Himalayan Voices An Introduction To Modern

Nepali Literature Michael James Hutt download

https://ebookbell.com/product/himalayan-voices-an-introduction-
to-modern-nepali-literature-michael-james-hutt-51821766

Explore and download more ebooks at ebookbell.com

Here are some recommended products that we believe you will be
interested in. You can click the link to download.

The Ecology Of Language In Multilingual India Voices Of Women And

Educators In The Himalayan Foothills 1st Edition Cynthia Groff Auth

https://ebookbell.com/product/the-ecology-of-language-in-multilingual-
india-voices-of-women-and-educators-in-the-himalayan-foothills-1st-
edition-cynthia-groff-auth-6793542

Himalayan Fruits And Berries Bioactive Compounds Uses And

Nutraceutical Potential Tarun Belwal

https://ebookbell.com/product/himalayan-fruits-and-berries-bioactive-
compounds-uses-and-nutraceutical-potential-tarun-belwal-48677142

Himalayan Languages Past And Present Anju Saxena Editor

https://ebookbell.com/product/himalayan-languages-past-and-present-
anju-saxena-editor-50266648

Himalayan Thickskin Basement Deformation Of The Ladakh Batholith

Lehladakh Region Nw India 1st Edition Michael George Petterson

https://ebookbell.com/product/himalayan-thickskin-basement-
deformation-of-the-ladakh-batholith-lehladakh-region-nw-india-1st-
edition-michael-george-petterson-50401790
Himalayan Glaciers Climate Change Water Resources And Water Security
National Research Council

https://ebookbell.com/product/himalayan-glaciers-climate-change-water-
resources-and-water-security-national-research-council-50794686

Himalayan Climes And Multispecies Encounters Jelle Jp Wouters Dan

Smyer Y

https://ebookbell.com/product/himalayan-climes-and-multispecies-
encounters-jelle-jp-wouters-dan-smyer-y-57498796

The Himalayan Masters A Living Tradition Pandit Rajmani Tigunait

https://ebookbell.com/product/the-himalayan-masters-a-living-
tradition-pandit-rajmani-tigunait-22796990

Himalayan Languages And Linguistics Studies In Phonology Semantics

Morphology And Syntax Mark Turin And Bettina Zeisler

https://ebookbell.com/product/himalayan-languages-and-linguistics-
studies-in-phonology-semantics-morphology-and-syntax-mark-turin-and-
bettina-zeisler-2319734

Himalayan Wonderland Travels In Lahaul And Spiti Manohar Singh Gill

https://ebookbell.com/product/himalayan-wonderland-travels-in-lahaul-
and-spiti-manohar-singh-gill-2439156
Himalayan Voices
 VOICES FROM A S I A
1. Of Women, Outcastes, Peasants, and Rebels: A Selection of Bengali
Short Stories. Translated and edited by Kalpana Bardhan.
2. Himalayan Voices: An Introduction to Modern Nepali Literature.
Translated and edited by Michael James Hutt.
Himalayan Voices
An Introduction to
Modern Nepali Literature

TRANSLATED AND EDITED BY

Michael James Hutt

U N I V E R S I T Y OF C A L I F O R N I A PRESS
Berkeley Los Angeles Oxford
 This book is a print-on-demand volume. It is manufac-
tured using toner in place of ink. Type and images may
be less sharp than the same material seen in traditionally
printed University of California Press editions.

University of California Press

Berkeley and Los Angeles, California

University of California Press, Ltd.

