1. Min Pun, Ph.D. Tribhuvan University, PN Campus
LECTURE – 11 Nepaliwriting
MA 2nd Year (English) “The Nepali Literature of the Democracy Movement and Its Aftermath” Michael Hutt
Min Pun, Ph.D.
Tribhuvan University, PN Campus

2. THE AUTHOR: Michael Hutt
Michael Hutt is Professor of Nepali and Himalayan Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), where he has taught for more than 20 years.
He is a renowned expert on the modern literature and culture of Nepal and the Nepali Diaspora, and has translated many Nepali texts into English.
A regular visitor to the Himalaya, Hutt has also been engaged with the politics of the region, publishing books on Nepal’s civil war and the issue of Bhutanese refugees.

3. Hutt completed a BA in South Asian Studies, majoring in Hindi literature, in 1980 and a Ph.D. on the history of the Nepali language and its literature in 1984, both at SOAS, the University of London.  
His major works include:
Himalayan Voices: an Introduction to Modern Nepali Literature (1991),
Himalayan People's War: Nepal's Maoist Rebellion (editor, 2004)
Devkota’s Muna Madan: Translation and Analysis (1996)
Eloquent Hills: Essays on Nepali Literature (Martin Chautari, 2012).

4. THE BOOK: Eloquent Hills: Essays on Nepali Literature
The book is an anthology of essays that brings together nine essays written between by Michael Hutt, the leading foreign scholar of Nepali literature.
It was published in 2012 by Martin Chautari.
It contains essays that discuss Muna Madan by Laxmi Prasad Devkota, Sumnima by BP Koirala, Sirisko Phul by Parijat, and Ghumne Mechmathi Andho Manchhe by Bhupi Sherchan, four of the best known classics of Nepali literature.

5. Hutt’s other works

6. Hutt's critique on the poetry of Mohan Koirala and the early life of Bhupi are also featured here.
Thematic essays based on Nepali literary sources on the notions of Shangri-la and an ideal Nepal, the portrayal of Gurkha soldiers, migration, and literary movements before and after the 1990 People’s Movement provide interesting commentary on Nepali literature.
All who are curious about modern Nepali society must read this book.

7. Michael Hutt’s Book

8. CONTENTS OF THE BOOK
Introduction    1
1  A Hero or a Traitor? The Gurkha Soldier in Nepali Literature11
2  The Poetry of Mohan Koirala  27
3  The Nepali Literature of the 1990 Democracy Movement and its Aftermath 49
4  Devkota's Muna Madan: An Introduction  69
5  Looking for Shangri-la: From Hilton to Lamichhane  83
6  Going to Mugalan: Nepali Literary Representations of Migration to India and Bhutan 99
7  Reading Sumnima 123
8  Ideal Nepal and the Voices of Nepali Writers  141
9  Bhupi Sherchan: From Schoolboy to Sarvahara  165

9. THE ARTICLE: “The Nepali Literature of the 1990 Democracy Movement and Its Aftermath”
This article is the third chapter of Eloquent Hills: Essays on Nepali Literature.
The article provides an overview of literature during the 1990s to express literary endeavors of “time manufactured” authors during the turbulent time.
Among other developments brought about by the 1990 people’s movement, the growth of Nepali literature is one of them.

10. Hutt's discusses 2 facts about Nepali political contexts of the 1990 time for Nepali writers found themselves:
The first is that the majority of Nepali people (around 80%) depended on agricultural, so they were uneducated. The second is that majority of intellectuals lived in Kathmandu and the major decisions about the fate of the country were made by them.
Shailendra Sakar’s Poem “Sarpaharu Git Sundainan”: However much……. (see page 49)
Krishnabhushan Bal’s poem: Kathmandu can no longer mean…… (see page 50)

11. LITERARY MOVEMENTS FOR POLITICAL CHANGE
From 1960 right up to 1990, the Nepali writers launched several movements with literary and socio-political objectives.
The first two of these movements were Aswikrit Jamat (Rejected Generation) and Boot Polish movement.
The Rejected Generation movement began with the publication of Sanjivani (a collection of short stories in the Bhojpur journal) in the writers like Shailendra Sakar, Kavitaram, Parashu Pradhan and Ramesh Shrestha who practiced socialist realism in their writings.

12. In 1974, there was the Boot Polish demonstration by writers and editors in response to the government’s Back to Village National Campaign (Gau Pharka Rastriya Abhiyan). In this movement, writers, editors and intellectuals cleaned the shoes of the passers-by for a week in New Road Pipal bot.
One of the activists wrote a poem about unemployment created by the government:
This new generation which began true poetry,
Which raised small questions about hunger,
Poverty, enequity, joblessness,
In the face of our country’s
Pervasive selfishness.

13. In 1979, the Street Poetry Revolution (Sadak Kavita Kranti) was a literary campaign to protest against the King Birendra’s declaration of he national referendum. In this movement, some young writers were involved that included Mohan Koirala. It was supported by students’ demonstrations, demanding the abolition of the Panchayat system.
One of the writers who writes a poem in favour of the Street Poetry Revolution:
This street on which ……………
We just watched ………… (See page 55)

14. The Street Poetry Revolution spread to about fifty towns in Nepal
The Street Poetry Revolution spread to about fifty towns in Nepal. The poets of Kathmandu travelled across the country to encourage their supporters there.
In the 1980s and 90s, Nepali poetry became more politicized and the poets such as Bhupi Sherchan used simple but satirical language. The writers and editors were frequently reprimanded, fined or imprisoned. Keshav Raj Pindali and Rup Chand Bista were among them.

15. Hutt discusses the role of the Royal Nepal Academy, which was founded by King Mahendra in It was the Nepal’s foremost institution for the promotion of literature and the arts, but its members were royalists. One of the royalists wrote a poem ‘‘Birendra Jindabad’’ (Long Live Birendra).
In protest to this poem, Sherchan wrote a poem “In Search of Serpents” in this way,
I am in search of serpents, yes,
I am in search of serpents ………..
(See page 57-68)

16. THE 1990 REVOLUTION
A few days before the 1990 movement, Nepali Congress leader Ganesh Man Singh met pro-democracy writers for support. In response, the writers published two volumes of poems: Vasantako Khoji (The Search for Spring) and Paglera Pani Timro Mutubata (Melting Even from Your Heart). The poets were anonymous, they used a quotation from BP Koirala’s statement: “My principle is to create an atmosphere in which writers and artists may think freely” and it was followed by publisher’s statement:
Literature can never …………. (See page 59)

17. To support the 1990 people’s movement, Govinda Singh Ravat writes a poem “Banda Kotha”:
Who knows how long it’s …… (see page 59-60)
The following is Vinay Raval’s poem “Hat Mutthi Kasepachi” (Once Fists are Clenched) was for inspiring many other supporters of democracy:
Once fists are clenched,….. (see page 60)
With these literary movements, the Nepali press came under severe pressure during the movements. Journalists were prohibited from reporting the activities of political parties, state-run newspapers (Gorkhapatra and The Rising Nepal) published articles and editorials in defence of Panchayat democracy, and police confiscated the privately-run newspapers.

18. Dr. Min Pun minpun@gmail.com www.minpun.com.np
Associate Professor, Department of English
Tribhuvan University, PN Campus, Pokhara