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Lupau Ratna Tuladhar ( ne, लुपौरत्न तुलाधर) (22 June 1918 – 2 June 1993) was a Nepalese trader and transport pioneer. He and his brother
Lupau Ratna Tuladhar ( ne, लुपौरत्न तुलाधर) (22 June 1918 – 2 June 1993) was a Nepalese trader and transport pioneer. He and his brother Karuna Ratna Tuladhar
Karuna Ratna Tuladhar ( ne, करुणारत्न तुलाधर) (23 October 1920 – 19 July 2008) was a pioneer of Nepalese public transport. He was proprietor of Nepal Transport Service which he and his brother Lupau Ratna Tuladhar ...
established Nepal Transport Service in 1959 and operated the first regular bus service in Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
.
Early life
Tuladhar
Tulādhar (Devanagari: तुलाधर) is a Nepali/Nepalese caste from the Newar community of the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal. The name Tuladhar is derived from the Sanskrit words "tula" (weighing scale) and "dhar" (possessor), thus meaning sca ...
was born in Asan
Asan () is a city in South Chungcheong Province, South Korea. It borders the Seoul Capital Area to the north. Asan has a population of approximately 300,000.
Asan is known for its many hot springs and is a city of spas.
Asan has grown into th ...
Dhalasikwa, Kathmandu
, pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia
, coordinates =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name =
, subdivision_type1 = Province
, subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...
, the eldest of the three sons of father Pushpa Sundar Tuladhar
Pushpa Sundar Tuladhar ( ne, पुष्पसुन्दर तुलाधर; 1885-1935) was a prominent merchant of Kathmandu and one of the chief donors to the restoration of the Swayambhu stupa in 1918. Swayambhu, a UNESCO World Heritag ...
and mother Dhan Maya. The Tuladhars were hereditary merchants and owned a business house in Lhasa
Lhasa (; Lhasa dialect: ; bo, text=ལྷ་ས, translation=Place of Gods) is the urban center of the prefecture-level city, prefecture-level Lhasa (prefecture-level city), Lhasa City and the administrative capital of Tibet Autonomous Regio ...
, Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
named Ghorasyar. They conducted trade between Nepal, India and Tibet, transporting goods over the Himalayan passes by mule train
"Mule Train" is a popular song written by Johnny Lange, Hy Heath, Ramblin' Tommy Scott and Fred Glickman. It is a cowboy song, with the singer filling the role of an Old West wagon driver, spurring on his team of mules pulling a delivery wagon. ...
.
Lupau Ratna received informal education from private tutors in Kathmandu and attended high school in Kolkata
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
. In 1932, he went to Lhasa and joined his father at the family shop. He traveled over the traditional route to Tibet in the north of Kathmandu, crossing the Himalaya
The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...
at Nyalam (Kuti).
Career
Tuladhar engaged in trade and lived in Lhasa till 1940 when he returned to Kathmandu. On 12 January 1942, he married Harkha ShobhaTamrakar
Tāmrakār (Devanagari: ताम्रकार) is a caste of coppersmiths and other metal casters found in Nepal and India. In Nepal, the Tamrakars are found among the Newar community of the Kathmandu Valley.
Etymology and names
The name Tam ...
of Maru. After his marriage, he moved to India and handled the Indian end of the family's Tibet business, dividing his time between Kalimpong
Kalimpong (Hindi: कलिम्पोंग) is a town and the headquarters of an eponymous district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located at an average elevation of . The town is the headquarters of the Kalimpong district. The re ...
and Kolkata in 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 ...
. Kalimpong was then the starting point of the caravan route to Lhasa and a trade center.
In 1959, Tuladhar wound up the business in Kalimpong and returned to Kathmandu to start Nepal Transport Service. The company folded in 1966.
Tuladhar has published a number of articles on religious topics in ''Dharmodaya
''Dharmodaya'' ( ne, धर्मोदय) was a monthly magazine in Nepal Bhasa on Theravada Buddhism. It was launched from Kalimpong, India, in 1947 to counter the ban on publication in Nepal.
''Dharmodaya'' was published by Dharmodaya Sabha, ...
'' magazine in the 1940s.
Postage stamp issued
On 31 December 2012, the Postal Services Department of the government of Nepal issued a commemorative postage stamp bearing portraits of Karuna Ratna and Lupau Ratna Tuladhar to honor their service to the nation. The stamp also shows aChevrolet
Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...
bus of Nepal Transport Service.
See also
*Lhasa Newar (trans-Himalayan traders)
Lhasa Newar (alternate name: Lhasa Newah) () refers to the expatriate Newar traders and artisans who traveled between the Kathmandu Valley and Tibet from centuries ago. These Nepalese merchants conducted trade between Nepal, Tibet and Bengal, Ind ...
References