Oxford, England

© 1991 by
The Regents of the University of California

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Himalayan voices : an introduction to modern Nepali literature /

translated and edited by Michael James Mutt,
p. cm. — (Voices from Asia ; 2)
Translated from Nepali.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
ISBN 0-520-07046-1 (cloth). — ISBN 0-5204)7048-8
(paper)
1. Nepali poetry—20th century—Translations into Knglish.
2. English poetry—Translations from Nepali. 3. Short stories,
Nepali—Translations into English. 4. Short stories, English—
Translations from Nepali. 5. Authors, Nepali—20th century—
Biography. 1. Mutt, Michael. II. Series.
PK2598./95E5 1990
891'.49—dc:20 90-11145
CIP

Printed in the United States of America

The paper used in this publication meets the m i n i m u m requirements of American

National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed
Library Materials, ANSI 739.48-1984. ©
 CONTENTS

PREFACE xi
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS XV
NOTE ON T R A N S L I T E R A T I O N xvii

Introduction /

PART ONE THE POETS OF N E P A E //

Nepali Poetry 13
Lekhnath Paudyal (1885-1961)) 22
A Parrot in a Cage 26
Himalaya 28
Remembering Samswati 29
An Ode to Death 30
Last Poem 30

Balkrishna Sama (1903-1981) 31

Man h God Himself 34
I Hate 35
AII-Pervading Poetry 35
from Sight of the Incarnation 36
Eakshmlprasad Devkota (1909-1959) 40
Sleeping Porter 44
from Muna and Madan 45
Prayer on a Clear Morning in the Month of Mdgh 51
Mad 53
Like Nothing into Nothing 56
VI CONTENTS

Siddhicharan Shreshtha (b. 1912) 57

A Suffering World 59
No Smoke from the Chimneys 61
My Reflection 61
Untouchable 61
father Has Not Come Home 62
My Son 63
To the Poet Devkotd 64

Kedar Man "Vyathit" (b. 1914) 66

Fragment from the. Year '09 68
Ants 69
A Glimpse 69
The Storm 70
The End 71
War 71
The Practice of Sculpture 71

Gopalprasad Rimal (1918-1973) 73

A Mother's Dream 75
Consolation 76
A Mother's Pain 78
A Change 79
Who Are You'? 80
To — 81

Mohan Koirala (b. 1926) 82

Remembering as I Go 86
An Introduction to the Land 87
I Love Your Daughter 89
The Martyrs 90
I Remember 91
A Flower Amid the Mountain Rock 93
The Fiddle 93
The Snow Peak's Blood-Red 96
It's a Mineral, the Mind 97
You Who Remember 98

BairagI Kainla (b. 1939) 99

The Corpse of a Dream 102
A Drunk Man's Speech to the Street After Midnight 103
People Shopping at a Weekly Market 106

Parijat (b. 1937) 111

Sweep Away 113
To Gopalprasad Rimal's "To —" 114
A Sick Lover's Letter to Her Soldier 115
In the. Arms of Death 116
 CONTENTS vii

Bhupi Sherchan (1936-1989) 119

Always Always in My Dream 122
Midday and the Cold Sleep 123
I Think My Country's History Is a Lie 124
A Blind Man on a Revolving Chair 125
This Is a Land of Uproar and Rumor 127
New Year 128
A Poem 129
A Dove of Two Delicate White Hands: Your Greeting 130
Cold Ashtray 131
A Cruel Blow at Dawn 131

Banlra Giri (b. 1946) 132

Time, You Are Always the Winner 133
I Am a Torn Poster 135
Kathmandu 137
Woman 139
New Trends in Nepali Poetry 141
Bhairava Aryal (1936-1976) 143
A Leaf in a Storm 143
Haribhakta Katuval (1935-1980) 144
A Wish 144
This Life, What Life Is This? 145
Ishwar Ballabh (b. 1937) 145
The Shadows of Superfluous Songs 146
Where Is the Voice? 147
Hem Hamal (b. 1941) 148
Village and Town 149
Children Going to School 149
Before the Daivn 149
Krishnabhushan Bal (b. 1947) 150
April Wind 150
Historical Matters 151
Bimal Nibha (b. 1952) 152
Are You Quite Well, Oh Poet? 152
Ashesh Malla (b. 1954) 153
To the Children 153
None Returned from the Capital 154
Mlnbahadur Bishta (b. 1954) 155
What's in the Bastard Hills? 155
Thus a Nation Pretends to Live 157
Avinash Shreshtha (b. 1955) 157
A Spell 158
Headland 158
viii CONTENTS

