I was invited to a literary programme organised by Srasta Samaj and Bhairav Puraskar Guthi on August 19, 2024, in Kathmandu. A note was appended to the invitation—Rochak Ghimire would turn 84 on that day and would be felicitated by a large group of writers and readers. Being very familiar with the literary contribution of Ghimire, this news unfolded a history of the literary times to me.

Ghimire has made history as a publisher of the literary magazine Rachana, which started in 1961 when Nepal was on the cusp of an era that introduced several political and ideological challenges. The conspicuous response to the sensitivity of the times came from literary magazines. Roop-Rekha, a prominent literary magazine, came following hard on the heels of Panchayat, an autocratic system of government introduced by King Mahendra after dissolving people's elected parliament and jailing Prime Minister BP Koirala in 1960. I have drawn more examples of how literary magazines responded to such systems later in the article.

Ghimire made a humble start, which was the best way to remain outside the influence of the nascent political system called Panchayat. He spent Rs500 to publish 300 copies at that time. I remember writing a long survey and analysis of the 100 issues of Rachana, which was published in the magazine in 2008. Remarkably, the literary magazine continues to this date and brings together cohorts of people who write literature and those who come to listen to literary discourses in literary programmes. Ghimire has been doing that through Rachana.

Literary magazines were published at different times of the long autocratic Rana rule (1846-1950) in Nepal. They were the best means of creating a forum of expression, which would be creative and metaphorical. A careful study of Nepali literature written over the times shows that some of the most creative minds of this land had chosen literary writing as the medium of their expression. But it was challenging during the Rana regime.

The writers, therefore, chose some easy ways. One was publishing literary magazines from Banaras, but they would not publish articles that would directly earn the wrath of the Rana rulers. Banaras had become the hub of publication for the Nepali writers who were either studying there or doing some small publication works. They would publish books on religious, social, folk and astrological themes and sell them within Nepal. Scholars have analysed this theme under the rubric 'print capitalism' by using a term introduced by Italian professor Francesca Orsini. I have no space to discuss the theme here.

That activity was quite prolific in Banaras from the last years of the 19th century and the first or second decades of the 20th century. Editors and writers published their works and 'marketised' them among the Nepali language readers in Nepal and India. A small but quite diverse reading public came into existence. The literary magazines published by the youths there set a tradition of publication. They created forums to express their feelings and ideas couched in the language of religion or social or ethical writings.

Literary magazines like Upanyas Tarangini (1902), Sundari (1906) and Madhavi (1914) were published from Banaras. But another centre, a hill area of Darjeeling, followed that tradition. The publication of Paras Mani Pradhan's Chandrika (1918) is one example. The magazines published in the 30s of the 20th century from Banaras and Kathmandu had a strong connection. They wanted to create a reading public whose sphere was small but important. The role played by 'print capitalism' was remarkable. In that context, the publication of Nepali Sahitya Sammelan Patrika (1931) from Darjeeling, Sharada (1934) from Kathmandu and Udaya (1936) from Banaras should be mentioned here.

The publication of Sharada from Kathmandu is a vital event in Nepal's literary times. A cohort of writers decided to establish a forum to publish their views and inner feelings through symbols, metaphors and stories. The path was arduous, as they had to convince the Rana Prime Minister Juddha Shumsher, who was not happy about such a publication. But he saw some energy working there and allowed the writers to proceed with the work. He didn’t want them to cross a certain limit, though.

Nepali literary critic Yadunath Khanal interpreted that juncture of time as a moment of tacit agreement between the writers and PM Juddha Shumsher. In one editorial of Sharada compiled in Sharadaka Sampadakiya Bicharharu (2001) by Shiva Regmi, we can read an important story. The editorial was obviously written by Riddhibahadur Malla.

When a group of writers got an appointment to meet Juddha, he was sitting with a British envoy named Col CT Dox. An interpreter communicated the ideas of the British official to the writers. Dox's opinion was that since there was already a government newspaper named Gorkhapatra, there was no need to ask for another magazine. The envoy had also said to Juddha earlier, "Now we are facing problems in Hindustan for allowing other papers to publish."

Juddha asked the writers to heed the suggestion of the British envoy and not be enthusiastic about publishing Sharada. But as Yadunath Khanal said, Juddha allowed the writers to publish a literary magazine named Sharada in the winter of 1934. That was a tacit agreement between the rulers and the writers. However, the reference to the British anxiety regarding freedom to publish newspapers and magazines is notable. That also shows how the literary writers kept up the spirit of freedom and creative thinking through such tacit agreements. It was possible only through literary expressions.

Literary magazines also came into existence after the political turn of the 1950s and of the 1960s. The continuity of the literary magazines run by individual literary persons like Uttam Kunwar and Balmukunda Pandey's Roop-Rekha, Rochak Ghimire's Rachana, Nagendra Sharma's Abhivyakti, Achyutraman Adhikari's Unnayan and a few others are unforgettable milestones of Nepali literary journeys. A survey of similar icons of the literary times of other languages of Nepal would make the picture complete. Literary magazines have traversed the difficult but important terrains of awakenings in this land.