Parasmani Pradhan () (1 January 1898–2 February 1986) was an

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

Nepali-language writer, poet, translator, grammarian, educator and publisher. He published multiple Nepali language textbooks and played an important role in shaping the modern Nepali grammar. He was one of the key figures who contributed in establishing Nepali as one of the official language of India. He was a part of a literary group in Darjeeling called ''SuDhaPa'' with

Surya Bikram Gyawali Surya Bikram Gyawali (; born 10 June 1898 – 1 December 1985) was a Nepali historian. He wrote biographies for numerous people including King Prithvi Narayan Shah and writer Bhanubhakta Acharya. Gyawali also served as a head teacher in Darjeel ...

and Dharanidhar Koirala. The trio played an important role in promoting

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 ...

among the Nepali diasporic societies in India.

Early life and schooling

Pradhan was born on 1 January 1898 (18 Poush 1955 BS) in

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 ...

to father Bhagyamani Bhikshacharya and mother Laxmi Maya Newarni. Pradhan's grandfather Chintamani Shakya migrated to Lalitpur district from Okhaldhunga district. His father with his mother then moved to

Kashi Kashi or Kaashi may refer to: Places * Varanasi (historically known as "Kashi"), a holy city in India **Kingdom of Kashi, an ancient kingdom in the same place, one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas **Kashi Vishwanath Temple, Varanasi * Kashgar, a cit ...

in India, at the age of 14 where he met the publisher Pt. Harihar Sharma. His father worked with Pt. Harihar Sharma for few years before moving to

and settled there. In Kalimpong his father was popularly known as Julfe Newar. For his primary education, he was admitted to Pudung Primary School, a Scottish missionary school, 2 miles east of his home. Due to the difficulty of the way to the school in monsoon season, he was shifted to Waugh Primary School. He completed his primary education at Waugh. He was then admitted to Upper Primary School of same mission. After he was punished by the teacher at the school, his mother refused to send him back to the school and admitted him in the night school of his uncle Sri Harkadhoj Pradhan. He then went to Darjeeling with his cousin as a companion, who had won a scholarship to study in a school in Darjeeling. He too was admitted to the Darjeeling Government High School. He passed the Matriculation examination in Hindi medium since Nepali-medium education was not available in Darjeeling and Kalimpong area.

Literary career

He started his literary career by publishing ''Adhyavasaya'', an article in May 1915 issue of ''Chandra'' magazine (Year I, Issue 9) published from

Benaras 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 tra ...

. In the next issue of the same magazine, he wrote an essay titled ''Bidhya''. He played an important role in standardising the Nepali grammar. He published multiple books and text books about the Nepali language grammar. Between 1918 and 1924, he wrote many plays. He wrote and edited about 45 books in his lifetime including ''Bharatbarshako Itihas'', ''Bilayat Yatra'', ''Nepali Bhasako Utpati ra Bikas'', ''Kabi ra Kabita'', ''Tipan Tapan'', etc. He was a part of group called ''SooDhaPa'' alongside

and Dharanidhar Koirala. The trio played an important role in promoting

among the Nepali diasporic society in India. In 1924 they founded a literary organization for Nepalese community in India called ‘Nepali Sahitya Sammelan’, which won the

Jagadamba Shree Puraskar Jagadamba Shree Puraskar () is an award given for contribution to Nepali Language, Literature, Art and Folk Culture Field. It is awarded to a person or an organization who has contributed in the field of Nepali language, literature, art or folk c ...

, The organization also published a literary magazine called ''Nepali Sahitya Patrika''. The trio christend

Laxmi Prasad Devkota Laxmi Prasad Devkota ( ne, लक्ष्मीप्रसाद देवकोटा) (1909-1959) was a Nepali poet, playwright, and novelist. Honored with the title of Mahakabi ( ne, माहाकवि) in Nepali literature, he was kno ...

Balkrishna Sama Balkrishna Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana or Bala Krishna Sama ( ne, :ne: बालकृष्ण सम, बालकृष्ण सम; 8 February 1903 - 20 June 1981) was a Nepalis, Nepalese dramatist. For his great contributions to Nepali litera ...

and

Lekhnath Paudyal Lekhnath Paudyal ( ne, लेखनाथ पौड्याल; 1885–1966) is regarded as the founding father of modern Nepali poetry literature (Kabi Shiromani) in the twentieth-century. His most important contribution is believed to be to ...

as the ''

trimurti The Trimūrti (; Sanskrit: त्रिमूर्ति ', "three forms" or "trinity") are the trinity of supreme divinity in Hinduism, in which the cosmic functions of creation, maintenance, and destruction are personified as a triad of de ...