Bishwabimohan Shrcshtha (b. 1956) 759

Should I Earn My Daily Bread, or Should I Write a Poem? 159

PART TWO SELECTED SHORT S T O R I E S 171

The Short Story in Nepali 173
Guruprasad Mainall (1900-1971) 189
A Blaze in the Straw 189
Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala (1915-1982) 197
The Soldier 197
To the Lowlands 201
BhavanI Bhikshu (1914-1981) 206
Will He Ever Return? 207
Mdujang Kdbusdheb's Coat. 214
Shivkumar Rfu (b. 1916) 224
The Murderer 224
Daulal Bikram Bishtha (b. 1926) 231
The Andhi Khold 231
Bijay Malla (b. 1925) 236
Sunglasses 236
The Prisoner and the Dove 240
Ramcsh Bikal (b. 1932) 244
A Splendid Buffalo 244
Shankar Larnichhane (1928-1975) 253
The Half-dosed Eyes of the Buddha and the Slowly Setting Sun 253
I n d i a Bahadur RaT (b. 1928) 260
Mama's Mother Is Just Like Us 260
Poshan Pandc (b. 1932) 266
A Sweater for Brother-in-law 266
Tarinl Prasad Koirala (1922-1974) 271
It Depends upon Your Point of View 271
Prema Shah 278
A Husband 278
Parashu Pradhau (b. 1943) 284
7'A(; Telegram on the Table 284
A Relationship 286
Dhruba Chandra (iautam (b. 1944) 290
The Fire 290
 CONTENTS ix

Manu BrajakI (b. 1942) 298

A Small Fish Squats by the Dholn Khold 298
Kishor Pahadi (b. 1956) 304
A Living Death 304

GLOSSARY 311
BIBLIOGRAPHY 317
INDEX 325

(Illustrations follow page 162)

This page intentionally left blank
 PREFACE

The compiler of any literary anthology is always liable to be accused of

sins of omission and commission, and I do not expect to be spared. I
began work on this project with the idea of producing two separate
books: a much larger and more comprehensive selection of poems in
English translation, including works by as many as forty poets, and an
anthology of some thirty short stories. These objectives were modified
for a number of reasons. It gradually became clear to me that the poetry
of another culture can rarely be appreciated or understood fully if its
authors are not properly introduced or presented in the context of their
own historical and literary traditions. The approach I subsequently adopted
was to provide an introduction to the works of a fairly limited number
of important Nepali poets. At a later stage it dawned on me that although
Nepali short stories contain a wealth of interesting material, many are
simply less compelling in a strictly literary sense than are the more highly
developed poetic genres.
Each poet who is the subject of a separate chapter in Part One of this
book has been chosen for reasons of significance, and the importance
of the contribution each has made to Nepali poetry is explained in an
introductory preamble to the selection of translated poems. The farther
back into the historical past one ventures, the easier it becomes to assess
the importance of individual poets. Thus, it is unlikely that any Nepali
will wish to quarrel with my choice of the first six poets. It is inevitably
more difficult to predict who will come to be regarded in future years
as the most important Nepali poets of the more recent past. In general,
however, I have relied on the assessments of Nepali critics and antholo-
gists in my choice of both poets and poems. If a poet appears regularly
in the four anthologies published by the Royal Nepal Academy and Sajha
XI
xii PRKFACF.

