Girish Ballabh Joshi
Yadunath Sharma, popularly known as Girish Ballabh Joshi was a Nepali Ayurvedic doctor and novelist. He is considered to be the first Nepali novelist. His novel Bir Charitra was first published in 1903.
He was born on 5 October 1867 to father Ganga Nath and mother Bagishowri. The place of his birth is disputed, some sources claim it was in Kathmandu, while other claims, it was in Varanasi or Mathura city of India. It is believed his parents were on a pilgrimage in India, around his birth. He grew up in Mathura and Varanasi. His family served as the royal Baidhya. He studied Ayurveda in Varanasi. After the death of his father, he returned to Kathmandu.
Literary career
Although, he had not received any education in literar field, he was interested in literature. He was proficient in Hindi and Urdu alongside Nepali. He was an ardent fan of Devaki Nandan Khatri, an Indian writer. His novels influenced him to write Bir Charitra, a fantasy detective novel.
He had 13 children. He died in December 1923.