Sharada Sharma

{{Infobox writer

| name = Sharada Sharma

| native_name = शारदा शर्मा

| native_name_lang = ne

| image = Sarada Sharma By Mahalaxmi Silwal.JPG

| alt = Sharada Sharma

| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1958}}

| birth_place = Syangja, Nepal

| occupation = Writer and poet

| alma_mater = Tribhuvan University

}}

Sharada Sharma (born 1958; {{Langx|ne|शारदा शर्मा}}) is a Nepali writer and poet. Her debut novel, Taap, won the 2012 Padmashree Sahitya Samman award.

Early life and education

Sharada Sharma was born in 1958 in Syangja, Nepal.{{Cite web|title=Sharada Sharma|url=https://sckool.org/women-writers-of-nepal-profiles-and-perspectives.html?page=23|access-date=2021-09-23|website=Women Writers of Nepal (Profiles and Perspectives)}}{{Cite web|date=2021-01-20|title=Woman: Nature|url=https://thegorkhatimes.com/2021/01/20/woman-nature/|access-date=2021-09-24|website=The Gorkha Times|language=en-US}} Her father was a writer and editor who contributed to various Nepalese publications.{{Cite web|last=Dhital|first=Abha|date=2018-03-24|title=An introvert's tool|url=https://kathmandupost.com/miscellaneous/2018/03/24/an-introverts-tool|access-date=2021-09-24|website=The Kathmandu Post|language=English}} Sharma first began writing poetry at eight years old while in Pokhara, where she spent a portion of her childhood. A natural introvert, she found solace in writing.

With the support of her family, she attended Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu, where she studied science and then arts, eventually graduating with a master's degree.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ht5jAAAAMAAJ|title=Contemporary Nepali Poems|date=2000|publisher=Royal Nepal Academy|language=en}}

Career

Sharma first gained recognition in 1982 after publishing a poem in honor of the writer B. P. Koirala. In 1987, she published her first poetry collection, Boundless Emotions. This was followed in 1991 with the short story collection Ruins of Convictions and in 1992 with the poetry collection After the War. In addition to poetry and short stories, she produced a book-length study of Koirala's female characters in 1996.

Overall, she has written around a dozen books, including poetry, short stories, literary criticism, and novels.

Taap, her debut novel, was published in 2012 and won that year's Padmashree Sahitya Sammana, a prestigious Nepalese literary award.{{Cite journal|last=Mishra|first=Indira Acharya|date=June 2020|title=Tāpa as an Underrated Nepali Novel (Book Review)|url=https://molung.org.np/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/MEF_Volume_10_Special_Issue_June_2020-.pdf|journal=Molung Educational Frontier|volume=10}} The novel weaves together narratives of various individuals from different backgrounds, switching perspectives throughout. It was followed by Kampa, a 2016 novel inspired by the April 2015 Nepal earthquake.{{Cite web|last=Sharma|first=Lal Prasad|date=2017-02-12|title=Sharma discusses Kampa in Pokhara|url=https://kathmandupost.com/art-entertainment/2017/02/12/sharma-discusses-kampa-in-pokhara|access-date=2021-09-24|website=The Kathmandu Post|language=English}}

In 2020, her poetry collection Yatrama was shortlisted for the Madan Puraskar award, which was eventually won by Chandra Prakash Baniya's Maharani.{{Cite web|date=2020-08-05|title=7 books shortlisted for Madan Puraskar|url=https://english.khabarhub.com/2020/05/117560/|access-date=2021-09-24|website=Khabarhub|language=en}}

Sharma's writing often deals with themes of spirituality and mysteries of the universe, incorporating a woman's perspective.{{Cite web|last=Ojha|first=Anup|date=2015-11-30|title=Stay happy reading!|url=https://kathmandupost.com/art-entertainment/2015/11/30/stay-happy-reading|access-date=2021-09-24|website=The Kathmandu Post|language=English}} She conveys a feminist message in both her writing and her work as an activist, including with the Family Planning Association of Nepal.{{Cite web|last=Kolehmainen-Aitken|first=Riitta-Liisa|date=July 1995|title=Evaluation Report: FPMD Technical Assistance to the Family Planning Association of Nepal (FPAN)|url=https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PDABM131.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170226115403/http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/pdabm131.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 26, 2017|access-date=2021-09-24|website=USAID}}

Personal life

In 1978, Sharma married the politician Narahari Acharya, with whom she has two children.{{Cite web|title=Narahari Acharya|url=http://election.ujyaaloonline.com/candidates/2291/Narahari-Acharya|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171028075909/http://election.ujyaaloonline.com/candidates/2291/Narahari-Acharya|archive-date=2017-10-28|website=Ujyaalo Online}}