The path that Nepali literature has walked is actually a long journey from sorrow to happiness. Ramkrishna Sharma's 'Taxiyo Nepali Kavita' has now entered the 'mountainous path' as ​​per his sacred wish. However, the question remains - doesn't the recitation of dull poetry in the name of poetry arouse aversion towards poetry in the reader? Isn't life-giving, inspiring and joyful poetry going somewhere into a foul-smelling mess?

Today's generation searches for emotion in 30-second reels, and even the songs are remembered for only 5-10 seconds after they are trending. A dense poem demands time and patience. Can the 'speed of reels' and the 'patience of poetry' coexist? Old poets are heard very worried in the streets - the decline in the habit of reading poetry also means a decline in sensitivity, can people now expect the punchline to be at the end of the reel? If likes and views start determining literary value in the digital viral era, where will literature go?

The real scenario of Nepali literature after 2046 is - a lot has been written in Nepali, perhaps even read. Book sales have established a standard. Authors receive 'handsome' royalties, the layout and printing of books printed by professional publishing houses are excellent.

The current digital generation gives quick emotional responses, they do not have the patience to read long texts. Our ‘scroll culture’ has also scrolled the emotions. And, the desire to live long-term in the inner soul of the writer who follows the trend is also intact. From junior to senior poets who are immersed in ‘scroll culture’, the competition to become a ‘celebrity’ is intense. They always want to hear – Aha, hat, kada ayo, aho, kyabat, ghajjab and very good...!

In the end, this long journey of confusion and illusions and this scenario of poets enchanted by praise is the window to see the entire Nepali literature. As is the way of the world, change, the style and trend of literary writing also keeps changing with time. But, what is there in our changed literature, what is there not? What is the whole face of that change? What is the path that Nepali literature has taken after the multi-party democracy achieved by the 2046 movement?

As Brecht said, people sing songs of darkness in dark times. How meaningful is any writing? Time will decide that. A dictator of hundreds of years will fall in a single movement. Doesn't the literature and music written against the regime in the past century play a role in that?

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During the Panchayat period, not only underground political parties were agitating, but also writers were agitating in the anti-Panchayat movement. On Chaitra 3, 2046, writers were agitating with black bands on their faces at Saraswati Sadan of Trichandra Campus. Standing in the line of rebellion were Parijat, Ananddev Bhatta, Yudhprasad Mishra, Krishnachandrasingh Pradhan, Khagendra Sangraula, Krishnasen Chot, Ramesh, Rayan, Sharada Sharma, Ashesh Malla, Ahuti, Govinda Varthaman and others.

That day, the police arrested the protesters and put them in trucks and vans. However, Parijat was not arrested. In memory of that rebellion on Chaitra 3, a campaign was launched every year on the same day—‘Sirjana Chaitra 3 Literary Campaign’, which included Harigovind Luitel, Sneh Sayami, Govind Vartavar, Narayan Dhakal, Bimal Nibha, Rajendra Maharjan, Suresh Kiran. (Shadow of Change: Peepalbot, Kantipur)

There were more dark days than bright days in Nepali rule. And, even in those days, our conscious writers/poets kept writing/speaking/carrying out street protests against the government. Dreamy writers remained at the forefront of the movements of many colors or waves. Reading the ‘portraits’ of those writers, one gets to know the amazing stories of the revolutionary consciousness of the youth. History itself turns the contexts, such as during the Rana period or the Panchayat period, writers were active participants in various organizations, underground, semi-underground or openly, against the boots of power.

Moti Mandali (1938), Halanta Boyishkar (1965), Makai Parv (1977), Jharro Andolan (2013), Ayameli Andolan (2020), Ralphali Andolan (2023), Asikrut Jamaat (2026), Amlekh (2026), Young Writers Front (2031), Boot Polish (2031), Sadak Kavita Kranti (2036), Sarvnaam (2038), Rangkarmi Arohan Manch (2038), Lila Lekhan (2044), Tarlabavad (2046), Jana Andolan Ra Sahitya (2046), etc. These movements or campaigns have had a special impact on Nepali literature. And, the real witness to those movements was the New Road People Boat, where the 'Street Poetry Revolution' that began after the declaration of the 2036 referendum had rallied a large group of writers against the Panchayat.

Shravan Mukarung, a tireless poet who has been reciting poetry on the streets from the Panchayat to the Republic, feels that after the change of 2046, Nepali literature reached new heights in both qualitative and quantitative terms, and writers expressed themselves fearlessly, making full use of freedom of expression. 'Especially, his interventionist writings in favor of political change and social justice gave rise to a new discourse. As a result, writings about identity and marginalization became a forceful mainstream. And, it became an image of the Republic. Moreover, not only the subject matter was special, but also new and originality appeared in the style or structure,' he says.

During that dark period of the Panchayat, there was one – Sajha Prakashan, which carried a very heavy burden of literature. The ‘masterpiece’ stories/non-stories or poems of Nepali literature were written during the Panchayat period. The subsequent multi-party and republican periods also saw ‘masterpieces’ written in Nepali literature, says story writer Narayan Dhakal. In his opinion, ‘literature will be good or not after a specific event’. ‘But, things that come before it continue to influence it.’ Nepali literature before 046 was fertile, and excellent works have come after that too. The statement that literature becomes good if there is more repression is wrong.’