'' (triumvirate) of Nepali literature.

Personal life and death

His first wife left him while he was away in

Darjeeling Darjeeling (, , ) is a town and municipality in the northernmost region of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the easternmost province of Nepal, ...

for his matriculation exam preparation. He then married Jasmaya Newarni, the daughter of Gopal Singh Malla and Indra Laxmi Malla. They had 12 children. He died on 2 February 1986 in

Siliguri Siliguri, ) is a major tier-II city in West Bengal. It forms twin cities, "Twin Cities" with the neighboring district capital of Jalpaiguri. The city spans areas of the Darjeeling district, Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts in the Indian sta ...

Notable works

Nepali grammar books/coursebooks

Nepali translation of novels

Plays (written between 1918 and 1924)

* ''Sawitri Satyawan'' * ''Sundar Kumar'' * ''Harishchandra'' * ''Ratnawali'' * ''Bidhya Sundar'' * ''Chandra Gupta'' * ''Sita Banbas'' * ''Buddha Charitra Natak'' * ''Mahabharat Natak''

Non–fiction

* ''Nepal Prathamik Bhugol Vol. I & II'' (Geographical nonfiction, 1933/46) * ''Prathamik Shiksha Bidhi'' (1942) * ''Nepali Hamro Matribhasa'' (Essay, 1953) * ''Nepali Bhasa ko Utapatti ra Bikas'' (1961) * ''Bharat ko Itishas (Ketaketiko)'' (1961) * ''108 Amar Jiwai Vol. I & II'' (Biographies, 1964) * ''Tipan Tapan Vol. I'' (Essays, 1969) * ''Rochak Sanmaran'' (Essays, 1969) * ''Panch Paurakhi Purusha Ratna'' (Biographies, 1969) * ''Nepali Sahitya ko Saun Akshar'' (Essay, 1969) * ''Afno Barema 1'' (Autobiography, 1971) * ''Kwanti'' (1972) * ''Aathau Anushuchi ma Nepali Bhasa'' (, 1972) * ''Sarkari Kamkaj Garna Bidhi'' (1973) * ''Kathe Jhanki'' (Essay, 1974) * ''Ramailo Samjhana Kharsang ko'' (History of Kurseong, 1978) * ''Mahakabi Laxmi Prasad Devkota'' (Biography of

, 1978) * ''Kabi Shiromani Lekhnath Paudyal'' (Biography of

, 1979)

Short stories

* ''Maya ko Chiya'' * ''Katha Bharati Jetho Bhag'' (1953) * ''Katha Bharati Mahilo Bhag'' (1954) * ''Katha Bharati Sahilo Bhag'' (1955) * ''Katha Bharati Kahinlo Bhag'' (1956) * ''Sadhe Saat Katha'' (1974)

Poems

* ''Prasnottar (Bhanubhaktiya)'' (1949) * ''Kabi ra Kabita'' (1957) * ''Jaymala'' (1972) * ''Kathmandu ma Dash Din'' (1975)

Awards and legacy

In 1969, he won the

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 ...

, Nepal's highest literary honour, for his book ''Tipan Tapan''. The same year, Pradhan was also awarded with the Tribhuvan Puraskar for the book ''Pancha Paurakhi Purush'' by Royal Nepal Academy in 1968. He was conferred with the Degree of Doctor of letters (Honoris Causa) by the Tribhuwan University in June 1975 and the Degree of Doctor of Literature (Honoris Causa) by the

University of North Bengal University of North Bengal (abbreviated as NBU) is a public state collegiate major research university in North Bengal region of West Bengal, which is located in Raja Rammohanpur, Siliguri, Darjeeling district, in the Indian state of West Be ...

in April 1981. In 1983, he was awarded the Ratna Shree Subarna Padak by Ratna Shree Patrika, Kathmandu for his article ''Maile Chineko Samaj''. His biography titled ''Dr. Parasmani Ko Jiwan Yatra'' was written by his son Nagendramani Pradhan. The book won the prestigious

Sahitya Akademi The Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India. Founded on 12 March 1954, it is supported by, though independent of, the Indian government. Its of ...

award for

in 1995. An award in his name Parasmani Pradhan Puraskar is awarded annually by Nepali Sahitya Adhyan Samiti.