The living archive

Breaker: Shiva Regmi’s collection of writings from literary magazines makes him a
treasure chest of Nepali literature

Ujjwal Prasai

A passage which leads to the study room of Shiva Regmi has been narrowed by tables
and shelves full of books. The room adjacent to his study and the one opposite to it are
packed too. As I enter his study, I ask him how many books he owns. "More than
10,000," he says. But to my astonishment, his study includes several magazines stacked
in shelves and spread across the floor and table. "I have almost every issue of nearly 100
Nepali literary magazines," he adds. The 69-year-old writer--also a renowned researcher
of Nepali literature--is currently completing a comprehensive history of Nepali literary
magazines. In doing so, he is also analysing the roles played by these magazines in the
development of Nepali literature.
A habit of collecting and reading books and magazines led Regmi to edit and write books
on Nepali literature. His edited works include Gorkhapatra Kaa Ek Saya Ek Nibandha--a
collection of 101 essays published in Gorkhapatra from 1968 to 1999, where one can
find literary writings of poet Siddhi Charan Shrestha, memoirs of Narayan Gopal, and the
spiritual deliberations of Yogi Narahari Nath. Regmi also edited Shankar Lamichhane ka
Nibandha and Bhupi Sherchan ka Kabita, where he anthologised Lamichhane's essays
and Sherchan's poems that were published in magazines, but never collected otherwise.
"Future readers of Nepali literature will be devoid of these gems if they are not collected
now," he says.
Encyclopedias that track the evolution of Nepali literature is no doubt lacking in current
archives. "But we do not have to worry as long as we have Shiva Regmi," says journalist
Devendra Bhattarai, who considers Regmi a source for writing stories on Nepali
literature. Regmi possesses the first issues of magazines like Sharda, Yugbani, Garima,
and Madhuparka which are historically important as they heralded modernity in Nepali
writing. His amazing collection also includes the first work by the first Nepali translator
Gambhir Dhoj Shah, which was published in 1914. These magazines and books surround
Regmi in his study, where he shuts himself away to write from 10 am till 2 pm. "These
books and magazines are my friends and I am addicted to reading or writing about them,"
he says.
Regmi remembers the days when he used to buy Madhuparka for Rs. 1.25--a sum
difficult for him at the time. He lost his mother when he was three and his father passed
away when he was nine. Born in Kathmandu in 1941, Regmi did his schooling from
Juddhodaya Public High School in 1958 and started teaching in a primary school. But
after teaching for four years, he left the job to volunteer in public libraries. "I volunteered
in Nabin Bikash Mandal Library of Thamel and also in the Rastriya Pustakalaya in
Pyukha where I used to sit all day to read," he says.
After passing the SLCs, he did not enroll in college and did not hold a job for nearly three
years. The only thing he did was read. But as financial conditions at home became worse,
he joined the Ministry of Law as a clerk. But without a formal university degree, Regmi
found it difficult to get promoted. He thus joined National College for an Intermediate
degree with history as his major, and later attained a Master’s degree in Nepali literature.
Regmi additionally earned a B.L. (Bachelor’s in Law) degree and eventually became
vice-secretary in the government, working in several ministries including the office of the
Prime Minister. He retired from government office after serving nine years at the Election
Commission. "In Nepal’s bureaucracy, people are not allowed to work. They are
encouraged to waste time talking. I was not interested in that, and so I used to read books
wherever I worked," he adds.
While many readers and scholars of Nepali literature know him as a researcher, very few
know him as an ex-administrator. Regmi thinks that his passion for reading and research
has added more value to his life than his career with the government. Today, he continues
to read good writings published in decades-old magazines. This piques his interest in
researching those writers. Regmi has thus brought to us information of those who had
talent but could not make themselves popular. "I have received calls from relatives of the
writers I surface, who thank me for reminding Nepali readers about them," he says.
Regmi has realised that there are very few people who understand the value of writing in
Nepal. Though he wants the government to understand the importance of literature and to
preserve the books and magazines collected by writers like him, he does not want to
handover his own library unless assured of its preservation. Pointing at his numerous
books and magazines, he says, "I am worried what these good friends of mine will do
after I am gone from this world."