Hamro Lok Sanskriti
AuthorSatya Mohan Joshi
Original titleहाम्रो लोक संस्कृति
CountryNepal
LanguageNepali
SubjectFolk culture
GenreCultural
PublisherRatna Pustak Bandhar
Publication date
1956
AwardsMadan Puraskar
Followed byNepali Rastriya Mudra 

Hamro Lok Sanskriti (Nepali: हाम्रो लोक संस्कृति, lit. 'Our Folk Culture') is a 1956 book by Satya Mohan Joshi. It is about the folk culture of Nepal. The book won the Madan Puraskar, Nepal's highest literary honour.

Background

In 1943, Satya Mohan Joshi worked at Nepal's Department of Industrial and Commercial Intelligence;[1] he surveyed and created reports about the social economy in two districts Tanahun and Lamjung.[2] As he visited the districts, Joshi saw people singing in various areas including fields, jungles, and Chautara (a place where people communicate and share information).[2] In the afternoon, the villagers would sing songs with madals and performed Maruni, Kaura, Chudka, Sorathi, and Jhyamrey dances.[2] Music was an extensive part of the villagers' life which fascinated Joshi.[2]

He wanted to reveal these songs throughout Nepal but the country did not have radio stations until 1951,[3] instead he published the songs in a literary magazine Sarada.[2] Balkrishna Sama, an editor of the magazine, recommended that he should provide contexts for each song so Joshi wrote about their histories and his own analysis.[2] In the start, he found it difficult to write context about the song because no one had penned about the culture of Nepal.[2] Afterwards, he collected the published lyrics from the magazine and issued the book Hamro Lok Sanskriti.[2] While Joshi was working on publishing the book, he met poet Gopal Prasad Rimal who encouraged him to "treasure the folk culture, the stories, songs, and lifestyle of Nepal's rural population".[4]

Release and legacy

In 1956, the first Madan Puraskar, Nepal's highest literary honour, ceremony was held and it was the first book to win the award, alongside two other books General Bhimsen Thapa Ra Tatkalin Nepal, and Adhikbibhav Sthirbidhoot Utpadhak.[4][5][6] Joshi later stated that the book was not his creation rather it was villagers' so "the credit should go to them".[6] He later assisted to create numerous organizations to preserve the culture of Nepal.[4] Joshi went on to win two more Madan Puraskar for Nepali Rastriya Mudra (1957), and Karnali Lok Sanskriti (1971).[4][7]

See also

References

  1. ^ Shrestha, Avant (September 2011). "The tune in his heart". Issuu. Voices of Women Media. pp. 80–81. Archived from the original on 19 November 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "For the love of native tunes". The Kathmandu Post. 15 April 2014. Archived from the original on 19 November 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  3. ^ Rai, Dewan (5 April 2005). "Journey of radio". The Himalayan Times. Archived from the original on 6 January 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d Davis, Carol C. (30 April 2019). Theatre of Nepal and the People Who Make It. Cambridge University Press. p. 46. ISBN 978-1-108-58612-2. Archived from the original on 19 November 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  5. ^ "वि.सं. २०७६ को 'जगदम्बा-श्री' तथा 'मदन पुरस्कार' को घोषणा – मदन पुरस्कार गुठी". Madan Puraskar. 20 September 2020. Archived from the original on 19 November 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  6. ^ a b Sada, Ivan (August 2010). "Interview: Satya Mohan Joshi". ECS Nepal. Archived from the original on 20 February 2014. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  7. ^ P. Koirala, Keshav (9 December 2014). "Veteran culture expert Satyamohan Joshi hospitalised". The Himalayan Times. Archived from the original on 4 April 2016. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
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