In Memory Of Tara Nath Sharma

Written words glow forever. This faith is there even in the exchange of personal letters. There are many instances, where letters have reminded the loving memory of persons after their death. So, pages of letters must be turned to make memories alive. This necessity is the necessity of faith in words, through which we can offer tributes to personalities of society even after their death.

This year, one such instance came out. The demise of the Nepali literary personality Dr Tara Nath Sharma remained shocking for his readers, friends and well-wishers as they instantly took to social media to mourn.  The shock was deep. But, the other more important fact here is: the author who delivered the masterpiece like the Belayattira Baralinda and the creations like Chari Bharara, Aansu Chachalkindai Janchha or Patal Prabash will be remembered through the medium of art of words forever.  

However, one fresh and respectful remembrance of Dr Sharma has now come in book form. What are the contents of it? The under-reviewed book "Samjhanama Taranath Sharma" edited by Krishna Prasain contains neither a list of his books nor the biography of the late author. It is built with fresh content, in which readers will find lots of messages of grief and his lovingly shared personal letters to editor Prasain himself. 

The main sources of these grief messages of Dr Sharma's well-wishers are from online media – Facebook and Twitter etc. No doubt, in such times these are not only instant means of communication; but are also in use by a huge number of people all over the world. As the grief messages continued to pour in, editor Prasain quickly worked to give them the shape of a book.  

The other part of the book, too, is no less interesting. Dr Sharma’s calligraphy skills are known in the literary circles of the nation. This book has brought out lots of his hand-written letters for readers and it is interesting to read so many letters in the clean and artistic handwriting of the late author in this book. 

It would be relevant to remember Mahatma Gandhi in this regard, who about the importance of handwriting had said, "I saw that bad handwriting should be regarded as a sign of an imperfect education". Thus, if we borrow Gandhi's this view here, the author of the widely read book Belayattira Baralinda will be remembered as a source of inspiration for improving personal handwriting in this gadget-dominated age. 

However, the sole thing about these letters is not limited to good handwriting skills only. Thus, it is about content and context. At those times, when Dr Sharma wrote these letters to the editor, Prasain, were not IT-savvy. Hand-written letters were globally popular. The letters in this book show that Dr Sharma was quite energetic to write his pure literary thoughts in the context of his plan, socio-economic conditions and the then national circumstances.  

In these letters, he has lovingly called America Patal Lok. But, was the author satisfied there? He did his PhD at Wisconsin University and he has praised some of the major values and achievements of the US in his books, too. But, amidst all these personal observations and successes, he has opened his heart in these letters that his main aim in life is to build the Nepali language and literature strong. 

Dr Tara Nath Sharma is one of the doyens of the literary movement known in the country's literary history as the Jharrobadi Andolan, which aimed to shun unnecessary encroachment of other languages into the Nepali. Personally, the influence of this movement can be seen in the use of his pure Nepali words even in these letters. 

He has opened his disgruntlement with reason. He has attacked social aberrations, demanded justice, criticised unhealthy literary trends based on logic and reason and welcomed reform-minded people heartily. 

The following lines of thoughts, which are mentioned by Dr Sharma, are worthy to remember from his letters to Krishna Prasain in the book.  

'I am wandering in the US. I have entered a foreign land (Lahur). But this wanderer has not forgotten their motherland and his well-wishers; it is impossible.  Page: 62.

‘My body is in the Patal Lok (the US), but my soul is in the motherland, which is strolling and gazing aimlessly from the lap of Himalaya there.’

Letters, it is said, tell a lot. That is why they should not be lost, damaged or destroyed. We have heard much from news about letters exchanged by the World personalities like Mahatma Gandhi, Albert Einstein and Abraham Lincoln. 

It is, therefore, a praiseworthy act on the part of editor Krishna Prasain because he unveiled important letters from author Tara Nath Sharma in time.