Representing Nepali Literature on the Internet

Bibhor Baral

If you searched for any Nepali literary work on the Net a year back, you wouldn't find a single trace of it.

Several renowned as well as budding litterateurs embellish Nepali literature. But none had any representation on the Internet.

Today, fortunately, we have one site completely dedicated to Nepali literature, thanks to Bibhor Baral and his e-magazine, ketaketi.org, the first of its kind in Nepal.

At this time when Nepali literature is facing declining popularity amongst the youngsters, a small effort from his side has provided immense help to the promotion of Nepali literature.

Two years back, Bibhor was completely unfamiliar with computers. Internet was something that he had only heard of. Nevertheless, he was always inquisitive regarding computers and the Internet.

He went to the theaters to watch movies. People said all the special effects were the magic of computer. Everyone talked about Information Technology; IT was a much-hyped word. However, Bibhor did not have a clue about what it actually was.

It was only during his college years that he got an opportunity to delve into the world of computers. He first used it in his college, the College of Applied Business (CAB), and it intrigued him so much that he was completely engrossed in computers. He spent most of his time in front of his computer screen, unfolding all the mysteries of the computer.

Besides computers, literature was the other field that grabbed Baral’s interest. He was very interested in the works of Bhupi Sherchan, Laxmi Prasad Devkota, Leo Tolstoy and Rabindranath Tagore. Once when assigned to create a web page while at college, Baral found a great opportunity to bring together his fields of interest. He decided to create a website of Nepali magazine in which he included a brief history of Nepali literature and uploaded the Nepali magazine Rachana, which was first published more than 40 years ago. He was the first person to upload Nepali e-magazine. His effort received great appreciation.

Baral then participated in a poetry competition organized by pardesi.com, where all the Nepali citizens around the world were allowed to participate. Baral bagged the first prize.

Once when Baral was visiting a cyber café in the city, he saw small kids freely visiting porn sites. The people at the café did nothing to stop this. Bibhor was concerned about the kids who were rotting their time and brains visiting such sites. He realized that it could be because there were not any sites in the country designed for young ones. It was quite natural for young minds to be diverted to such sites.

Then the desire for Baral to do something for the kids, his interest in literature and his love for the Information Technology led him to create the first children’s e-magazine in Nepal. He named it ketaketi.org.

It was with the assistance of litterateur Dhiraj Baral and their joint investment that Bibhor officially launched this web site on November 20, 2003. Rochak Ghimire coined the perfectly relevant name for the web site. It received a welcoming response on the inauguration day itself. This site has been visited 900,000 times in the nine months and is dedicated completely to school students and up to the +2 level.

The magazine contains current events, photo gallery, quiz, e-pals site, a site for novels and stories and many more. Bibhor is also going to organize a countrywide poetry and story writing competition soon.

The advisors of the magazine include famous litterateurs such as Ramesh Bikal, Dr Ram Dayal Rakesh, Madhav Ghimire and K.P. Parajuli.

Baral himself updates the magazine every month, despite being pressed by his studies and financial difficulties. Bibhor said, ‘This site takes a lot of effort. I have to even give up my study hours for this task,’ and added, ‘My parents have a hard time paying out the telephone bills.’

Bibhor is completely dedicated to this site. He intends to implement a cyber law in Nepal. ‘As there are no such laws in the country, anyone can copy the articles and publish it anywhere,’ laments Baral and intends to maintain the sovereignty of the writers.

Baral has further plans of bringing out the magazines in CD form for the kids devoid of the Internet facilities and wishes to publish a compilation of the best stories and poems. He wishes to gain and spread more knowledge about e-journalism and wants them to have an identity as well. In Nepal, e-journalists are not recognized so far.

With his perseverance and determination, Baral is sure to carve his name out as a promoter of Nepali literature for Nepalis, especially the budding ones.