Banira Giri (11 April 1946–24 May 2021) was a Nepalese poet and novelist, best known for her novels such as ''Karagar'', ''Nirbandha'' and her poetry collections such as ''Jiwan: Thayamaru'' and ''Euta Jiundo Jung Bahadur''. In 1999, she received the

Sajha Puraskar Sajha Puraskar () is a literary award given by Sajha Publications. It is presented annually to the best book published by Sajha Publication. History It was established in 1967 and the first award was given to Bhupi Sherchan for his book '' ...

for her novel, '' Shabdatit Shantanu'', becoming the first woman to win the prize. She was the first woman to be awarded a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

Tribhuvan University Tribhuvan University (TU; ) is a public university located in Kirtipur, Kathmandu Valley, Kathmandu, Nepal. Established in 1959, TU is the oldest and the largest university in Nepal. It offers 1,000 undergraduate and 500 postgraduate programs a ...

for her thesis on the poetry of Gopal Prasad Rimal in 1985.

Early life and education

Giri was born on 11 April 1946 (29 Chaitra 2002 BS) in

Kurseong Kurseong (, ) is a town and a municipality in Darjeeling district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Kurseong subdivision. Located at an altitude of , Kurseong is from Darjeeling and has a pleasant climate throu ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. She studied in

Darjeeling Darjeeling (, , ) is a city in the northernmost region of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the Koshi Pr ...

where she obtained an I.Sc. degree. Her future husband Shankar Giri first saw her while she was studying in Darjeeling. She received her bachelor's degree from

North Bengal University The University of North Bengal (also North Bengal University, abbreviated as NBU) is a public state university in the North Bengal region of West Bengal, India. Its main campus is located in Raja Rammohanpur, Siliguri, Darjeeling district, in ...

. She traveled to

Kathmandu Kathmandu () is the capital and largest city of Nepal, situated in the central part of the country within the Kathmandu Valley. As per the 2021 Nepal census, it has a population of 845,767 residing in 105,649 households, with approximately 4 mi ...

in 1965 (2022 BS) for an award ceremony. A poetry competition was organized by the Royal Nepal Academy. She participated in the competition and stood second. The medals of the competition were distributed by the King

Mahendra Mahendra () is a Sanskrit compound word deriving from ''mahā'' (great) and ''indra'' (the title of the king of the devas) from Hinduism. It has been used in compound royal styles. History and politics Royalty * Mahendra or Mahinda – ...

. While receiving the prize, Giri expressed her interest in pursuing an MA in Nepali literature from Tribhuvan University (TU) to the king. She then received an invitation from the Royal Secretariat to study at TU with scholarship.

Literary career

Giri started teaching at Padma Kanya Campus after receiving her master's degree. She also taught at various colleges and campuses of the Tribhuvan University in her lifetime. She received a Ph.D. from Tribhuvan University for her thesis ''Gopal Prasad Rimal ka Kavya ma Swachchhandatavad'' (), in . The university was initially reluctant on accepting the proposal of the thesis since Rimal had written only a few poems, but accepted after multiple requests by Giri. Giri was the second poet, after

Laxmi Prasad Devkota Laxmi Prasad Devkota () (1909-1959) was a Nepalis, Nepalese poet, playwright, novelist, and politician. Honored with the title of Mahakabi () in Nepali literature, he was known as a poet with a golden heart, and is considered one of the most fam ...

, to represent Nepal at the Afro-Asian Writers' Conference; she did so in 1975. She published her first book ''Euta Jiundo Jung Bahadur'', a poetry collection, in 1974 (Jestha 2031 BS). She received positive reviews for her work and published a second poetry collection titled ''Jiwan: Thayamaru'', in 1977 (2034 BS). Her third work was a novel titled ''Karagar'', published in 1978. It is the story of a lonely woman living in Kathmandu. It deals with her relationship with her brothers after the death of their parents and her affair with a married man. The novel remains one of her widely-read works. In 1985 (2042 BS), she published the novel's sequel, ''Nirbandha''. In 1999 (2056 BS), Giri published a poetic fantasy novel titled '' Shabdatit Shantanu'', for which she received the Sajha award.

Notable works

Personal life and death

She married Shankar Giri, an engineer from

Janakpur Janakpurdham or Janakpur (), is the capital city of Madhesh Province. This sub-metropolitan city is a central hub for the Maithili language, as well as for religious and cultural tourism in Nepal. The city was founded in the early 18th centur ...

, in 1967. She was a close friend of the writer

Parijat ''Nyctanthes arbor-tristis'' is a species of '' Nyctanthes'' native to South Asia and Southeast Asia.Flora of Pakistan''Nyctanthes arbor-tristis''/ref>AgroForestry Tree Database''Nyctanthes arbor-tristis'' It is commonly known as night-blooming ...

. On the night of May 24, 2021, Giri died following a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

and testing positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

, at the age of 75. She was survived by her husband, a son and a daughter.

Awards and legacy

She won the Sajha Puraskar in 1999 for her poetic fantasy work ''Shabatit Shantanu''. She was the first woman to win the award. She was also awarded with ''Suprabal-Gorkha-Dakshin-Bahu'', the second highest civilian honour in the

Kingdom of Nepal The Kingdom of Nepal was a Hindu monarchy in South Asia, founded in 1768 through the unification of Nepal, expansion of the Gorkha Kingdom. The kingdom was also known as the Gorkha Empire and was sometimes called History of Asal Hindustan, ...

by His Majesty's Government of Nepal. Her husband, Shankar Giri, established a non-profit foundation called the Banira Giri Foundation in 2019. Its aim is to help aspiring writers financially and in other ways. The foundation also has an archive of the books, manuscripts and photographs of the poet. A life-size statue of Giri was built on the property of the foundation; it was unveiled on 11 May 2022 by Dr. Basudev Tripathi. The foundation also presented various awards to poets and artists on that day.

References

External links

Banira Giri
at

Poetry International Poetry International may refer to: * Poetry International Web, a webzine and poetry archive of the Poetry International Foundation * Poetry International Festival, an annual poetry festival in Rotterdam, Netherlands * Poetry International, an annua ...

Banira Giri
at {{DEFAULTSORT:Giri, Banira 1946 births 2021 deaths Nepalese women poets Nepali-language writers People from Darjeeling district Tribhuvan University alumni 21st-century Nepalese poets 21st-century Nepalese women writers Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Nepal Sajha Puraskar winners Khas people Nepali-language poets