Editorial: Celebrating the Idea of Bhanubhakta

Language is not just to keep idle conversations going; it is also about communicating ideas and thoughts, sharing information and sowing new thoughts. Towards that end, the written word becomes the vehicle on which language rides on its desired journey, carrying ideas and information to build consensus and fashion opinions. Writing also fills the role of recording the times they are written in, and for making them the mirrors that reflect the times contemporaneous to the times they emerged from. Towards that end, having the tools to use language effectively for communication becomes empowerment.
Sikkim has always observed Bhanu Jayanti in grand fashion. From state-level functions to observations at the district and down to the village level, the day continues to hold a special meaning for people across the State, so much so that the celebration overshadows the Adikavis writings and life. It is obviously the idea of Bhanubhakta that makes his birth anniversary a cause for celebration- what is being celebrated is not the person, but his path-breaking success in raising Khas-bhasa [as Nepali language was originally called] from a dialect for conversations into a language refined enough to communicate faith. By giving the people the Ramayana in Nepali, he gave permanence to the language, a durability which has grown stronger with the centuries and become a uniting factor for the constellation of communities counted under the Nepali umbrella. In that sense, he was instrumental in reinforcing the language to deliver identity. There are those who contest the quality of Bhanubhakta’s translation of the epic, and they may be correct in their examination, but what they overlook, if they use this analysis to question the celebration of Bhanubhakta, is that not only was he the first translator, but also the first whose work was instrumental in deploying language in its more powerful form – as medium providing access, and through it empowerment. When he translated the Ramayana from Sanskrit to Nepali, he must have known that few among the target audience would be able to read what he had translated. Education was still an elite pursuit in Nepal at that time. But what he managed with his translation was make the epic accessible to the lay people who, till then, whenever they attended a Ramayana paath, would have not have been able to understand anything that was being recited. Even if they could not read, they could understand most of Bhanubhakta’s translated work when it was read out to them. The Adikavi knew what he wanted and it must have been for this reason that he always travelled with his translated work tucked under his arm. Although the craftsmanship of the many statues of him across the region might differ, all invariably depict him with the Ramayana in his arms. Whenever he got an audience, he would start reciting passages from the Ramayana to the people and command rapt attention. In doing so, he demolished the exclusivity that members of his own caste had created when it came to access to faith and learning. In that sense, he was a major reformer and demands every bit of patronage his memory commands today. When he made the epic accessible to the people in 19th century Nepal, he dismantled what in today’s context would be the information barrier. His contribution in this regard remains unmatched.
Real homage to his memory would thus be for those who know, to share what they know with the people, in a language that they can understand. Language should be celebrated not for its purity, but for its effectiveness in sharing ideas and bridge communication gaps. In the meanwhile, celebrate the idea of Bhanubhakta; the Adikavi not because he was necessarily the first poet, but more importantly because he was the First People’s Poet...