Mahendra Malangia, who dedicated the most energetic, productive and creative years of his life to the education sector of Nepali Mithila, has been awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award for the year 2024 by the Government of India. Being a multifaceted innovator, his contribution cannot be tied down by adding an adjective before the name of 'Malangia Sir'.

Honoring a person like him also increases the dignity of the respective award. Born in the Madhubani district of Bihar across the border, Mahendra Jha abandoned the Dwij surname by adopting the name Malangia of his village as his surname. Until then it was considered normal for Indian teachers to teach in Nepal.

Malangia Sir arrived as a geography teacher at the then prestigious Kantir Jha Secondary School, Bavangama. Currently, Border Security Force and Wari Armed Police also monitor the movement of common people across Dasgaja. Malangia sir cycling during vacation 

is when you go to your village. The similarities and differences between birth place and work place are discussed. One is surprised to see the same civilization and culture but different political structure and system. As bewilderment and grief are the source of auditory poetry, awe and curiosity perhaps motivates the writing of plays called visual poetry.

Being a geography teacher, the oddities of the universe were probably not new to him. His means of expression may be challenging. The poet Madhava used to speak of the music inherent in the word ghimire. The words of visual poetry also include expression and dance. Since the 1970s, Malangia sir's heart had started to dwell in Janakpur, known as Bhavbhoomi of Mithila. 

Since the 1970s, Maithili literature was making its distinctive identity from Janakpur. Some of the founders were active like Dhireshwar Jha 'Dhirendra' (1934-2004), Revathiraman Lal, Rajendra Bimal and Rambharos Kapdi Bhramar. Compared to the purist and elitist Maithili across the border, the language that Professor Dhireshwar Jha named 'Nepali Maithili' was experimental and inclusive.

Editor Sundar Jha Shastri was looking for new signatures through the Maithili-language magazine Phoolpaat (revealed: the columnist had also joined some of the publication's young activists). However, scholar of the standardization of classical Maithili, scholar and linguist Ramavatar Yadav and word compiler and researcher Yogendra Prasad Yadav are still active in traditional knowledge development. But the contribution of the founders of Janakpur region in giving a literary identity to colloquial language—'Je bazai chyi, se Maithili'—and expression is undoubtedly significant. Maithili across the border is still mired in classicalism.

Maithili drama reached its peak with the 'Dhurta Samagam' composed by Jyotirishwar Thakur (1290-1350) around 1320, but due to the influence of language activists from across the border, Hindi dramas were generally staged in Nepal's Mithila region until the 1970s. Some Maithili plays were staged only among connoisseurs as the sophisticated language could not bind the general public. The Mithila Natyakala Parishad (MINAP), established by the activism of some artists from Janakpur, was committed to establish the spoken language through staging from the beginning.

Malangia Sir was associated with Meenap from the beginning in the role of advisor. To speed up that campaign, he started writing new plays. A backward society enjoys small achievements. It delights in comparing its founders with the established names of what are considered 'developed' societies. In this process, Malangia sir has appeared from 'Shakespeare of Maithili drama' to 'Brecht of Maithili'.

He is a well-known creator, it is not necessary to elevate him to the name table of historical figures to increase his height. Although he has been most active in stage, text, street and radio drama writing, the Sahitya Akademi Award has been given for his collection of research articles 'Prabhand Samracha'. After retiring from the teaching profession, he is engaged in refining and enriching the established knowledge through 'creative research' method. 

Malangia Sir has published two volumes of the treatise 'Shabdak Jungle Mein Arthak Khoj' based on the book 'Varnaratnakar' which is believed to have been composed around the year 1324. Just as the search for meaning in the forest of words is the work of the researchers, the word workers are finding and presenting the plants of the verse in the thicket of meanings. Some old words appear with new meanings.

Some neologisms sound familiar. The German word 'Zeitgeist' is also used in English for values ​​and beliefs that encompass the general cultural, intellectual, moral, spiritual and political environment prevalent in a country or society during a particular period. Yuga Bodha or Yuga Consciousness encompasses the Zeitgeist meaning 'Spirit of Time' to an extent. The practice of English dictionary compilers declaring the representative expression of the year as 'year word' is also in a way 'year consciousness' or time consciousness. Such words encapsulate the hardships of the past year, pointing to the challenges ahead.

Global environment

Being a world language, there are at least five streams of spoken and written English. American English dominates visual media due to the influence of Hollywood. Australian English is basically the spoken language of the inhabitants of that continent. Due to the common colonial history, South Asian countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are more popular in English.

Although South Africa and Kenya are on the same continent, the English they use is not the same. The standard for linking different forms of the same language is BBC Broadcasting Corporation for spoken language and Oxford University Press Publications for written language. The linguistic hegemony of the never-ending British Empire still persists. The 'year word' chosen by the Oxford University Press as the introductory term for 2024 has become a symbolic expression made up of two words in particular - 'brain rot' meaning brain rot. In the assessment of

publishing house, 'Gen Z' (the generation born between 1995 and 2010) and 'Gen Alpha' (the generation born between 1995 and 2010) about 'brain rot', which shows the mental and intellectual exhaustion caused by excessive consumption of internet and especially (a)social media content. The generation born after 2010) are aware. But it would be very difficult to get rid of the influence of expressions that reflect reality. Perhaps the most dangerous example of brain rot is the 'WhatsApp University Knowledge' which spreads fake news, misleading information and misconceptions in India through internet parties and (un)social networks.

