Vijay Malla's Early Literary Journey and Influences
Vijay Malla understood literature from childhood. He was greatly inspired by his father Riddhibahadur Malla's dedication to literature. His elder brother Govindabahadur Malla 'Gothale' also became his inspiration. Therefore, he started writing poetry while studying at Darbar School. A wall magazine was published by students from that school. In that wall magazine, he wrote a story titled 'Dui Pasale'.
That story made him known among the teachers at that time. After that, he even became the editor of Shukramandali's wall magazine. Seeing his attraction to literature, Headmaster Rudraraj Pandey addressed him as 'a star of the future'.
Vijay Malla was close to literature since childhood. When he was eight years old, he would have scraps of paper and cigarette pack pieces in his inner pocket. He imitated Mahakabi Laxmi Prasad Devkota in writing poetry on these paper scraps and cigarette packs. Seeing his behavior, his father once told him, 'You are a strange creature. You fill your pockets with scraps of paper like a madman.'
Hearing his father's words, he replied, 'These scraps of paper contain my poems.' His father was pleased with his inclination towards literature. A few days later, his father gave him a notebook and said, 'Copy all your poems in this notebook! Then your poems will be safe forever.' From then on, Vijay Malla did the same.
Vijay Malla was inspired to write literature by his own father. He always said that his first literary guru was his father. In this context, he also wrote, 'Even now, whenever I start writing a poem, story, or play in a notebook, I remember my father's face and advice from that time, and my state of mind has remained the same until today.'
One day his father came to know about his behavior. The very next day, his father handed Vijay Malla two books from the market.
Vijay Malla read novels as a child. At that time, most teenagers read detective novels. Shankar, the son of Urmila Rana, incited him to read detective novels. So he started searching for and reading detective novels. He would go to a secluded place with a novel. He would even go into the toilet and read such novels.
One day his father came to know about his behavior. The very next day, his father handed Vijay Malla two books from the market. These two books received from his father were Premchand's novel 'Nirmala' written in Hindi and Tolstoy's 'Twenty-one Tales' in English. These were also the first literary works he formally read.
The main person who motivated Vijay Malla to write and read was Bhavani Bhikshu. It was because of Bhikshu that Malla started climbing the ladder of literature. Following Bhikshu's example, he mostly read works written in Hindi and English. He wrote about this, 'Bhavani Bhikshu came to our house with Kaji Dai (Siddhicharan Shrestha), and after that, he and my father became close friends. My father translated his Hindi work 'Manavkatha' into Nepali and published it in 'Sharada', and then Bhikshu himself started writing stories in Nepali, and many stories were published in 'Sharada'. I also started practicing speaking Hindi and trying to write poetry with Bhikshu. In a way, Bhikshu has had a great influence on my literature and thoughts. Inspired by Bhikshu, I used to read the works of many writers like Sharatchandra, Rabindranath Tagore, Premchand, Jainendrakumar, Bhagwatisaran Verma, Ashk, Manto, etc., which awakened my faith and interest in literature and inspired me to write. In this way, I became acquainted with the contemporary Hindi poets Mahadevi Verma, Pant, and Bachchan. I started reading the works of most writers in English and Hindi. In this way, my acquaintance with Russian, French, and American literature grew.'
Bhavani Bhikshu, who was learning Nepali, was Vijay Malla's Nepali literary guru. Bhikshu himself used to write and would place notebooks and pens in front of Malla. Malla wrote in his diary about this matter - 'Bhavani Bhikshu's thoughts had a great influence on me. It was because of him that the fascination, faith, and interest in literature awakened within me. After that, I also started writing literature.'
Not only that, but Siddhicharan Shrestha and Kedarmann Byathit were also reliable steps in Malla's literary journey.
Vijay Malla had a domestic, intimate, and reliable relationship with Siddhicharan Shrestha. Malla also mentioned this in his notes, 'I used to address Siddhicharan Shrestha as Kaji Dai, like my own elder brother, and even now, when I remember him, I remember him as Kaji Dai. I had read Laxmi Prasad Devkota's poems like 'Sundarijal', 'Yatri', etc., in 'Sharada', and I had the opportunity to hear Devkota recite 'Munamadan' in rhythm in my father's room before it was published. I had the opportunity to hear Kaji Dai, i.e., Siddhicharan's poem titled 'Goma', which contains the saying 'My dear Okhaldhunga and 'Go Goma, to that land where there is no sorrow', before it was published in the magazine 'Sharada', and it greatly impressed me. Since my father taught Kaji Dai in his childhood, he always treated him like a disciple and a son, and he also addressed my father as Paju (uncle).'
Vijay Malla formally began his literary writing by writing a poem for Darbar High School's wall magazine. However, he started his writing through print in 1997 (Bikram Sambat) by writing a poem titled 'Smriti' in 'Sharada'.