Prakashan, it seems safe to assume that he or she is considered signifi-

cant. I have adopted a similar rule with regard to the selection of poems
for translation, although it must be admitted that personal taste and the
extent to which I have felt satisfied with my translations have also played
a part in this process. Thus, some poems are translated here because
Nepali critics agree that they are important; others appear simply be-
cause I have enjoyed them.
My aim in Part Two has been to present translations of some of the
most interesting and best-known examples of the short story in Nepali,
to demonstrate the extent to which they describe life in Nepal, and to
give some indication of the way in which the genre has developed. This
selection has been "boiled down" from my original collection of more
than thirty translated stories and is presented as far as possible in order
of first publication. Obviously, each story was originally written by a
Nepali for a Nepali readership. It should also be borne in mind that the
authors are from a particular section of Nepali society—the educated
urban middle class—and that these stories therefore inevitably reflect
the prejudices, perceptions, and preoccupations of members of that,
class. It is part of a translator's duty to explain and interpret, and I have-
tried to do this as unobtrusively as possible with a fairly brief introduction
to the genre and its themes and with an explanation of Nepali terms
and cultural references in brief footnotes to the texts. A number of
Nepali words have been retained in these translations because no single
English word could adequately translate them. More detailed explana-
tions of such terms may be found in the glossary at the end of the book.
In selecting these stories for translation, I consulted with a number
of scholars, critics, and authors in Kathmandu in the summer of 1988
and compiled a list of more than fifty important Nepali short story writ-
ers. Obviously, this list had to be shortened because the inclusion of one
story by each writer would have produced a book of unmanageable and
unpublishable proportions. It soon became clear that certain writers
could be represented adequately by one story apiece but that justice
would not be done to others if only one story of theirs was translated.
Thus, an initial selection was made of thirty stories by twenty-two au-
thors, of whom six were represented by two stories and one (Bishwesh-
war Prasad Koirala) by three. Once the authors had been selected, the
problem of which stories to translate was solved with reference to critical
opinion in Kathmandu and to the choices of the editors of the five-
important Nepali anthologies. These are Kathd Kusum (Story Flower,
1938), the first anthology of short stories ever published in Ncpii\i;Jhyal-
bdla (From a Window, 1949), an anthology of twenty-five stories; Sajhd
Kathd (Sajha Stories, 1968), which includes twenty-six of the most famous
Nepali stories; Pachhis Varshakd NepaliKalhd (25 Years of Nepali Stories,
 PREFACE xiii

1983), a collection of thirty-five of the best stories published between

the establishment of the Royal Nepal Academy in 1957 and 1983; and
Samsamayik Sdjhd Kathd (Contemporary Sajha Stories, 1984), a supple-
ment to Sdjhd Katha that contains thirty-seven more recent stories. My
original intention had been to publish all thirty stories as a separate
anthology, but, as I have explained, I later cut down the number of
stories to what I consider an irreducible minimum. I hope that those
that remain will serve to give a flavor of modern Nepali fiction.
I regret that stories by such noted Nepali authors as Pushkar Sham-
sher, Govindabahadur Malla Gothale, Shankar Koirala, Shailcndra
Sakar, Dhruba Sapkota, Pushkar LohanI, Jainendra Jivan, Jagdlsh Ghi-
mire, Kumar Nepal, Keshavraj Pindali, Ishwar Ballabh, Somadhwaja
Bishta, Bhaupanthl, Devkumarl Thapa, Anita Tuladhar, and Bhlrnnidhi
TiwarT have not found their way into this collection. Some readers may
also be surprised by the absence of two of Nepal's greatest writers—
Lakshmlprasad Devkota and Balkrishna Sama—who both wrote a num-
ber of short stories. My opinion, shared by many Nepalis, is that Dev-
kota's and Sama's greatest contributions were to the fields of poetry and
drama in Nepali, not to fiction. This book might also be accused of
ignoring to some extent the; enormous contribution made by Nepali
writers from India because most of the research on which the book is
based was conducted in Nepal. Such, however, are the limitations in-
herent in a work of this nature. Let me conclude by saying that I hope
that others will continue to investigate and translate Nepali literature,
so that the gaps I have left may be filled and Nepal's rich literary heritage
may be appreciated more fully in the world beyond the hills.
This page intentionally left blank
 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

