Bal Krishna Pokharel (1933–2019) was a Nepalese writer, linguist, historian, and literary critic. He was one of the key person behind the publishing of ''Nepali Brihat Sabdakosh'', a comprehensive Nepali dictionary. Alongside

Nepali language Nepali (; , ) is an Indo-Aryan language native to the Himalayas region of South Asia. It is the official, and most widely spoken, language of Nepal, where it also serves as a '' lingua franca''. Nepali has official status in the Indian st ...

, he also wrote in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

and Magar languages. He wrote multiple fiction, non-fiction and poetry books and was awarded with

Madan Puraskar The Madan Puraskar ( ne, मदन पुरस्कार) is a literary honor in Nepal which Madan Puraskar Guthi confers annually for an outstanding book in the Nepali language published within the calendar year. It is considered the most pre ...

in 1963 for his book ''Nepali Bhasa Ra Sahitya'' ().

Early life

He was born on 28 August 1933 (13 Bhadra 1990 BS) on the day of

Krishna Janmashtami Krishna Janmashtami , also known simply as Krishnashtami, Janmashtami, or Gokulashtami, is an annual Hindu festival that celebrates the birth of Krishna, the eighth avatar of Vishnu. According to the Hindu lunisolar calendar, it is observed ...

Chisapani Gadhi The Chisapani Gadhi is a fort in Bhimphedi, Makwanpur that was built around 1744–1745 AD. The fort was controlled by the Sen Dynasty but after the Gorkha Kingdom (later became known as the Kingdom of Nepal) captured Makwanpur they used the for ...

Makwanpur Makwanpur District( ne, मकवानपुर जिल्ला; , a part of Bagmati Province, earlier a part of Narayani Zone, is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal. The district, with Hetauda as its district headquarter, as well as ...

, Nepal to father 'Subba' Sharada Pokhrel and mother Chhaya Devi Pokhrel. He began his formal education from Tri-Juddha High English School, Biratnagar, Nepal in 1946. He also learnt Magar language, an indigenous Nepalese language, in around 1950. He obtained a Matriculation certificate from Banaras Hindu University of India in 1952. He received a master's degree in comparative linguistics (then called comparative philology) from Kolkata University. He obtained an M.A. in Nepali literature with the First class first position and gold medal from Tribhuvan University, Nepal in 1973.

Literary career

After completing his education, he started teaching at Tribhuvan University from 2019 BS () and at Morang College subsequently. He retired from teaching in 2046 BS (). In 1963 (2021 BS), Pokharel was awarded the

, Nepal's highest literary honour for his book ''Nepali Bhasa Ra Sahitya''. In 2017, he was awarded the Lekhnath Literary Award.

Notable works

Non-fictions

* ''Nepali Bhasa ko Katha'' (Linguistic non-fiction, 1962) * ''Nepal Ra Chetriya Bhasaharu ko Sambandha'' (Linguistic non-fiction, 1963) * ''Panch Saya Barsha'' (Historical non-fiction, 1963) * ''Nepali Bhasa Ra Sahitya'' (Essays, 1964) * ''Rastrabhasa'' (Essays, 1965) * ''Dhoni Prakriya ra Dhoni Siddhanta'' (Linguistic non-fiction, 1970) * ''College Starko Nibandhai Nibandha'' (Essays, 1971) * ''Ek Man Saat Chintan'' (Curriculum supplements, 1973) * ''Pachhis Barsa ka Bhashik Charcha'' (Essays, 1982) * ''Tesro Ekmukhe Rudrakshako Khoji'' (Essays, 1983) * ''Nepali Nirwachan – Volume 1'' (Election non-fiction, 1989) * ''Nepali Nirwachan –Volume 2'' (Election non-fiction, 1993) * ''Khas Jaati ko Itihaas'' (Anthropological non-fiction, 1998) * ''Nepali Byakaran Sharada – Volume 1'' (Linguistic non-fiction, 2006) * ''Man ka Tareliharu'' (Essays, 2010) * ''Ma Ajhai Hajir Chhu'' (Essays, 2015)

Poetry collections

* ''Shanti Sena'' (Nepali poems, 1953) * ''Ukus Mukus'' (Nepali poems, 1972) * ''Sauri'' (Nepali poems, 1983) * ''Atreyo Balakrishnoham'' (Sanskrit poem, 2009) * ''Kanung Laam'' ( Magar language poems, 2010) * ''Astha Anastha Astha'' (Nepali epic, 2015)

Story collections

* ''Kalo Bhoot'' (Stories, 1954) * ''Birachana'' (Stories, with other writers, 1969) * ''Ek Tapari Bhat'' (Stories, 1971) * ''Sodhai ra Jawaph'' (Stories, 1974) * ''Kane Khusi (Stories, 1977)'' * ''Ma Gayal Chhaina'' (Stories, 2015)

Novels

* ''Mahamanav ko Sapana'' (Novel, 2010) * ''Napi Poora Hudaina Kyare'' (Novel, 2015)

Dictionary and thesaurus

* ''Nepali Brihat Sabdakosh'' (Nepali language dictionary, with others, 1983) * ''Jharro Sabdawali'' (Vernacular Nepali thesaurus, 2007) * ''Pokharel ko Brihat Nepali–Angrezi–Nepali Kosh'' (Nepali to English thesaurus, 2013)

Play

* ''Hastakshar Huna Napaundai'' (Play, 1987)

Death

Pokharel died on 24 February 2019 in

Biratnagar Biratnagar () is a metropolitan city in Nepal, which serves as the capital of Province No. 1. With a population of 242,548 as per the 2011 census, it is the largest city in the province and also the headquarters of Morang district. As per the p ...

. His body was cremated at Paropakarghat. He is survived by a son and two daughters.

References

Notes

External links

Bal Krishna Pokharel
in

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Pokharel, Bal Krishna 1933 births 2019 deaths Madan Puraskar winners Nepalese male writers Nepali-language writers Linguists from Nepal People from Makwanpur District University of Calcutta alumni Tribhuvan University alumni 20th-century Nepalese writers Banaras Hindu University alumni