Kashi Bahadur Shreshta (1911-1989) served Nepali literature for more than five decades as fiction writer and journalist He was editor of Udaya (a monthly magazine in Nepali) and a social activist who worked hard to alleviate the sufferings of the common people, even raising his voice against the atrocities of the police and officials. He was a polyglot. Besides his mother tongue, he knew several languages like Hindi, English and Sanskrit. He was a very good editor who promoted young talents like a potter who made beautiful idols out of raw clay, he moulded writers. Besides several short stories, Kashi Bahadur wrote two social novels Usha and Vachan, the main purpose of which was to highlight social evils. To express his patriotic feelings he wrote some poems also. Nepali was very dear to him and he followed its trends and movements very closely. He had very good relations with the pandits and scholars of Benares, the centre of Indian ethos and wisdom, where he lived and worked. Grishma Bahadur Devkota, eminent Nepali writer says that Udaya is the oldest magazine in Nepali published from Varanasi and it carries the history of courage, sacrifice and hard work of a single man – Kashi Bahadur Shreshta.
Durga Bahadur Shreshta, author of this monograph and son of Kashi Bahadur Shreshta is the present editor of Ulaya. He is the Coordinator of the Third India-Nepal Nepali Writers' Conference, 2003. At present he is living in Varanasi.
When Sahitya Akademi offered me to write a monograph on my father, I was elated. Elated not because he was my father, but I was elated because I got an opportunity to throw some light on the life a dedicated editor to whom serving the mother language was like a penance.
Kashi Bahadur Shrestha's life was an ideal life for us, his children, and I hope, it will also inspire those who read this book. He led a life of ascetic, but not a religious ascetic. He never performed daily Puja or dhyan. He only used to read (path) Durga Kavach.
I have tried to highlight different aspects of his life and work. His only aim was to keep 'Udaya' alive. In 1964, when he got audience with late King Mahendra of Nepal, he was offered editorship of 'Gorakhapatra' (a government daily). But he refused the offer and requested to get some help for 'Udaya'. He was assured and 'Udaya' started getting monthly advertisement worth Rs. 400/-.
There are so many anecdotes which could not be included in this book. I have taken some help from the thesis of Sri Shaligram Adhikari, 1 thank him. I Also thank all those whose books have helped me to find references regarding my father. I also thank my nephews Vikash and Vishal who had typeset the manuscript, labouriously.
I am grateful to Sahitya Akademi for assigning me this job and I hope that it will satisfy the readers.
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