It is difficult to state with any certainty when it was that I actually began
work on this book because I first read and translated some of these poems
and stories as long ago as 1980 while conducting research for a doctoral
thesis. The project might well have taken another eight years to reach
fruition had the British Academy not granted me a three-year research
fellowship in Nepali in 1987. It is to that illustrious body that I am most
deeply indebted.
I must also record my gratitude to innumerable members of staff at
the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London and par-
ticularly to Dr. David Matthews, who first taught me Nepali; to Professor
Christopher Shackle, who encouraged me to maintain my involvement
in this field; and to Dr. Ian Raeside, present head of the Department
of Indology, who kindly agreed to host my fellowship.
The British Council and the Research Committee of the School were
extremely generous in their support of visits to Nepal iri 1987 and 1988.
My thanks also to Dr. Nicholas Allen of Oxford University; to Professor
J. C. Wright and Professor Lionel Caplan of SOAS for their help with
some obscure mythological references; and to Dr. John Whelpton for
helping me to unravel some of the historical background to these texts.
I have of course received an enormous amount of help from friends
and colleagues in Nepal. Chief among these has been Mr. Abhi Subedl,
who helped me to make many invaluable contacts in Kathmandu; spent
long hours reading through the translations, often in consort with the
authors themselves; and showed me great-hearted kindness in Nepal—
earthquakes and monsoons notwithstanding. The assistance and hos-
pitality of Mr. Peter Moss, the British Council's Representative in Nepal,
are also gratefully acknowledged. The enthusiasm for this project ex-
xv
xvi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

pressed by Mohan Koirala, Banlra Giri, Kedar Man Vyathit, Parijat,

Siddhicharan Shreshtha, Bishwabimohan Shreshtha, Chuda Mani Ban-
dhu, Ballabh Mani Dahal, Krishna Bhakta Shreshtha, Dayaram Sarn-
bhava, Bijay Malla, Krishna (Chandra Singh Pradhan, Achyutaraman
Adhikarl, and many other members of Kathmandu's literary community
has been the single greatest spur to its completion. They are, alter all,
the true authors of this book.
My sincere thanks to Lynne Withey and Betsey Seheincr at the Uni-
versity of California Press and copyeditor Jan Kristiansson for the me-
ticulous way in which they prepared this book for publication.
Finally, I must record my greatest debt of all: that which 1 owe to my
dear Lucy, who has given me love and support and acquiesced gracefully
to my long absences. To her I dedicate this book.
 NOTE ON TRANSLITERATION

Because this book is intended primarily for the reader who knows no
Nepali, 1 have not gone to great extremes to represent the exact Dc-
vanagarl spellings of Nepali names and terms; I have sought instead to
provide an adequate representation of their pronunciation. Any reader
who is familiar with the Devanagarl script, however, should have little
difficulty in reconstructing original spellings. Differences in vowel length
and between retroflex and dental consonants are indicated, but distinc-
tions such as those that Devanagarl makes between s and s, which are
unimportant for the purposes of pronunciation, are glossed by pre-
sented both as sh. The temptation to follow the practice of spelling words
such as Lakshml Laxml, or Bhupi Bhoopi has been resisted on aesthetic
grounds. Nevertheless, some single consonants, such as v, may be pro-
nounced in various ways: v, w, or b. In each case, the transliteration
follows the most likely pronunciation. Vishvavimohan Shreshtha's first
name is pronounced Bishwabimohan, and the poet actually spells it like
this when required to do so. It would seem pedantic, not to say arrogant,
to differ with a man over the spelling of his own name.
Long vowels are distinguished from short vowels by the addition of
a macron: aid, u/u, ill. A is pronounced like the "a" in southern English
"bus," whereas a is like "a" in English "father" or "bath," or occasionally
harder, as in "hat." / is like the "i" in "hit," whereas I is like the "ee" in
"week." U is like the "u" in "put," whereas u is like the "oo" in "moon."
Most Devanagarl consonants have aspirated, or "breathy," forms, rep-
resented here by the addition of an "h." Ordinary dental consonants are
pronounced with the tongue against the back of the front teeth; retroflex
consonants, indicated here by the addition of a dot beneath the dental
form (I, d, n, and so on) are pronounced with the tongue pressed up
into the palate.
xvii
This page intentionally left blank
 INTRODUCTION

