Tara Nath Sharma is an icon of modern Nepali literature.  Popularly known by his short name, Tanasarma, he is one of the most widely read and loved writers of Nepal. His 102 books in Nepali and English include a critical history of Nepali literature, collections of personal essays and travel accounts, theoretical and practical literary criticism, and essays on linguistic, social and cultural themes. He has edited journals, periodicals and a National English Daily (The Rising Nepal).   He is known for his impressive and stimulating lectures on the Nepali social system, culture, ethnicity, religion and literature. He is reputed for his honest, fearless and penetrating expositions of truth as well as for his profound faith in democracy, human rights and human dignity. He is the recipient of the Madan Puraskar which is the highest award of Literature given in Nepal.

He received his PHD in linguistics from the University of Wisconsin. He is currently a visiting professor at Michigan State University, East Lansing MI. He spoke to Lokvani about Nepal and its literature.


You are a leading light in Nepali literature and yet your training is in English and linguistics. Could you trace your personal literary journey?

My interest in literature started at a very young age. I really enjoyed writing and I was the editor of Hima Dhwani, our school newspaper when I was in high school. The essays and the commentaries I wrote in that newspaper were published in reputed journals. At that time Nepal was fighting for democracy and a lot of the action in the Nepali political arena was centered in Banares. I wanted to be in that group of thinkers and hence I went to Banares to do my undergraduate degree.

While I loved Nepali and Sanskrit and in fact come from a family of Pandits, I asked my father’s permission to study the “Mlecha Bhasha” or English so that I could understand and integrate into the modern world.  In Banares I was writing a lot in English and Hindi. Senior Nepali literary figures in Benares saw my talent and encouraged me to focus my attention on Nepali.

Later I did my MA in English in Patna, an MA in ESL in England and came to Wisconsin where I decided to do my PHD in Linguistics. While my training is in English and Linguistics, my love for languages is limitless. I feel equally comfortable writing in Nepali and English.

You mentioned your interest in the struggle for democracy in Nepal. Could you tell us a little about the history of Nepal?

The word Nepal is derived from the Vedic term Nepa, which means sloping lands. Nepal has always held a very important place in the spiritual history of both Hinduism and Buddhism. Janakpuri, where Sita was born, is in Nepal. We have a famous temple dedicated to Sita. Swarga-Dwari which was the Pandava’s last stop before they ascended to heaven is in Nepal. Adi Kavi Valmiki’s ashram and Lumbini the birth place of Buddha are in Nepal. We have a temple dedicated to Buddha’s mother , Maya Devi.

Nepal itself has over a 100 ethnic groups that speak different Tibeto-Burman languages. Between about 400 and 750 AD, Nepal's present capital, Kathmandu, was ruled by the Licchavi kingdom. There were other kingdoms later including the Kirats and the  Mallas. Modern Nepal was created in the latter half of the 18th century when Prithvi Narayan Shah, the ruler of the small principality of Gorkha, formed a unified country from a number of independent hill states. Gorkhas are people from Nepal who take their name from the legendary eighth century Hindu warrior-saint Guru Gorakhnath. The current kings are the descendants of this ruler. In the latter half of the nineteenth century the Ranas came to power. They became the prime-ministers and the king was only a titular figure. The Ranas were very autocratic. While India was struggling for freedom, Nepal struggled for democracy and in 1950 we became a democracy.

My own interest has been restricted to literature and does not spread to politics.

What is the origin of Nepali? How well developed is the literature?

Nepali is one of the official languages in India and is the lingua-franca in Nepal and Sikkim.  It belongs to the Indo-European family of languages and is directly descended from Sanskrit with various Prakrit terms used to integrate a large number of communities at the Himalayan foothills. Having studied Telegu, Gujarathi and Tamil I have noticed that Nepali is well integrated with the Indian linguistic substrata. In fact there is lot of similarity especially with Telugu.

 Though various inscriptions and manuscripts are discovered dating to the thirteenth century, the practical development of the language occurred when the small kingdoms were unified in the eighteenth century. Both prose and poetry literature is well developed. Nepali Ramayana of Bhanu Bhakta Acharya sets the Ramyana story in native lustre and is popular among the masses. A folk meter called Jhyaure is sung by peasants and shepherds extensively.  Compositions in ghazal style and blank-verse meters, and social realistic themes in short stories and plays constitute the modern Nepali literature.

Who would you consider as the leading lights in Nepali Literature?

Following Bhanu Bhakta, a great literary figure was Motiram who wrote the biography of Bhanu Bhakta. In the 20th century, the trio of Lekhanath Paudyal, Balkrishna Sama and Lakshmiprasad Debkota have made tremendous contribution to Nepali literature. Tarun Tapasi by Paudyal, Mukunda Indira by Sama and Muna Madan by Devkota are true literary gems. Devkota was perhaps the most prolific of all of them and has written essays, poems and Khanda Kavyas using a very interesting folk meter.

You are famous for not only your fiction and travelogues but for your fearless criticisms. I think you spent three months in jail because of one of your criticisms. Could you tell us a little about that?

I always felt that as a critic I should be honest.  The previous King wrote a poem which was really nothing but a translation of a film song rendered by Lata Mangeshkar and while  many were praising the work I felt it was important to point out that there was nothing original in it. This angered the King’s coterie and I was sent to jail. When the King found out about it, he ordered my release for he felt it was not right to jail a critic for his honesty. In those days jails were filled with many great thinkers. I wrote two novels while I was in prison and it was an intellectually stimulating time for me.

You are credited with bringing wide recognition to Nepal and its literature in the West. How did you accomplish that?

Nepal has had this attraction as a spiritual abode for Westerners. When I was in England and in Wisconsin I taught Nepali. Wisconsin has one of the finest Departments of South Asian Studies, and it attracted a lot of students.  Since I write in English, I was able to bring a lot of attention to Nepal and Nepali literature through my writings. That helped the cause of bringing recognition to Nepal, its language and people.

If people want to find out more about Nepali language and literature in the US, what would your suggestion be?

I would recommend the Departments of South Asian Studies at the University of Wisconsin, Michigan State University, Cornell University and Columbia University. Many of these schools offer courses in Nepali. You can learn the language. They also have a lot of resources at the Library.

Thanks so much for your time

Thank you.

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