A literary work that possesses the quality of being eternally significant by building upon historically relevant work in a creatively stylistic manner can be called a classic. A classic is not bound by time or within any particular movement. It can transcend them purely through literary merit.

However, there are reasons for caution. If such merit is defined solely as the ability to mimic traditional styles, the creativity and quality that make a classic are ignored. Further, if traditional classical works are the primary basis for judging works of literature, the criteria for judgment will tend to focus on structure and composition and will lead to an overemphasis on literary standards and grammar. This neglects the changing dynamics of language and society.

Classics in the Nepali language

The written tradition of the Nepali language started close to a millennium ago. However, it was only when the 19th-century poet Adikabi Bhanu Bhakta Acharya translated the Ramayana from Sanskrit into Nepali that its written tradition really took off. This epic continues to influence Nepali readers and can be considered the first classic in the Nepali language.

In the absence of a literal translation for “classic” in Nepali, scholars have understood the term as referring to a refined, popular, well-balanced and elaborative literary work. It is normally placed in contrast with the Romantic and is considered to be prior to and primary in relation to it.

However, within the changing context of the Nepali language, as a literary classic should be understood as:

• A work that renews the way literature is written in relation to traditional styles while maintaining the context within which these works are created. In the Nepali canon, examples are Lekhnath Paudyal’s Buddhivinod and Satyakali Samvad, Chakrapani Chalise’s Sankshpita Mahabharat and Sankshpita Ramayana, Laxmiprasad Devkota’s Munamadan and Sakuntala, Bishweshwor Prasad Koirala’s Sumnima, Bhawani Bhikshu’s Agat, and Madan Mani Dixit’s Madhavi.
• A work that successfully internalizes, captures, understands or interprets a particular time, place, and person(s).Examples include Bhupi Sherchan’s Ghumne Mechmathi Andho Manche, Parijat’s Sirishko Phool, Lil Bahadur Chettri’s Basai, and Indra Bahadur Rai’s Aja Ramita Chha.

Examples of Nepali classics

Pinjadako Suga (1917)

Lekhnath Paudyal’s poem Pinjadako Suga has had a significant influence on Nepali literature and is still incredibly popular. Written in a colloquial style, it captures the insular and oppressed existence faced by many Nepalis during the Rana regime:

A twice-born orphaned child and named Suga¹
I remained stuck within a cage

…

much could I have flown, much could I have traveled
the many lands I could have seen

Sumnima(1970)

The Nepali people are a mix of the Aryan and Mongoloid races. Bishweshwor Prasad Koirala’s novel Sumnima suggests a worldview for the Nepali people combining with the supposedly intellectual bent of the Aryans with the natural bent of the Mongoloid peoples. One of Koirala’s most popular books, Sumnima is set during Vedic times and uses a localized Nepali context. In the novel, the eponymous protagonist tells her daughter:

The one you wish to make your husband is a Bahun. His blood is different. Who knows where his mind wanders. They are of the air–always seeking to float on it. Never will they be satisified with this life… you are the daughter of a Kirat. We are creatures of the earth. We are in love with this land and our most values possession is our body…For us they are untethered kites, for them we are earthworms in the mud.

While the state of Nepal had no part to play in the Second World War, Nepali soldiers took part in it. Bhupi Sherchan’s poems capture the sorrow and suffering of soldiers who went to war in far-off lands, earning a reputation as fearless warriors:

We the feet
We come first in every race
And our forehead bears a tikā
We come first in every race
And medals stick to our chest
***
Whether in a German Blitz
Or a Burmese trap,
a Malaysian rubber forest
Or even battles in Napha and Ladakh
All those who died
Without greed
Without meaning
Meaningless
… “Āyo Gorkhāli”² they screamed
(merely a Goru³)
Jumping into battle.

Shirishko Phool(1965)

Parijat mirrored Bhupi Sherchan’s feelings about war in prose. Written against the backdrop of the Second World War, her novel Shirishko Phool expresses the agony endured by the Nepali people as a result of the conflict:
Death valley, death valley, this is what it means to carry the burden of life. So this is the life of the undead a life come back hollow. The borders of Assam, I remember the rice and dal. Now nothing is on me, other than this body in these baggy pants and this khaki shirt, a survivor of the fever of these equatorial forests containing an existence that no longer is.

“What is there in this war for us? Even if we survive, we have nothing left to believe in. Especially me, me, yes, me.”

Conclusion

These works may be considered classics because:

• They are popular works that capture the consciousness and essence of a specified period.
• They speak up against injustice.
• They capture Nepali sensibilities and use local settings to present a new way of viewing Nepal.
• They represent the Nepali consciousness against the backdrop of world history.

Sharada Sharma is a columnist and the author of the recently released novel, Taap.

¹ Parrot
² “Here come the Gorkhalis”
³ An ox