{{Short description|Nepali writer (1942–2018)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}} {{Infobox person | name = Manu Brajaki | image = Manu Brajaki.jpg | native_name = मनु ब्राजाकी | native_name_lang = ne | other_names = Sagar Nasratya, Hemanta Hari | birth_name = Chetman Singh Bhandari | birth_date = {{Birth date|1942|08|3|df=y}} | birth_place = Aurahi, Mahottari, Nepal | death_date = {{Death date and age|2018|02|02|1942|08|3|df=yes}} | death_place = Lalitpur, Nepal | occupation = Writer | awards = Sajha Puraskar, Padmashree Sahitya Puraskar }}
'''Chetman Singh Bhandari''', better known as '''Manu Brajaki''' ({{Langx|ne|मनु ब्राजाकी}}; 1942-2018) was a Nepalese writer.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Brajaki, a life in stories|url=https://www.recordnepal.com/brajaki-a-life-in-stories|url-status=live|access-date=7 September 2021|website=The Record|language=English|archive-date=7 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210907183835/https://www.recordnepal.com/brajaki-a-life-in-stories}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Pierce|first=Philip H.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=791jAAAAMAAJ|title=Selected Stories from Nepal|date=2004|publisher=Sajha Prakashan|isbn=978-99933-2-324-2|pages=54|language=en|access-date=7 September 2021|archive-date=7 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210907190413/https://books.google.com/books?id=791jAAAAMAAJ&newbks=0|url-status=live}}</ref> He wrote multiple short stories and gazal in his lifetime. He was known for his use of regional themes and elements in his works.
== Biography == Brajaki was born as Chetman Singh Bhandari in a Chhetri zamindar family on 3 August 1942 (19 Shrawan 1999 BS) in Aurahi, Mahottari district. He published his first story in 1962 in ''Anchal Sandesh'', a Janakpur based magazine .<ref>{{Cite web|title=Himalayan Voices|url=https://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft729007x1&chunk.id=d0e15031&toc.depth=100&toc.id=d0e15031&brand=ucpress;query=Poetry%20India|access-date=2022-01-20|website=publishing.cdlib.org}}</ref>
== Awards == He won the prestigious Sajha Puraskar for his short story collection ''Timri Swasni ra Ma'' in 2046 BS ({{Circa|1989}}). He was awarded with Padmashree Sahitya Puraskar for his short story collection ''Annapurnako Bhoj'' for the year 2070 BS ({{Circa|2013}}).<ref>{{Cite web|title=Kantipur-ब्राजकी र गौतमलाई पद्मश्री - कान्तिपुर समाचार|url=https://ekantipur.com/ampnews/2014-09-07/395342.html|access-date=2022-01-20|website=ekantipur.com}}</ref> He also received the Jagadish Ghimire Smriti Puraskar in 2074 BS ({{Circa|2017}}).<ref>{{Cite web|last=नागरिक|title=ब्राजाकीलाई जगदीश घिमिरे पुरस्कार|url=https://nagariknews.nagariknetwork.com/arts/135361-1514252640.html|access-date=2022-01-20|website=nagariknews.nagariknetwork.com|language=ne}}</ref>
In 2017, he was awarded the Pahalman Singh Swar Lifetime Literary Award.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Litterateur Brajaki bags 'Pahalman Singh Swar Lifetime Literary Award, 2074'|url=https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/litterateur-brajaki-bags-pahalman-singh-swar-lifetime-literary-award-2074/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210907184200/https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/litterateur-brajaki-bags-pahalman-singh-swar-lifetime-literary-award-2074/|archive-date=7 September 2021|access-date=7 September 2021|website=My Republica|language=en}}</ref>
== Notable works == '''Short story collections''' * ''Avamulyan'' *''Aakashko Phal'' *''Timri Swasni ra Ma<ref>{{Cite web|title=Noted writer Manu Brajaki no more|url=https://kathmandupost.com/miscellaneous/2018/02/02/noted-writer-manu-brajaki-no-more|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210907183910/https://kathmandupost.com/miscellaneous/2018/02/02/noted-writer-manu-brajaki-no-more|archive-date=7 September 2021|access-date=7 September 2021|website=The Kathmandu Post|language=English}}</ref>'' * ''Bhabishya Yatra'' *''Paradarshi Manchhe'' *''Manu Brajakika Laghu Katha'' *''Annapurnako Bhoj'' (Annapurna's Feast) '''Gazal collections'''
* ''Gazal Ganga'' * ''Kandaka Phoolharu'' * ''K hereko Ye Jindagi!''
== Personal life == He died on 2 February 2018 (19 Magh 2074 BS) due to brain haemorrhage.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Thapa|first=Richa|date=2 February 2018|title=Litterateur Manu Brajaki no more|url=https://thehimalayantimes.com/kathmandu/litterateur-manu-brajaki-no|access-date=7 September 2021|website=The Himalayan Times|language=en|archive-date=7 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210907183912/https://thehimalayantimes.com/kathmandu/litterateur-manu-brajaki-no|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Noted litterateur Manu Brajaki no more|url=https://english.onlinekhabar.com/noted-litterateur-manu-brajaki-no-more.html|url-status=live|access-date=7 September 2021|website=OnlineKhabar|date=2 February 2018 |language=en-GB|archive-date=7 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210907185223/https://english.onlinekhabar.com/noted-litterateur-manu-brajaki-no-more.html}}</ref> He is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter.<ref>{{Cite web|title=रहेनन् साहित्यकार मनु ब्राजाकी|url=https://nepalaaja.com/2018/2/201822115827|access-date=2022-01-20|website=NepalAajaV3|language=en}}</ref>
== References == {{Reflist}}
== Further reading ==
* {{Cite journal|last=Adhikari|first=Nirjala|date=28 August 2021|title=Silencing and Breaking the Silence: Resisting Patriarchy in Brajaki's "Annapurna's Feast" and Thakuri's "War"|url=https://www.nepjol.info/index.php/sjah/article/view/39424|journal=SCHOLARS: Journal of Arts & Humanities|volume=3|issue=2|pages=71–78|doi=10.3126/sjah.v3i2.39424|issn=2773-7829|eissn=2773-7837|via=Nepal Journals Online|doi-access=free}}
{{authority control}}{{Nepalese writers}}{{Nepali literature}}
Category:1942 births Category:2018 deaths Category:People from Mahottari District Category:20th-century Nepalese male writers Category:21st-century Nepalese male writers Category:Nepali-language Nepalese writers Category:Sajha Puraskar winners Category:Nepalese short story writers Category:Padmashree Sahitya Puraskar winners
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