As Dhakal said, not only is that exactly the case, but this path that literature has walked is also bumpy. The scenario of Nepali literature before the Panchayat and the loose society that followed is somewhat sad.

Storyteller Bishnu Sapkota thinks that during the Panchayat period, the level of consciousness of the Nepali reader was not that ‘advanced’, but the writers who were involved in creating literature represented an intelligence higher than the level of consciousness of the society. The readership was small, but those established writers were often read. In Bishnu’s opinion, after 2046 and especially in the past two decades, this scene seems to be exactly the opposite. How?

As English-medium schools and colleges increased in Kathmandu and other places in the country, students could read fluently in English. They had access to international-level literature in the English language. However, the intellectual consciousness of many of those active in Nepali literature could not match that different class of readers. ‘Many of those writing and criticizing Nepali literature now belong to the ‘Major Nepali’ tradition of this university, whose standard works are some literature written in the 20s, 30s and 40s. Apart from that, they have no idea what the literary trends are around the world,’ says Sapkota.

The real scenario of Nepali literature after 046 is this – a lot has been written in Nepali, perhaps even read. Book sales have established the standard. Writers receive ‘handsome’ royalties, the layout and printing of books printed by commercial publishing houses are excellent. From before 046 until now, poetry has remained the mainstream of literature, although the sale of poetry could not set the standard, but poetry continued to be written against power and authority.

After 062/63, poets/writers openly took to the streets for ‘literary activism’. The rise of the novel occurred during this period. This can be called the era of the rise of reading culture, which is also the era of identity writing, when indigenous writers consciously wrote their issues . Translation of foreign literature gained momentum . Feminist literature emerged at this time . There was a revolution in book editing and cover art, the technical aspect of book art that rose above the era of Tekbir Mukhiya was a great success . 

However, there are two classes of readers of Nepali literature- one, those who do not know the other language and therefore read only a little of what is printed here . Two, there is a large suburban class- who does not give any attention to Nepali literature . They keep themselves above ‘that’ level . 

The literature festivals that are being organized in Nepal in recent times have greatly helped the culture of ‘must read’, but the award culture has not helped quality literature to flourish, but has worked to narrow it down . ‘The award, which is given based on family ties and political leanings, has confused Nepali readers. I bought the book that won so many awards thinking it was worth reading, but I couldn’t even read 20 pages,’ says Sapkota.

Recently, the ‘trend’ of Nepali literary writing has been at the center of the theme of social oppression. These days, very little free and open literature has been written. Sapkota feels that those who say ‘I will improve society through literature’ are stopping the spread of dynamic literature, which is another irony of Nepal. ‘A new class of readers has been born in large numbers, but books that are of a level that can be read by searching, that are deep in creativity, intelligence, and that will become standards have been published in recent decades,’ he says.

Before new initiatives were developed in writing and communication, writers used to write by combining personal introspection, thought, craft, and language. However, creativity is becoming dry now. Writers no longer write from personal beliefs, but from the formula of networks and global culture.

What is the current state of Nepali literature? Critic Rajkumar Baniya has been conducting a post-mortem review of Nepali literature for a long time. He says, ‘We are publishing more books, but creating fewer works. The biggest crisis in literature is not the lack of writing, but the lack of honest criticism. The problem is not writing—the lack of honest disagreement. Literature now needs not talent, but courageous critics—or else we will all become just fans of each other. Long-term creativity is more important than momentary popular entertainment.’

Baniya feels that it has become difficult to be excellent since the day it became easy to get awards. ‘We may have earned the attention, but we have not been able to make history. Social media has made us famous, but the criteria for immortality have not yet been born. We have learned to say ‘good’, we have lost the courage to say ‘weak’ . Nepali literature is now complacent—not confident . If criticism is afraid, literature will become mediocre . Nepali literature needs enemies who speak the truth, not friends,’ says Baniyan .

This is a very active time—poems, stories, novels, memoirs, autobiographies, travelogues, translations—the number of publications in all has increased significantly . In Baniyan’s understanding, social media has democratized writing and a writer can find a reader without even knocking on the door of a publisher or magazine .

The new generation entering literature is thematically bold . Gender, identity, immigration, mental health, marginal experiences—are now being expressed openly, which connects literature to social reality . 

The writing menu of Subin Bhattarai, the beloved short story writer of the youth of this time, has a lot of popular books. In terms of sales, those books are bestsellers in the Nepali market. 'Summer Love' or 'Ejoriya' - his books have records of sales exceeding lakhs. He wanders in the days before 2046. He remembers - when the people's movement was gaining momentum, revolutionary relatives used to bring sacks of books to his house in Ghattekula to hide, with the certainty that the police administration would not search them. That was a scene - the state was afraid of people having books in their homes. After democracy, society became very relaxed. However, Subin feels that this relaxation increased even more after the end of the monarchy.