Taranath Sharma () popular name Tana Sarma (23 June 1934 – 15 February 2022) was a litterateur of Nepal, recognized as travel writer, essayist and

literary critic Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...

. Sharma authored over 112 books in

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 ...

.Man of his words
The Himalayan Times He contributed to Nepali Literature for over five decades.
Kantipur Daily

Early life and education

Sharma was born on 23 June 1934 in Barbote Ilam as the first child of Mr. Prajapati Upadhyay a social reformer. Quitting the

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 ...

education he continued his studies in the English school that was established by his father. He completed his school level studies at St Joseph's,

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, ...

. Sharma got PhD in Linguistics from the

University of Wisconsin-Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

in the US.

Literary career

While studying for a BA in

Banaras 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 ...

, Sharma initiated the 'Jharro Nepali' a literature movement with his friends. He wrote his first work, ''Ojhel Parda'', in 1966 inside jail while he was imprisoned for criticizing late

King Mahendra Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev ( ne, श्री ५ महाराजाधिराज महेन्द्र वीर विक्रम शाह देव; 11 June 1920 – 31 January 1972) was the King of Nepal from 13 March 1955 until h ...

's poem. His travelogue entitled '' Belaet Tira Baralida'' meaning Ramblings in and around Britain, which he wrote while he was doing his Post Graduate Diploma with English as second language in the

University College of North Wales , former_names = University College of North Wales (1884–1996) University of Wales, Bangor (1996–2007) , image = File:Arms_of_Bangor_University.svg , image_size = 250px , caption = Arms ...

won the popular 'Madan Puraskar' award in 1969. Sharma served as the editor in chief of

The Rising Nepal ''The Rising Nepal'' is a Nepalese government-owned daily newspaper published by the Gorkhapatra Sansthan. It is a major English-language daily in Nepal. It is a sister publication of Gorkhapatra, oldest national daily newspaper of Nepal. Hist ...

English daily for some years after the restoration of democracy in Nepal. He even served at Nobel Academy Secondary School as the school principal for many years. He has great contribution in Nepali education and literature.

Awards

Sharma received various awards like 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 ...

Award 1969 for '' Belaet Tira Baralida'' travelogue, the Saajha Award 1972 for Sama Ra Samaka Kriti''' critic, and the Aadi kabi Bhanubhakta award 2013.

Personal life and death

Sharma was married and had two sons. He died at his home in Kathmandu on 15 February 2022, at the age of 87. He suffered from dementia, diabetes, high blood pressure and other heart problems prior to his death.

Bibliography

*'' Belaet Tira Baralida'' () *''Jharro Nepali''

References