Vijay Malla had the company of literary giants of Nepali literature from the age of nine or ten. Poet Shiromani Lekhnath Paudyal, Drama Emperor Balkrishna Sam, and Mahakabi Laxmi Prasad Devkota often frequented the 'Sharada' office. Vijay Malla would wait for them to arrive. He considered these three luminaries as his gurus and created his works. At that time, he would write and recite his compositions to the three luminaries.
At that time, he also had the opportunity to meet Shukraraj Shastri, Sardar Rudraraj Pandey, Guruprasad Mainali, Gopalprasad Rimal, Pushkar Shamsher, and Hridayachandra Singh Pradhan at his own home. From that time, another close associate of his was Shyamdas Vaishnav. Malla maintained a close bond with Vaishnav until his death.
Vijay Malla formally began his literary writing by writing a poem for Darbar High School's wall magazine. However, he started his writing through print in 1997 (Bikram Sambat) by writing a poem titled 'Smriti' in 'Sharada'. In the beginning, Bhavani Bhikshu was the creator who helped him refine his writings. Bhikshu was also the one who urged him to write. At that time, Bhikshu's belongings were at Malla's house. He ate, slept there, and proofread all of 'Sharada'.
Vijay Malla's favorite subject was listening to stories. Therefore, from a young age, he used to go to Joganesh Press to listen to stories. Gokuldas Tandukar, a compositor at that press, used to tell stories. Therefore, Malla would always flock to him to listen to his stories. In his childhood, he was attracted to story writing by listening to Tandukar's stories.
After that, he started focusing on story writing. Regarding this, Malla told Uttam Kunwar, 'Gokuldas used to tell folk tales, and we children would gather around. Later, gathering our children friends around, I started making up and telling folk tales myself. This is how I started creating stories.'
Vijay Malla's poetry also had flavor. After the poetry collection was ready, he handed over the manuscript to Pt. Shyamdas Vaishnav. Pt. Shyamdas Vaishnav edited his poetry collection. Vaishnav also created the cover illustration for the work.
Vijay Malla was a 'budding flower' from the beginning. His first work was 'Vijay Malla ka Kabita' (Poems of Vijay Malla), published in 2016 (Bikram Sambat). While writing the introduction to that work, Siddhicharan Shrestha wrote - 'We find Vijay Malla as a poet who expresses himself through powerful prose, not just by confining poetry to meter and अलंकार (ornamentation). His writings resonate with a sense of faith, depict the pathos of present life, and offer a glimpse of a prosperous future. Emphasizing the spirit of world brotherhood and human welfare, the poet desires change.'
Vijay Malla's literary personality was attractive and proud. His writing style itself was captivating. His youngest daughter, Prof. Dr. Uma Shrestha, wrote about his writing, 'When my father was busy writing, I would sit nearby and watch for hours. While writing a story, play, or novel at the desk, he would have a marker pen in one hand and a cigarette in the other.
From 2016 (Bikram Sambat) onwards, Vijay Malla's poetic personality began to be discussed.
While smoking, he would ask one of his daughters nearby to make black coffee. We would immediately obey and make coffee. When he was energetic, we would stir the coffee for a long time and make it frothy, but most of the time, we would make a simple drink by stirring coffee in a cup of hot water.
While repeatedly drinking coffee and delving into the depths of imagination for literary creation, he would sometimes even forget his daughters' names. I would observe a change in his facial expression with the change in the plot and his pen moving rapidly across the diary pages. He was lost in writing. He also wrote very beautifully.
From 2016 (Bikram Sambat) onwards, Vijay Malla's poetic personality began to be discussed. After Yugkavi Siddhicharan Shrestha wrote about his poems, others also started reading, contemplating, and writing about his poems. In fact, he had a strong ability to issue a poetic challenge, to challenge, and even to lead the contemporary generation.
Humanitarian, existential, and romantic perspectives, along with war, sex, and psychology, are the characteristics of his writings. Critic Dr. Durga Bahadur Gharti has also analyzed each of these streams. In this context, he has shed special light on Malla - 'Vijay Malla's poems are thought-provoking. They particularly present the existential crisis faced by today's people.
The Cold War that broke out between powerful nations after World War II also created the fear of a third world war. The invention of nuclear weapons, the arms race between powerful countries, and the polarization of the world created a situation where human existence could be wiped out. The expression of such a global situation is found in Vijay Malla's poems.'
By writing in Nepali language and Nepali literature, Vijay Malla has always succeeded in reaching the hearts of readers and critics. If we consider the timeline from Adikavi Bhanubhakta Acharya to the present generation, Malla is not only a capable creator but also one of the fortunate writers.
This specific news has been automatically translated by AI. As a result, there may be some inaccuracies or language errors.
