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MARCH, 2002 |
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Biztoon |
BOOK REVIEW Chronology of Nepali Paper Money Nepal had started issuing paper currency some 56 years back in 2002 Bikram Sambat primarily to curtail the loss of silver which used to get exchanged for Indian currency notes. But as the Nepali notes were of the denominations Rs. 5, Rs. 10 and Rs. 100 only the difficulty in using notes for small transactions continued. Thus was the problem carried forward till Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) came into existence as the central bank in 2013 B.S. (1956 AD). Though the Government had also started printing Rs. 1 denomination notes, their circulation was superceded by the circulation of Indian rupee. Altogether 97 varieties of currency notes in as many as 11 denominations have been brought out in Nepal so far and all of them are legal tender – i.e. none of them is demonetized. But if someone happens to take to a bank a currency note issued three or four decades ago, the bank clerks are not in a position to say whether the note is real or fake. This is because of the absence of a reference material. Even Nepal Rastra Bank does not have the specimen of all the 97 notes, says Jaya Hari Jha, author of a recently published book "An Overview of Nepalese Paper Money". And Jha has filled this gap with the book which contains true to color images of both sides of all these 97 notes and also details about the quantity of issue and the changes incorporated in each subsequent issue thus providing a glimpse of Nepali history through these notes. The authenticity of the 16 years long research outcome of Jha and his associates is substantiated by Himalaya Sumsher JB Rana, the first Governor of NRB, in his message printed in the book and by present governor of NRB Dr. Tilak Rawal in his foreword to the book. Among the other authorities on the subject endorsing the book are former governor of NRB Dipendra Purush Dhakal and anthropologist Satya Mohan Joshi. As these scholars have said in their respective comments, the book is useful for bankers, historians, economists and general public whoever may have any interest in Nepali paper money. The quality of the print and the paper used have made the book very attractive making it a worth buy for the quoted price. The value is added much more when one considers that the specimen of some notes collected in the book are not available even in the paper currency museum of NRB itself (e.g. those signed by Khajanchi Janak Raj). Therefore, Jha is perfectly right when the says, "Though the total face value of the notes included in the book is only Rs. 16,562, the real value of these all is several hundred times of that". The result as he claims, is that the book is yielding good response now from banks and other quarters as compared to the cold reception it faced initially when it was first released in mid-January 2002. Jha is a collector of coins, currency notes and stamps by hobby as well as by profession now and a retired civil servant. Book: An overview of Nepalese Paper Money (in English and Nepali)
Printed at: Subash Printing Press, Nakabahil, Lalitpur |
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