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The Padma Shri-award winning Birkha Bahadur Muringla, who was a promoter of Yakthung Limbu language and Sirijunga script, passed away on June 8. He was 79. 

Born in Lingchom village in the Indian state of Sikkim, Muringla’s ancestors were natives of Taplejung in eastern Nepal. As a young boy, he attended a school established by his father, Lal Man Nugo, and later Tashi Namgyal Higher Secondary School in Gangtok, before moving to Darjeeling for further studies in 1959.

Muringla developed an interest in Yakthung script at a young age when he met historian and linguist Iman Singh Chemjong in 1952. He read Tum Yakthung Ningwaphu Sapla and Tum Yakthung Nisshigek Sapla, books related to the Limbu script, co-authored by Chemjong, Padam Singh Subba and Bahadur Limbu. 

His passion for the language of his people was evident, as he used to write letters to his brothers and parents in Sirijunga script. When he was in grade 11, Muringla finally got to reconnect with Chemjong by way of a letter. What started as a letter to a literary hero from his admirer soon evolved into a lifelong friendship.   

In 1975, Muringla was appointed as a manuscript writer of Limbu language. He later joined the Sikkim government’s Department of Education, where he would revise and fine-tune the Limbu script.  

Muringla’s interest was not limited to researching and revising the language. He was also passionate about teaching the Limbu language to the people. While working at the department, he wrote a book to teach Limbu script to children. As there was no printing press at the time, he crafted hand-written books for the children of primary and secondary levels. 

In 1979, Muringla was promoted as textbook officer, a post that he held for more than a decade during which time he developed courses in Limbu language from primary up to college level. He retired as the joint director of the Department of Education in 2005.

Muringla also developed the Limbu comic series based on the stories of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Chandra Shekhar Azad, and Deshbandu Chittaranjan Das. Plus, he contributed to the writing of a Limbu-Nepali-English dictionary, and designing Limbu script for letterpress as well as for computers.

In 2017, the Indian government awarded Muringla with the Padma Shri for his contribution to the development and promotion of Limbu language and script. 

He died following a brain hemorrhage at New Sir Thutob Namgyal Memorial Hospital in Gangtok, Sikkim.

Birth: 13 April 1943, Lingchom, Sikkim

Death: 8 June 2022, Gangtok, Sikkim 

Birth: 8 May 1920, Sindhuli 
Death: 2 June 2022, Kathmandu 

Bhim Bahadur Thapa, the man who left behind cryptic one-word message ‘Khoja’ in Devnagari script on streets, walls and electricity poles across the country, died on June 2 at the age of 104.

Thapa was a wizened old man of bent posture who wandered the streets and neighborhoods with a stick and a bag slung over his shoulders. He had this penchant of writing the word ‘Khoja’ (‘seek’) on whatever space he considered suitable with paint or chalk. 

He was a man on a mission to make people seek knowledge and understanding human life.  

Born to an ordinary family in Sindhuli district, Thapa never got formal education. He was an autodidact, who taught himself to read and write. At a young age, he became a passionate adherent of Karl Marx and his philosophy.

He believed in a casteless and classless society and joined the then Communist Party of Nepal in 1958. Thapa was an active participant in the communist movement of the time organized to protest against the monarchy.   

During his years as a proponent of communism, he was detained on more than one occasion. But one day Thapa had a terrible epiphany: the communist parties of Nepal were faux-Marxists. 

Disillusioned, Thapa left politics for good and in 1978 started his ‘Khoja’ campaign. 

“Searching is an abstract thing, but it has made this world. Every other thing you see on earth is an outcome of searching, hence keep the spirit of search alive until you get your needs fulfilled,” Thapa once said. 

One singular word ‘Khoja’ had a profound political, spiritual and philosophical meaning for those who meditated on it. This was what Thapa wanted: to get the attention of people with this simple word, make them pause for a moment–and think.  

Thapa had fashioned his own flag for the campaign, with the word ‘Khoja’ with a cross of a pick-axe and hoe—in what was a clear indication of Marx’s influence on him. 

To those who asked him about his work, he used to say that it was aimed against the feudal lords who exploited the masses. His goal was to organize his campaign around a group of adherents–just like Rup Chandra Bista did via his ‘Thaha’ movement in the 1970s. 

Many people supported Thapa’s campaign, which lasted for a tad over four decades. But it never grew into a collective movement. 

Thapa was against superficiality and insincerity. He wanted people to reflect, think, and most importantly, seek the truth.   

