Sharadchandra Sharma’s Contribution in Media Research
Sharadchandra Sharma Bhattarai (1930–2002) was one of scholars who never claimed that he did research on media, but contributed in media research. When we analyse his writings, we find that he contributed in media research by studying about periodicals and book publishing. These two categories fall under media research.
Life and Work
Sharadchandra’s life shows that he was drawn to literature and writing when he was studying in school. In grade 7th/8th, he realised that he also needed to publish literary pieces in the school magazine as his seniors did. Then he was attracted to literary writing. So did his close relationship with poet Laxmi Prasad Devkota, to whom he named one of his gurus.
The works of scholar Ishwor Baral, his second guru, attracted him to research. He was connected to Baral while doing correspondence on behalf of Devkota who was staying in India. Like Baral, Sharadchandra conducted research on Nepali literature. In 1962, he completed Masters in Nepali and also published his first book, Basai Parichaya. While researching for his book, Madhyakalin Nepali Gadhyakhyan, which won the Madan Puraskar in 1994, he worked in archives and libraries in Nepal with his colleague Ghatraj Bhattarai. Around 1978, they also visited Indian cities like Baranasi, Darjeeling, and Kalimpong to study and collect old books and periodicals. Like Baral, he also established his own library where he welcomed researchers.
He had 12 books to his credit. He edited four books, and co-edited nine books. He also edited six books left behind by Ishwor Baral who passed away in November 1997, and wrote about 150 articles in periodicals. He also left behind a few manuscripts.
Media Research
To understand Bhattarai’s works on media research/media history, these three books are helpful: Nepali Bangmaya: Kehi Khoji, Kehi Byakhya (1988), Khoji Ani Byakhya (2000), and Sano Chinari: Naradev Pandeyko (2004). The first two are the collections of his articles published in literary periodicals, and the last one is a short biography of Naradev Pandey. The titles of the books themselves don’t help us to know whether they are related to media. If we check their table of contents, however, we are sure that some of chapters and a book do fall under this media history.
The earlier two books are similar in nature, but they are different in the way he arranges the chapters into different sections. Nepali Bangmaya: Kehi Khoji, Kehi Byakhya contains 28 articles; we can include four of them under media studies. Some of these articles are related to books published during the Motiram Bhatta period (1866–1897), Pashupat Press established in 1901, a periodical published in Kashi of India, called Chandra in 1914, and early editors of Gorkhapatra. Similarly, Khoji Ani Byakhya includes 38 articles; 10 of them are on issues such as Indian periodicals like Udaya and Gorkha Bharatjivan, published in Kashi, and newspapers before Gorkhapatra. Interestingly, in Khoji Ani Byakhya, the articles are kept under a section, the history of periodicals and book publishing. In Nepali Bangmaya: Kehi Khoji, Kehi Byakhya we don’t see this section, which shows that he gradually became aware of his work, which falls under media history.
These two examples help us to understand his contribution to media history. Nepali Bangmaya: Kehi Khoji, Kehi Bykhya includes an article on a literary periodical, Chandra published in Kashi in 1914. In this article, he has countered some scholars’ contention that this periodical favored Prime Minister Chandra Sumsher. He stressed that though the first issue had materials with ‘Chandra’ in their titles, they had double meaning, which shows that the publisher took this strategy so that the periodical got entry into Nepal. Khoji Ani Byakhya contains an article on the history of Nepali publications in Kashi. In this article, he mentions that in 1875, the first book in Nepali language was published in Kashi. He also provides information on the printing presses established there and the genres of books such as religion, lahari, sawai and stories published in these presses.
His focus on the history of periodicals and book publishing becomes clear in his book on Naradev Pandey. A chapter of this book presents Naradev as a writer of both poem and prose including the biography of poet Motiram Bhatta. Other chapters show how he was related to the Pashupat Press (first private printing press), Thahiti Aadhat (bookshop), Sudhasagar (first periodical) and Gorkhapatra (first newspaper). From the book, it becomes clear that around 1888, he along with his partners established the bookshop where people could order books and other materials from Indian cities, and it was the press, which reprinted old books, and published news book, periodical like Gorkhapatra for more than a year from 1901 and Sudhasagar in 1898.
Bhattarai is one of the scholars who came to media research through the literary highway. He contributed in media research by helping us to understand the history of Nepali periodicals and book publishing in India and Nepal. He studied the history of periodicals, printing presses, and books as they are also parts of literary studies. This shows that like media studies, literary studies examine medium, message and technology.
Originally published in The Rising Nepal; published here with minor revision and extra links and photos.
