Dev Kumari Thapa, devoted to the field of literature for six decades, is also a great name in children’s literature. Youngest daughter of Hasta Bahadur Katuwal and Rama Devi Katuwal, Thapa was born in April 14, 1928 AD at Giddhe Pahad, Kharseong, in Darjeeling district of West Bengal, India. She made her debut in literature in the year 2003 with her story “Patan’ published in Gorkha. She has six works to her credit for children. Punyatma Aama (2009 BS/ 1952 AD), and Chha Taara (2010 BS/ 1951 AD) are collections of biographies, useful for children. Ramko Katha (2013 BS/ 1957 AD), Vara Parabata (2033 BS/ 1976 AD), Kathako Batulo (2036 BS/ 1979 AD), Jangalko Katha (2037 BS/ 1980 AD) and Sun Pakhti Chari (2042 BS/ 1986 AD) are her collections of stories for children.
Though the subjects of her stories are simple, they talk of great and important things. They try to alert children against decadence and delinquency by raising in their tender hearts, the humane feelings of love, compassion, tolerance, labor, patience, self-reliance, activeness, good behavior, honesty and idealism. She employs simple language appropriate to children, which makes her stories fit for the natural instinct of the young hearts.
She has a great orientation and love for children. This become apparent from her social, psychological and other stories, where she tries to show the role of the family environment, the activities of the parents and the culture they are brought up in, and their influence on the development of their personalities.
In her early part, Thapa concentrated on biographies while the later part of her career shows the prominence of stories.