Bhairav Aryal (Nepali: भैरव अर्याल), born Tirtha Nath Aryal (Nepali: तिर्थनाथ अर्याल), was a writer of Nepali literature. His writings are based on the social, political, religious and cultural aspects of Nepali lifestyle, and his satirical essay compilation 'Jaya Bhudi ' still remains one of the most popular works of Nepali Literature.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]
Aryal was born as the son of Khem Kumari Aryal and Homnath Aryal on 20 September 1936 in Kupondole, Lalitpur. His father worked as an accountant in Nepal Police. By the age of 12, Aryal married his wife Shova in 1948. They had three sons and three daughters.
Aryal demonstrated a strong interest in the Nepali and Sanskrit literature from his childhood and had decided to pursue his higher education in Nepali literature. He completed his MA in Nepali in 1969 and also took courses in Sanskrit. [8]
Initially, Aryal worked as a teacher for four years at Pokhara and Kathmandu from 1954 to 1958. However, due to a throat ailment Aryal's voice had started to worsen because of which he was forced to leave the teaching profession. [9][10]
Later, Aryal started his career as a journalist in a newspaper called "Haalkhabar". By the age of 21, he had been appointed as a full-time journalist in the government-run national daily newspaper Gorkhapatra and was later promoted in the editorial group. He also led the efforts to improve the "Madhuparka" magazine, which was a monthly literary magazine published by Gorkhapatra. He also played a strong role in the publication of another literary magazine called "Rachana".[11][12][13][14]
His first published poem was titled 'Nawa Jiwan', in the Prativa magazine, which was published in 1952. Later he also published satirical essays and poems. His first published book was a poem compilation titled Upaban. The next year he published Kaukuti, which marked his public entry in the satirical journey. In 1965, his most highly acclaimed literary work Jaya Bhundi was published, which included the popular satirical essays 'Jaya Bholi' and 'Jaya Bhudi'.[15][11][16][17][18][19][12]
A genus of groundhopper (Orthoptera: Tetrigidae) discovered from Ghyalchok, Gorkha by Tetrigidologists Madan Subedi and Niko Kasalo has been named after Bhairav Aryal as Aryalidonta Subedi & Kasalo, 2023. The second part of the name, -donta, derives from the Greek word “ὀδών”, meaning “tooth,” and is a reference to Bhairav Aryal’s iconic smile. The genus name is of feminine gender. The type species of the genus is named Aryalidonta itishrea. The specific epithet is derived from the Nepali word “itishree”, which is the title of one of Bhairav Aryal’s books and translates to “The End”. The name is also a reference to the tragic end of Bhairav Aryal’s life, as well as to his unyielding belief that an end is an invitation to a new beginning. The name is Latinized with the suffix “-a” to form a noun in the nominative case and is feminine in gender. [24]
