Narayan Prasad Rajbhandari (; 21 July 1931 – 16 October 2023), professionally known as Chittaranjan Nepali, was a Nepalese writer and historian. He received the first ever

Madan Puraskar The Madan Puraskar () 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 as the most prestigious literature award in Nepal. ...

for '' Janaral Bhimsen Thapa Ra Tatkalin Nepal'', a biographical book on the life of prime minister

Bhimsen Thapa Bhimsen Thapa ( (August 1775 – 29 July 1839)) was a Nepalese statesman who served as the ''Mukhtiyar'' (equivalent to prime minister) and de facto ruler of Nepal from 1806 to 1837. He is widely known as the List of Prime Ministers of Nepal, l ...

. He wrote in Nepali as well as Nepalbhasa.

Early life and education

Nepali was born on 21 July 1931 (10 Shrawan 1988 BS) to Sardar Medini Prasad Rajbhandari and Kali Nani Rajbhandari. He began his basic education in Mahabir School founded by Chiniya Lal and Phatte Bahadur Singh which was closed after the imprisonment of the founders. He then joined Juddodaya School and completed his SLC level education from

Durbar High School Durbar High School () or Bhanu Higher Secondary School, opened in 1854 is the oldest English education school which publicly established English education system in the country. in Nepal located near Rani Pokhari, Kathmandu whereas the first schoo ...

in 2004 BS. He then went to

Tri-chandra College Tri-Chandra Multiple Campus () is a constituent campus of Tribhuvan University located in Ghantaghar, Kathmandu. Founded in 1918 by Chandra Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana, Chandra Shumsher, it is the oldest institute of higher learning in Nepal. E ...

for his college education. From his childhood, he was friends with Bijaya Malla, Gopal Prasad Rimal, Govinda Bahadur Malla and Shyam Das Vaishnav. His father was friends with the historian

Baburam Acharya Baburam Acharya ( Nepali: बाबुराम आचार्य) (1888–1971 AD) was a Nepalese historian and literary scholar. He is known as the historian laureate () of Nepal. The four part biography of King Prithivi Narayan Shah, founder ...

. His poems and historic articles were published in ''Sharada'' magazine. Initially, he worked for

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

. Then he was transferred to

Home ministry An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a Ministry (government department), government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law e ...

. Nepali received MA degree in history from

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 ...

Political career

In 1997 BS after Shukra Raj Shastri, Dashrath Chand,

Ganga Lal Shrestha Ganga Lal Shrestha (Devanagari: गङ्गालाल श्रेष्ठ; 1919 –h 28 January 1941) was a Nepalese revolutionary who was executed by the autocratic Rana dynasty, Rana regime. He is honoured as one of the four martyrs of ...

and Dharma Bhakta Mathema were murdered by the Rana government, he became involved in the politics. He started putting up anti-Rana pamphlets but he needed anonymity for doing so or he could have lost his job and even been punished by the government. So, he chose the alias Chhitaranjan Nepali.

Literary career

Nepali started his career as a poet. His first

Nepal Bhasa Newar (; , ) is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken by the Newar people, the indigenous inhabitants of Nepal Mandala, which consists of the Kathmandu Valley and surrounding regions in Nepal. The language is known officially in Nepal as Nepal Bhas ...

epic poem Ma Lumanka (Mother's memory) was published in 1950-1951 (2007 BS). He then published ''Janaral Bhimsen Thapa Ra Tatkalin Nepal'' with the aid of ''Nepal Sanskirti Sangh'' (Nepal Cultural Association) about the life of first prime minister of Nepal,

. He won first ever

prize alongside Satya Mohan Joshi and Balram Joshi.

Personal life and death

Chittaranjan Nepali was married to Merri Baba Rajbhandari and had four children (one son and three daughters). He died in

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 ...

Chabahil Chabahil () (also Kathmandu Metropolitan City Ward 07) is an ancient neighborhood in northeast Kathmandu in Nepal. It is famous for its Licchavi stupa, called the Dhando Chaitya, considered by many historians to be the oldest Buddhist Stupa i ...

neighbourhood on 16 October 2023, at the age of 92.

Awards

Nepali is recipient of various literary and civil awards. Some of the awards are: * Madan Puraskar () for ''Janaral Bhimsen Thapa Ra Tatkalin Nepal'' * Shrestha Shirpa Puraskar () * Subha Rajya Avishek Padak () * Trishatti Patta - Second * Durgam Sewa Padak * Janapad Sewa Padak * Janapad Dirga Sewa Padak

Bibliography

* ''Ma Lumanka'' (Nepal Bhasa epic, ) *'' Janaral Bhimsen Thapa Ra Tatkalin Nepal'' * ''Jungabahadurko Katha'' * ''Shree 5 Ranbahadur Shah: Bektitva ra ShasanKal'' *''Parivarik Shadyantra''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nepali, Chittaranjan 1931 births 2023 deaths Nepalese male writers Madan Puraskar winners 20th-century Nepalese historians People from Kathmandu