The Collins English Dictionary, published in Glasgow, Scotland, has made 'brat' its word of the year. Collins has added a new meaning to the word 'brat', which is used for brat children - a person who shows a 'self-confident, independent and indulgent attitude'! Especially for the children of the dominant community of Nepal, who suffer from the sense of entitlement (sense of entitlement) of the Gen Z and Gen Alpha generation of the upper middle class, even in Nepali, brat does not matter.

The choice of the Cambridge dictionary is 'manifest' meaning obvious or self-evident. The new interpretation of that familiar word is more fatalistic than scientific - 'the belief that if you imagine getting what you want, it is more likely to happen'! This may be because the desire for success increases the motivation to work, although such examples are not easy to find.

Australia's Macquarie Dictionary has introduced the internet term 'encitification' as a term of the year, citing the general public's choice. The term sensitization, which came into use only a few years ago, can also be called duty discharge - 'a gradual decline in goods or services provided by especially profit-seeking internet service providers'. Such a trend is also seen in the well-known 'brands' in Nepal, the decrease of a few grams in the weight that cannot be easily understood and the seemingly normal increase in the value at the same time is a departure from the recognition of clean trade. Duty evasion regimes are also widespread in trade in goods and services.

English newspaper 'The Economist', which supports Swachhand Bazar, has chosen the most familiar term of the year 2024 - 'kakistocracy', i.e. the governance system or tyranny of the most inappropriate and incompetent people. Election results in Bangladesh, India and the United States show the growing prevalence of tyranny. The expansion of democracy can raise questions about the democratic process, established forms of governance and current electoral systems.

The question of whether the stability of strong rulers such as Vladimir Putin of Russia, Viktor Orbán of Hungary, Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey or Xi Jinping of China is better than the tumultuous regime of the outgoing and future President of the United States Donald Trump or the third-term Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Appropriateness has been called into question. In Nepal, the constitution itself has been issued based on the tyranny of ethnic majorityism. 

Sri Lanka's newly elected president's left-wing politics and culture of ethnic nationalism are similar to Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli's regressive culture and liberal character. Although the face is civilian rule, the behind-the-scenes operators in Islamabad and Dhaka are the components of permanent power there. If the expansion of tyranny and the grip of permanent power increases together, the fear of democracy being crushed will automatically increase.

New York Times columnist Paul Krugman pointed out in January 2017, "with all due disrespect," the rise of oligarchy in America. He has given other reasons, but perhaps dismayed by the behavior of the American electorate, he has taken a leave of absence from regular column writing on December 9, 2024, saying "My Last Column: Finding Hope in an Age of Discontent".

When the first 25 years of the twenty-first century are about to be reached, some global economic and political currents are being seen whose immediate effect is not significant, but the long-term effect can be considered epoch-making. Public confidence in established authorities is waning. If the individual is more important than the community, the expansion of emotions will destroy solidarity and brotherhood, and instead of human empathy, the competitive animal spirit will dominate.

Although not pointed out by any Western publication, Israel's war crimes in Gaza should have been 'genocide' as the current world word of the year. According to the conclusion of Amnesty International's comprehensive investigation, "Israel has committed and continues to commit genocide against Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip".

The world's democracies are still covering up one of the biggest crimes against humanity of the first quarter of the twenty-first century. If one had to choose the person of the world for 2024, the name of Giselle Pellicot, the French militant woman and symbol of confident feminism, should be placed at the top. Giselle Pellicot, who succeeded in punishing the perpetrators while maintaining her self-respect despite being repeatedly raped by her husband and his more than four dozen drunkards for almost a decade, has simultaneously exposed the decay and resilience of French society.

Despite that, there is not even a hint of sexism in him. She has declared with great conviction - 'Men and women can live in harmony, mutual respect and understanding.' A burning light in any darkness can communicate hope to the world.

Spatial reflection

In Nepali politics, the year 2024 can be depicted as a period of deepening crisis of trust. Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who came to office with the support of the Nepali Congress, rode on the shoulders of the UML at the beginning of March. As July approaches, Sharma Oli, the surveyor of UML, brought down Dahal, chairman of the Maoist center, and climbed the ladder of NEC chairman Sher Bahadur Deuba, technically for the fourth time, but in reality, he became the prime minister for the third time.

Sharma Oli, Dahal and Deuba are leading the gang system established in Nepal after 2015. The greatest role can be given to this trinity with one body and three faces to create apathy in the common people towards politics. The political system established in Nepal after 2015 cannot even be called 'alopalo tantra', because the ethnic nationalism of the ruling trinity has the same 'Khasaryan' character. The coalition government of NECA, UML and Maoist parties was called a 'gang tyranny' almost a decade ago. The fact that he ran a kind of 'robbery' has become a topic of general discussion. 

Italian journalist, essayist and columnist Bepp Severzinini recently pointed out the tragedy of tyranny in the "Atlantic" magazine with the American example - if this is the path chosen by democracy, let's prepare for the worst. In this way it will be impossible to remove the elected leader. After failing, he will ask the opposite question - 'What do you want from me? I was what I am and who I am, but you didn't vote for me zealously? Now keep quiet and be good.'