''Thaunkanhe'' () is the first magazine 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 ...

to be published from

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 ...

. The monthly magazine began publication on 21 May 1951 (

Nepal Era Nepal Sambat, also spelled as Nepala Sambata, (Nepal Bhasa: , Nepali: ) is the lunisolar calendar used by the Newari people of Nepal. The Calendar era began on 20 October 879 AD, with 1142 in Nepal Sambat corresponding to the year 2021–2022 ...

1071 Bachhala), coinciding with the festival of Swanya Punhi, the "full moon day of flowers" marking the anniversary of the

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...

's birth, enlightenment and

nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...

. It was among the very few magazines published in Nepal at the time. The first magazine in Nepal Bhasa was ''

Buddha Dharma wa Nepal Bhasa Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...

'' (

Devanagari Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental Writing systems#Segmental syste ...

: बुद्ध धर्म व नॆपाल भाषा), which was published from

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 ...

, India in 1925.

History

''Thaunkanhe'' was started by former merchants

Purna Kaji Tamrakar Purna Kaji Tamrakar ( ne, पूर्णकाजी ताम्रकार) (1920 - 2009) was a Nepalese merchant, author and journalist who worked to develop Nepal Bhasa at the time when writers were being persecuted by the government. Pages ...

Pushpa Ratna Sagar Pushpa Ratna Sagar ( ne, पुष्प रत्न सागर) (born Pushpa Ratna Tuladhar) (29 October 1922 – 11 November 2011) was a Nepalese merchant, grammarian, lexicographer and pioneer pressman. Born Pushpa Ratna Tuladhar in Asan D ...

and Ratna Man Singh

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 scale ...

with funds donated by Nepalese traders in Lhasa,

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, ...

. The three were its first editor, deputy editor and publisher respectively. The monthly was registered at the Magistrate's Office,

Bhaktapur , motto = ne, पुर्खले सिर्जेको सम्पत्ती, हाम्रो कला र संस्कृति , lit=Creation of our ancestors, our heritage and culture , image_map ...

and given Registered No. 12. It was published from 11/122

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 ...

Tyouda,

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

and printed at Bagiswar Chhapakhana, Jhochhen Laykusal, Kathmandu. From 1952, it was printed at Nepal Press, 11/122 Asan Tyouda, Kathmandu. ''Thaunkanhe'' was launched two months after the Democratic Revolution in Nepal that toppled the

Rana dynasty Rana dynasty ( ne, राणा वंश, IAST=Rāṇā vaṃśa , ) is a Chhetri dynasty that imposed totalitarianism in the Kingdom of Nepal from 1846 until 1951, reducing the Shah monarch to a figurehead and making Prime Minister and other ...

and dismantled restrictions on private journalism. The inaugural issue contained a message of felicitation from Minister of Industry and Commerce

Ganesh Man Singh Ganesh Man Singh ( Nepali:गणेशमान सिंह) (November 9, 1915 – September 18, 1997) was the leader of the democratic movement of 1990 in Nepal. He is revered as the Father of Democracy and the Iron-man of Nepali politic ...

. Among the writers in the first issue were

Siddhicharan Shrestha Siddhicharan Shrestha (Devanagari: सिद्धिचरण श्रेष्ठ; 21 May 1912 – 4 June 1992) was one of the most prominent writers of Nepal. He contributed to the struggle against the autocratic Rana regime (1846–1951) thr ...

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 ...

and Hridaya Chandra Singh Pradhan. "Thaunkanhe" means "nowadays" in Nepal Bhasa. Its slogan, printed below the name on the front cover, is "Progressive Monthly Magazine in Nepal Bhasa". The contents consist of articles, essays, poems and news items. Its editorial policy championed the cause of

linguistic rights Linguistic rights are the human and civil rights concerning the individual and collective right to choose the language or languages for communication in a private or public atmosphere. Other parameters for analyzing linguistic rights include the ...

and inclusion of minority languages in the

curriculum In education, a curriculum (; : curricula or curriculums) is broadly defined as the totality of student experiences that occur in the educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to a view ...

Honors

''Thaunkanhe'' is the oldest Nepal Bhasa magazine still in print. Publication ceased in 1957 and resumed in 1992. On 5 March 2011, it was honored by the Nepal Literary Journalists Association for its contribution to journalism.

History

Honors

References

See also