NEPAL AND ITS ENVIRONMENT

Nepal is a Hindu kingdom, approximately equal in size to England with
Wales, that lies along a 500-mile stretch of the eastern Himalaya between
India and Tibet. The most striking feature of the country is its spectacu-
lar landscape, and the region's dramatic topography has been a crucial
factor in its historical and cultural development since the most ancient
times. From a strip of fertile lowland known as the Taral in the south,
Nepal rises in range after range of hills to the snow-covered crest of the
main Himalayan range. Nepal's location between two great cultures and
its previous isolation from the outside world have produced a rich and
variegated mixture of ethnic groups, languages, and cultures. Because
communication and travel in such mountainous country present enor-
mous problems, the region remained politically fragmented until the
recent historical past. In the south, the jungles and malarial swamps of
the Taral prevented both settlement and foreign military incursions,
whereas the far north was cold, lofty, and inhospitable. The heartlands
of Nepal have therefore always been the hill areas between these two
extremes and, more particularly, the intermontane valleys with their
fertile soils and equable climate.
Since the early medieval period, the Kathmandu Valley (often still
known simply as Nepal) has been the most prosperous and sophisticated
part of this region, and it is still famous for the distinctive arts and
architecture of its most ancient inhabitants, the Newars. The hill regions
are the home of an enormous variety of different ethnic groups, each
with its own language. Although Hinduism predominates, Buddhism
and minor local cults are strong. A large number of petty states existed

/
2 INTRODUCTION

within the present-day borders of Nepal until the mid-eighteenth cen-

tury (within the central valley alone, there were three separate Newar
kingdoms); but all of these were overcome by the tiny principality of
Gorkha within only a few decades. Gorkha's campaign of conquest and
unification was inspired and led by the remarkable king, Prithvlnarayan
Shah, whose forces finally took the Kathmandu Valley in 1769. Prithvl-
narayan is now revered as the father of the modern nation-state. Nepal
assumed its present proportions early in the nineteenth century after a
series of battles with the British East India Company in 1815 and 1816.
A treaty imposed on the Nepalis and signed at Sagaull, now in Bihar,
India, was a severe blow to national pride.

M O D E R N HISTORY

As a Hindu kingdom, Nepal has been ruled since its "unification" by a

series of Gorkhali monarchs—the Shah dynasty—who claim a lineage
that stretches back to ancient origins in the Rajput states of western In-
dia. For most of the time between the conquest of Kathmandu, the new
nation's capital, and the mid-nineteenth century, however, a minor oc-
cupied the throne. This led to an almost continual and often bloody
struggle for power among a number of rival families. An abrupt end
was brought to this period of political chaos in 1846, when Jang Bahadur,
head of the powerful Kuriwar family, contrived to have most of his rivals
killed off in an event now known as the Kot Massacre, the kol being a
courtyard of the royal palace in which it look place. He subsequently
became a virtual dictator, and the massacre inaugurated more than a
century of rule by a succession of "prime ministers" who styled them-
selves Rand.
Jang Bahadur laid down the foundations of the Rana regime during
his thirty-one years in power: the Ranas' primary concern was political
stability, and they were generally supported by the British in India. For-
eigners were barred almost totally during the nineteenth century, the
kings were made virtual prisoners in their palaces, the office of prime
minister became hereditary, and all foreign ideologies were viewed with
considerable suspicion. Although it. can be argued that the Rana gov-
ernments saved Nepal from the threat of annexation to British India,
it is quite evident that their conservative policies severely retarded the
development of the kingdom. Educational policy is an important case
in point. Until after World War I, education was provided only for the
children of the elite in Kathmandu, and the national literacy rate re-
mained abysmally low. The sons of high-caste families followed tradi-
 INTRODUCTION 3

