On Friday, October 25th, the Munk School of Global Affairs’ Asian Institute welcomed Dr. Abhi Subedi, Professor Emeritus from Tribhuvan University in Nepal, to speak on the topic of Nepali Literature. Dr. Subedi is a distinguished essayist, literary critic, linguist, playwright, and poet, who has written plays in Nepali and English alike, and published over two dozen books on diverse topics including freedom, culture, literature, arts, and social transformations. Titled: “Sphere of Knowledge and Experience in Literature: A Case Study of Nepali Literature”, the event attracted a full room of attendees who were eager to hear the perspectives of such a distinguished scholar. Christoph Emmrich, the Director for South Asian Studies at the Munk school, was the Chair of the event sponsored by the Centre for South Asian Studies.
Dr. Subedi began by contextualizing himself as an insider in the world of Nepali literature. He expressed his intend to discuss some of his views as an insider, based on what he has experienced over the years as a writer, a literary critic, and educationist. Dr. Subedi sees himself as being uniquely positioned as “a teacher of Western literature written in English in a non-western situation”. Such positioning gave his scholarship an interesting contradiction, but likewise an interesting perspective when examining how Nepali literary culture has influenced new ideas in Nepal. His talk was centered around the literary culture and emergence of new ideas that it has facilitated over the periods of time.
Dr. Subedi’s area of interest is reflected in the questions that his research focuses on: “Who plays the role of creating continuity in the literary creative tradition in Nepal? Who are the architects of the continuity of literary tradition?” He admitted however that he has not found absolute answers to the role of agents in creating continuity. Yet there is much to learn about this topic in a country like Nepal, where 123 languages are spoken, but only few have literary traditions. Central to his analyses, however, was the influence of print publications, and the writers that relied on them as platforms to carry forward literary tradition over time.
He began by describing the influential role that the rise of print capitalism played. When it became a main force in Nepal, it transformed the society that had previously relied on a widespread oral tradition. Dr. Subedi noted that the oral tradition, practiced through a diverse set of languages, dominated until the emergence of written tradition under the influence of indo-scholastic literary practice. This transition to the print culture was marked by big achievements like the printing and distribution of the epic Ramayanaby poet Bhanu Bhakta Acharya (1814-1866). This epic had run into its 21st edition by 1925. In twenty-five years, between 1896-1920, there has been 218 numbers of publications, and 298,257 copies of Ramayanaand other Nepali books, printed from Banaras, produced and sold mostly within Nepal and in India. Alongside creation of the industry, there was a propulsion of cultural ideas that challenged norms. The printing and distribution of folk songs, ballads, and more, were made possible, notably, the publication of romantic and erotic pieces. Dr. Subedi paused along this point to narrate a sample of printed literature from the early 1900s – in Nepali. He read a deeply striking romantic piece of poetry that had Nepali speakers in the room chuckling in surprise. Like the professor had prefaced, it held unorthodox content that was justified at the time because of the rising popularity and accessibility of printing and consuming literature.
Dr. Subedi further noted the significant role writers played in continuing creative culture through such mass publishing, especially against the threat of government censorship and threat. The relationship between writers and the rulers who dictated their freedom, caused interesting political relationships and developments, particularly in the 1930s, when the creation of literary magazines and right to uncensored publication was not something that the government was very keen on. Nepali writers fought hard to have their voice heard against censorship by giving expression to their feelings, ideas, and political will through the creation of literary magazines. In its turn, the literary magazines provided a platform for the continuation of the literary tradition that was vital. Dr. Subedi pointed out that to this day, writers around the world fight against censorship by gathering and creating print publications like these.
During the Q&A session, one keen audience member asked Dr. Subedi about his personal relationship to this topic. The professor replied with a smile that his mother’s library has sowed the seeds of his interest in literature to begin with. His father hired a tutor to teach his mother to read in an era where women were kept illiterate. He as a child then, would page through the literature of his mother’s library, which was stockpiled with books due to the flux of print publication in Nepal. To this, Professor Emmrich, the Chair of the event, noted that much like the writers and publishers in Nepal throughout the 1900s, Dr. Subedi’s mother too created the continuity of literary creative culture.
Anushka Kurian is a fourth year student majoring in International Relations and Ethics, Society and Law. She is an Event Reporter and Contributor for Synergy: The Journal of Contemporary Asian Studies, South Asia section. Her research interests include migration and forced displacement, mass atrocities and human rights, and international development.
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