Moti Laxmi Upasika ( ne, मोतिलक्ष्मी उपासिका) (30 June 1909 – 1997) was Nepal's first woman poet and short story writer of modern times. Her first work, a short story, was published in 1935.

Early life

Moti Laxmi Upasika (also spelled Motilakshmī Upāsikā) was born in

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

to father Drabya Dhar and mother Gyan Laxmi Tuladhar. Her father was a merchant who 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, ...

. Her brother was poet

Chittadhar Hridaya Chittadhar Hridaya ( ne, चित्तधर हृदय; born Chittadhar Tuladhar; 19 May 1906 – 9 June 1982) was a Nepalese poet. He is regarded as one of the greatest literary figures from Nepal in the 20th century. The title of Kavi Kes ...

. She received informal education 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 ...

Pali Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or ''Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhism ...

and English.

Writing career

Upasika, who also wrote under the pen name M. Laxmi, published her first work in 1935, a story in the

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 ...

entitled ''Rodan''. It appeared in ''Sharada'' magazine published from Kathmandu. She started writing in

Nepal Bhasa Newar (), or Newari and known officially in Nepal as Nepal Bhasa, is a Sino-Tibetan languages, Sino-Tibetan language spoken by the Newar people, the indigenous inhabitants of Nepal Mandala, which consists of the Kathmandu Valley and surro ...

with a poem entitled ''Chitta Panchhi'' (meaning "Heart bird") and a story ''Lan'' ("Road") which were published in ''Dharmadoot'' in 1944. ''Dharmadoot'' was a Buddhist magazine published in

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

by the

Maha Bodhi Society The Maha Bodhi Society is a South Asian Buddhist society presently based in Kolkata, India. Founded by the Sri Lankan Buddhist leader Anagarika Dharmapala and the British journalist and poet Sir Edwin Arnold, its first office was in Bodh Gaya. The ...

from

Sarnath Sarnath (Hindustani pronunciation: aːɾnaːtʰ also referred to as Sarangnath, Isipatana, Rishipattana, Migadaya, or Mrigadava) is a place located northeast of Varanasi, near the confluence of the Ganges and the Varuna rivers in Uttar Pr ...

, India. It also published contributions in Nepal Bhasa at the request of its subscribers in Nepal. Nepalese woman writer Moti Laxmi Upasika

Though most of her essays deal with religious subjects, her writings have been described as a bridge between religious and free prose. Her essays are characterized by simple language and a powerful way of expressing her opinions.

Published works

* ''Motima'' ("Garland of Pearls"), a collection of essays, 1958 * ''Chakhunchiya Sarbay'' ("Sparrow's Property"), a collection of poems, 1993 * ''Moti Bakhan Puchah'' ("Moti Collection of Stories"), a collection of short stories, 1994 * ''Utpalvarna'', a collection of Buddhist stories, 1995 * ''Dhaubaji'' ("Yogurt and Rice Flakes"), a collection of essays, 1998

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Upasika, Moti Laxmi 1909 births 1997 deaths People from Kathmandu Newar people Newar-language writers 20th-century women writers Nepalese women short story writers Nepalese short story writers Nepal Bhasa movement Nepalese women poets 20th-century Nepalese poets 20th-century short story writers 20th-century Nepalese women writers Newar-language poets from Nepal