Rebati Ramanananda Shrestha ( ne, रेबतिरमणानन्द श्रेष्ठ) (1932–2002) was a Nepalese freedom fighter, journalist and

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 ...

author. He also wrote under the pen name R. R. N. Syasya (रे. रे. न. स्यस्य). His works range from poems and epics to essays and short stories. He has written books on history, language, culture and religion.

Early life

Shrestha (alternative names: Rebati Ramanananda Shrestha Vaidya and Revatiramanananda Sreshtha Vaidya) 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 Basudevananda and mother Chandra Maya Shrestha. He was educated at Durbar High School in Kathmandu.

Political career

Shrestha joined the underground movement against the Rana dynasty in 1948 while a student at Durbar High. In 1949, he formed an underground organization named Suhrid Mandal to carry on the struggle for democracy in Nepal. The group disbanded as the authorities were beginning to close in on it. After finishing the School Leaving Certificate (SLC) exams in 1949, Shrestha became general secretary of Rana Bidrohi Mandal ("Anti-Rana Organization") and continued to work in the democracy movement. He gave up active politics and turned to writing and serving Nepal Bhasa following the overthrow of the Rana regime and establishment of democracy in 1951.

Writing career

Shrestha enrolled in Nepal National College in 1954. His first publication was ''Malakha'' (meaning "Dragon"), a collection of poems, which came out in 1955. In 1956, while a student at Tri-Chandra College, he helped establish Nepal Bhasa Sahitya Pala, an organization of students, with the objective of conducting literary activities in Nepal Bhasa. Shrestha has served as an editor of Nepal Bhasa literary magazines ''

Thaunkanhe ''Thaunkanhe'' () is the first magazine in Nepal Bhasa to be published from Nepal. The monthly magazine began publication on 21 May 1951 (Nepal Era 1071 Bachhala), coinciding with the festival of Swanya Punhi, the "full moon day of flowers" marki ...

'' and ''Nepal''. He was an executive member of the Nepal Bhasa Academy.

Publications

Among his notable works are: * ''Malakha'' ("Dragon"), a collection of poems (1955) * ''Kapan'' ("Rainbow"), a collection of short stories (1956) * ''Uphoswan'' ("Blue Lotus"), story (1956) * ''Pracina Nepalaya juyivankham'' ("History of Ancient Nepal"), history (1991) * ''Ulah'' ("Meteor"), a collection of poems (1993) * ''Newah'', a cultural history (2001)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shrestha, Rebati Ramanananda 1932 births 2002 deaths People from Kathmandu Nepalese activists Newar-language writers Nepalese journalists 20th-century Nepalese historians Nepalese male poets Nepalese male short story writers Nepalese short story writers Nepali-language writers Newar studies scholars Nepal Bhasa movement Nepalese revolutionaries 20th-century poets 20th-century short story writers 20th-century male writers 20th-century journalists Durbar High School alumni Newar-language poets from Nepal