyouda, Kathmandu and printed at Bagiswar Chhapakhana, Jhochhen Laykusal, Kathmandu. From 1952, it was printed at Nepal Press, 11/122 Asan Tyouda, Kathmandu.

Articles

"Thaunkanhe" means "nowadays" in Nepal Bhasa. Its slogan, printed below the name on the front cover, is "Progressive Monthly Magazine in Nepal Bhasa". The contents consist of articles, essays, poems and news items. Its editorial policy championed the cause of linguistic rights

Linguistic rights

Linguistic rights are the human and civil rights concerning the individual and collective right to choose the language or languages for communication in a private or public atmosphere...

 and inclusion of minority languages in the curriculum

Curriculum

See also Syllabus.In formal education, a curriculum is the set of courses, and their content, offered at a school or university. As an idea, curriculum stems from the Latin word for race course, referring to the course of deeds and experiences through which children grow to become mature adults...

.

Honors

Thaunkanhe is the oldest Nepal Bhasa magazine still in print. Publication ceased in 1957 and resumed in 1992. On 5 March 2011, it was honored by the Nepal Literary Journalists Association for its contribution to journalism.