Message from the Founding Chairman
Norway
Founder and Managing Editor - Bhutaneseliterature.com
Publication Director - Literature Council of Bhutan
Dear Readers/Writers/Visitors
We have successfully completed one year of e-publication today. During these twelve months, we have undergone some transformations. Formation of the board of founder members, the board of editors and eventually the board of directors are all the milestones set up for institutionalizing the steps taken for the protection and promotion of Bhutanese literature.
Literature is the essence of fortifying the overall development of a nation. Bhutan was isolated from the rest of the world for a long part of its existence as a nation. Until the late seventies, not much had been done to promote any written or spoken language in Bhutan. Global literature had already entered the cyberculture when Bhutan started its first newspaper in 1967.
Some efforts were made by the students in India and some were done by the Bhutanese in exile to promote the literature. Many books, magazines, and newspapers were published. At the same time, some developments took place inside Bhutan prior to the publication of some other newspapers and some online magazines.
The formation of Nepali Sahitya Parishad, Bhutan, Bhutan Gazal Manch, and many other literary groups among others proved important for the development of Nepali literature. Lately, some blogs and some newspapers too are found contributing to the development of literature inside Bhutan.
It was a need of the time to think something different to see our literature blossom in the present state of diversity. When the world is thriving with fingertip information of online shops and libraries, encyclopedia and digitalized media, it was the time we practiced crawling with a similar trend. Dreaming for the same, Bhutaneseliterature.com was introduced. It was the need of the time to come out from the concept of the development of just a language and ponder a generalized notion for the entire literature we have today and we will be having tomorrow. With the pace of the time and the need of the ground reality to be garnered tomorrow, it was dire proviso for today to be foreseen for the entire literature to be envisioned tomorrow. And therefore, it was termed as Bhutaneseliterature.com.
Bhutaneseliterature.com is the first web site designed and dedicated to preserving and promoting the entire Bhutanese literature. Though all works in any form, may it be online voice or discussion forum, Chautari, are just incubations aiming towards the literary hegemony, I believe that our humble dedication will be instrumental in the total representation of our literature in today’s cyber world.
On behalf of the board of founding members, I would like to extend my profound gratitude to my Norwegian friend and first blogging guru, Maya who guided me through the entire procedure for starting the first blog. My thankfulness goes to Bhutanese journalist Thakur Mishra from whom I had collected the insight of blog when I was living in a place where blogging was a difficult task due to several technical problems. I appreciate the technical support rendered to me from Bikram Adhikari in Australia and Vidhyapati Mishra in Katmandu in the beginning days. The transformation from a blog to this site and the position we have gained today was only possible due to the active participation of the members of the editorial board who worked whole-heartedly despite having several challenges and constraints in their daily lives. My thankfulness goes to PP Timsina, Bhim Timsina, Yati Raj Ajnabee, Ghanashyam Regmi, Kumar Acharya and Ganga Ram Lamitare whose intellectual zest is guiding Bhutaneseliterature.com towards the zenith of literary excellence. My special thanks to Purna Nanda Adhikari in Canada for his pious support for the Anniversary Special Issue. Every effort we have been making would always have remained incomplete without the contribution from valued writers and readers. I thank one and all for their accomplishments; write-ups, comments and suggestions and hope to keep receiving their valuable company in the journey ahead.
The support of everyone is highly anticipated.
Sincerely
Ramesh Gautam
Founding Chairman
Bhutaneseliterature.com
Ramesh ji,
You really deserve my appreciations for your great contribution to Bhutanese literature. I remember a day when we had last meeting in Beldangi in my temporary hut, where an “idea” of blogging and our continous committment to the “struggle” was discussed almost until 3 a.m.
I had never thought your “idea” would take this “climax” progress in a short span of time. I can’t imagine how well the next anniversary would be if the volume of contribution and comittment continues from literature practitioners in the same way.
Please accept my belated congratulations for crossing across the first anniversary, probabaly shouldering more responsibilities in the days ahead.
Kindly,
TP-M
Hi dai, i am very proud to know that our own site”www.bhutaneseliterature.com” has completed one year with big progress and so many participants. I am glad to see so many people interested to make this happen. In this short period of time, everyone: director, founder, writers, readers, visitors and guest from other communities who loves “bhutaneseliterature” has done wounderful job throughout the year and everybody has equal efforts to achieve this. As being a Bhutanese i would like to thank each and every member who has actively participated with a big hope and excitement.
hope to see more poems, stories, gajal etc…………
Hemanta Ach
sydney, Aus
I really appreciate the wonderful job that you are doing.To have come to the United States for just a year and make so much of progress in our literature is really wonderful.I want to be a part of it. Please let me know if I can help you in anyway. GREAT JOB! Thanks! Dhan
As a regular reader of nepali literature I am really glad to have my desire fulfilled by bhutaneseliterature.com.I thanks all the participants of this blog and I am really proud that our bhutanese friends have contributed greatly in favour of readers like me.
Lok Ji !!
you have been reading this site but you have not yet known whether it is a blog or site. I think it the only Literary site in Bhutanese Literature. We may undermine the activists in the site if we call this a blog. I am also one of the regular readers of the site. I like most of the creations published in this site. Some time they compromise the quality for the participation. Anyway, the mission carried by this group of Bhutanese Elites is a real lesson to the Bhutanese Folks who are rivalling the bones in the foreignlands.