GANGTOK: People of Sikkim observed the 156th birth anniversary of Ganga Prashad Pradhan, an eminent Nepali litterateur, today. Members of the Padhri Ganga Prashad Pradhan Jayanti Committee (PGPPJC) organised a programme at the Sahitya Parishad Bhawan here to mark the day. Nepali philosophers, writers, poets and journalists from various places of the region and a large number of students participated in the programme. They paid tribute to Pradhan for his great contribution to Nepali literature. “Pradhan was the first Nepali journalist in the world. He started his career in 1875 and wrote several books and poems during his lifetime. He became famous for translating the Bible in Nepali,” said Mr Nawin Spand, a researcher of Pradhan’s works. “We are planning to set up a Gorkha archive in Darjeeling where Pradhan’s works on Nepali literature would be displayed,” Mr Spand, added. The PGPPJC released a book ~ ***The life of Ganga Prashad Pradhan and his Contribution ~ to mark Pradhan’s birth annniversary today. “We always read Nepali bible, but most of us do not know who translated it in simple and familiar Nepali language,” said Gangtok MLA Mr NK Pradhan who was the chief guest on the occasion. He hoped that the proposed archive in Darjeeling would further popularise Pradhan’s works.
