Bhuwan Dhungana (; born 2 August 1947) is a Nepali writer and poet. She is best known for her short story ''The Thousand Rupee Note'' which has also been translated into English and Urdu. Her first novel '' Parityakta'' was published in 2020.

Early life and education

She was born as Bhuwan Koirala on 2 August 1947 (18 Shrawan 2004 BS) 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 ...

city of

eastern Nepal The Eastern Development Region ( Nepali: पुर्वाञ्चल विकास क्षेत्र, ''Purwānchal Bikās Kshetra'') was one of Nepal's five development regions. It is also known as Kirata region. It was located at th ...

in a political family. Although born to a political family, she was never attracted towards the world of politics. She received her primary education from

Varanasi Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. * * * * The city has a syncretic t ...

, India and secondary education from Biratnagar. She received a Diploma in Law from

Ratna Rajya Lakshmi Campus Ratna RajyaLaxmi Campus (), commonly known as RR Campus, is a constituent college of Tribhuvan University (TU). It is also the largest college for the Humanities and Social sciences studies. It provides under-graduate and master's degree level pro ...

, Kathmandu. Through Colombo plan, she received scholarship to attend

Visva-Bharati University Visva-Bharati () is a public central university and an Institution of National Importance located in Shantiniketan, West Bengal, India. It was founded by Rabindranath Tagore who called it ''Visva-Bharati'', which means the communion of the w ...

Santiniketan Santiniketan is a neighbourhood of Bolpur town in the Bolpur subdivision of Birbhum district in West Bengal, India, approximately 152 km north of Kolkata. It was established by Maharshi Devendranath Tagore, and later expanded by his son ...

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

. In the university, she studied Manipuri dance for three years. She received a Diploma in Manipuri dance and Bengali literature in 1971. She completed her post graduate education from

Tribhuvan University Tribhuvan University (TU; ne, त्रिभुवन विश्वविद्यालय) is a public university located in Kirtipur, Kathmandu. Established in 1959, TU is the oldest university in Nepal. In terms of enrollment, it is t ...

in 1973.

Literary career

Her first writing was a poem called ''Shabdakosh Ko Aa Jastai'' published in ''Madhuparka'' magazine in 2026 BS. Her stories were published in various literary magazines such as ''Madhuparka'', ''Garima'' and other national daily newspaper. She has written in various national daily advocating for freedom of speech and democracy. She was one of the key person in establishing an organization called ''Gunjan'' for women writers to meet monthly and discuss literature. She was one of the 20 members who signed to establish the

PEN Center PEN International (known as International PEN until 2010) is a worldwide association of writers, founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere. The association has autonomous Internationa ...

in Kathmandu. She worked as an editor for ''Siudi'', a literary magazine form 1969 (2026 BS) to 1991 (2048 BS). Dhungana once recited a poem in September 2002 in an vent organized by poet Kedar Man Vyathit and attended by politician

Ganesh Man Singh Ganesh Man Singh ( Nepali:गणेशमान सिंह) (November 9, 1915 – September 18, 1997) was the leader of the democratic movement of 1990 in Nepal. He is revered as the Father of Democracy and the Iron-man of Nepali politic ...

. Being touched by Dhungana's poem, Singh became very emotional. She was awarded with BP Koirala literature award instituted by BP Koirala Memorial Trust in 2016. In 2020, she published her first novel ''Parityakta'', which was shortlisted for the prestigious

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 ...

Works

Short story collection

* ''Yuddhako Ghoshana Garnu Bhanda Aghi'' * ''Dharmabimba''

Short stories

* ''The Thousand Rupee Note'' * ''Bhok'' (Hunger)

Novel

* ''Parityakta'' (2020)

Awards and honours

She was awarded ''Dr. Bimala Mohan Sahitya Puraskar'' by ''Indra Mohan Smriti Guthi'' in 2020 (2077 BS) for her contribution to Nepali poetry and literature since last five decades. In 2020 (2077 BS), her debut novel ''Parityakta'' was shortlisted for

References

External links

Bhok story
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dhungana, Bhuwan Living people Nepalese writers 21st-century Nepalese writers 21st-century Nepalese women writers Nepalese poets Nepalese women poets Nepalese short story writers People from Biratnagar 1947 births Khas people Ratna Rajya Laxmi Campus alumni