That seeker of truth is now no more. Thapa is survived by three sons and seven daughters. 

Tirtha Raj Upadhyay, a prominent Chartered Accountant (CA) and founding member of the Association of Chartered Accountants of Nepal (ACAN), passed away on 13 May. He was 74.

Born in Saptari district, Upadhyay spent most of his life working as a CA and as an advisor to large private and government corporations as well as banks. He also served as ACAN’s chairperson.

Upadhyay had played an important role in the drafting of Nepal Chartered Accountants Act (1997). The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nepal (ICAN) formed under the Act not only brought social recognition to but also regulated the accountancy profession.  

There was no institute in Nepal where people could pursue the CA course prior to the Act. Upadhyay was part of the first council of ICAN, where he served in the capacity of both vice-president and president.

In his career, Upadhyay also led Nepal's Accounting Standard Board Nepal, and Nepal Accounting Technician Institute as their chairperson.

His highly successful accounting firm TR Upadhya & Co advised and worked with, among others, Office of the Auditor General, Rastriya Banijya Bank, Nepal Telecom, and Standard Chartered Bank Nepal.

In addition, he led various initiatives like the ‘Public Audit Reform Project of the Office of the Auditor General Nepal 2004-05’. 

Binod Neupane, the current ICAN director, remembers Upadhyay as his guardian and mentor.

“He was a dynamic leader, extremely professional, and highly determined,” says Neupane. “He taught me that one should always look ahead and keep moving.”

Mistakes and regrets, Neupane remembers Upadhyay telling him, are “part and parcel of life which help a person grow and improve”.

“He believed that we need to keep improving on whatever we do and never give up,” Neupane says. “I had talked to him just a week before he left for the US, which was a month ago.” 

Upadhyay and his wife were visiting their two daughters and grandchildren in the US, where he died after falling down a flight of stairs at a shopping center in Clarksburg, Maryland.

Upadhyay suffered a severed head trauma and was put on life support. He died 30 hours later.  

Upadhyay is survived by his wife, two daughters and grandchildren.

Birth: 9 Feb 1948, Saptari

Death: 13 May 2022, US 

Hem Bahadur Lama, Nepal’s tennis patron and veteran film director, passed away on May 16 at the age of 94. 

Lama was born in Bhojpur district, Nepal but spent most of his childhood in Burma, now Myanmar. That is where he learned to play tennis. After returning to Nepal in 1965, Lama began teaching tennis in his free time and later went on to establish a tennis institution, Hem’s Tennis Academy. 

For Nepali tennis athletes and enthusiasts, Lama was the pioneer of the game in the country. He is credited not just for introducing tennis in Nepal but also for training countless players. 

He became the treasurer of All Nepal Lawn Tennis Federation in 1969.  

Besides his contribution to tennis, Lama was also one of Nepal’s foremost filmmakers who launched the career of many actors, including Anshumala Shahi, Sunny Rauniyar, Mohan Niroula, and his son Vijay Lama. They all starred in Lama’s 1984 directorial debut “Adarsh Nari”. 

“I met him at the premier of Adarsh Nari,” says Tulsi Ghimire, a veteran film director. “He was a natural, with an almost instinctive feel for filmmaking.”

“Was there something he could improve on?”, Ghimire remembers Lama asking him after the premier. 

“The making of Adarsh Nari was in itself a milestone in the Nepali film industry. And I told him exactly that,” Ghimire says. 

He adds Lama had a unique approach to direction.

“He once told me that he would close his eyes and visualize scenes before filming,” Ghimire recalls. “He had this uncanny ability to bring his imagination to life on the film-set.”

Lama's passing is a big loss to the Nepali film industry and sporting community.

Many athletes, both from the past and present, and people in the Nepali film fraternity paid tribute to Lama for his contributions.

His son Vijay, who is better known today as an airline captain, was one of his greatest admirers. 

"Dad, I'm not used to living without you. Your memory will haunt me, but I'm sure you're happy wherever you are," Vijay wrote on his Facebook in memory of his late father.

Vijay, who is active in various social media platforms, used to sometimes film his banters with his father. 

Lama was joyful and full of energy even in his dotage. His love for tennis remained intact as well.

Lama breathed his last at Manmohan Cardiothoracic Vascular and Transplant Center in Maharajgunj, Kathmandu. 

He is survived by three sons and a daughter.

Birth: 28 December 1927, Bhojpur

Death: 15 May 2022, Kathmandu