tional modes of education: they studied the Hindu scriptures and the
Sanskrit language and often traveled to the ancient centers of learn-
ing in India for their studies. For most of the people, however, social
and educational advancement remained an impossibility, and subsistence
farming was the only means of support.
After each world war, thousands of young men returned to Nepal
from the British and Indian armies, bringing with them a much wider
perspective on the world. Throughout the nineteenth and twentieth cen-
turies, Nepal lagged behind even India in every aspect of development;
roads, hospitals, schools, and industries were conspicuous by their ab-
sence. The nation's backward condition was readily apparent to the re-
turnees, and the Ranas' hold on power became vulnerable to criticism
from a growing class of educated and disaffected Nepalis. Despite a
number of palliative measures taken to assuage political opposition, and
despite periods of harsh repression exemplified by the 194f execution
of members of an illegal political organization, the Praja Parishad, the
government's position became precarious after the departure of the Bri-
tish from fndia. By 1950 the main opposition group, the Nepali Con-
gress, had begun to mount an armed insurrection, and early in 195f
the king, Tribhuvan, was restored to power in a series of events now
called the "revolution" of 1950—f 951. These events marked the advent
of democracy in Nepal, and most Nepali historians regard 1950 as the
beginning of the modern period of their history.
Since this revolution, Nepal has sought to enhance its national unity
and identity and to establish viable political institutions and processes.
The first decade of Nepali democracy was a troubled period character-
ized by vacillatory policies, the collapse of several short-lived adminis-
trations, and obstructive factionalism. In 1959 the Nepali Congress
achieved a sweeping victory in the nation's first ever general election,
but the Congress's program of radical reforms met with stiff opposition.
In 1960 King Mahendra revoked the constitution, dismissed the gov-
ernment, and imprisoned its leaders, alleging that the Congress had
failed to provide national leadership or maintain law and order. King
Mahendra and his supporters also argued that the country's recent po-
litical instability had proved that parliamentary democracy was an alien
system unsuited to Nepal. After I960 Mahendra and his son and suc-
cessor, Birendra, developed and refined a new system of Panchdyat de-
mocracy based on a formal structure of representation from the "grass
roots" up to national level. For most of this time all political parties were
banned. Muted dissent flared up into student riots in the late 1970s, and
a national referendum was conducted in 1980 to ascertain the people's
will with regard to the national political system. The Panchdyat system
4 INTRODUCTION

was vindicated by a slim majority in this referendum, but. rumbles of

unrest continued to recur from time to time.
Toward the end of 1989 the banned Nepali Congress Party joined
with other opposition groupings to launch the Movement for the Res-
toration of Democracy (MRD). The situation seemed ripe for change. A
dispute with India concerning trade and transit agreements had caused
severe shortages of basic commodities in Nepal. The continued ban on
political parties meant that opposition activists faced increasingly harsh
repression. Educated Nepalis found the pace of development frustrat-
ingly slow, particularly in view of the massive sums of foreign aid that
they knew had poured into Nepal since the 1950s. Strong rumors cir-
culated of corruption in high places, and many of these rumors impli-
cated members of the royal family. Initially, the government responded
harshly to the strikes and demonstrations the MRD had organized. Thou-
sands were arrested and many newspapers were censored or banned.
Dozens of demonstrators died in police actions during February and
March 1990. On April 6, police fired on a large crowd of unarmed
demonstrators who were marching on the royal palace in Kathmandu,
and scores of marchers died. After this tragedy, the government capitu-
lated. A curfew was declared to restore public order, the ban on political
parties was lifted for the first time in thirty years, and a general amnesty
was declared. After a brief period of intense negotiation, the king ac-
cepted a constitutional role, and an interim government was set up to
redraft the country's constitution and to supervise elections in 1991.
After 1951 Nepal "opened up" to the outside world, becoming an
active member of the international community, a popular tourist des-
tination, and a major recipient of foreign aid. Massive schemes of road
construction, health care, educational provision, power generation, and
so on have been in progress throughout this period, and despite the
unpopularity of the Panchayat system and of certain members of the
royal family, King Birendra himself has always been considered an es-
sential symbol of national identity and unity. Nevertheless, Nepal's fu-
ture remains uncertain. It is still one of the world's ten poorest countries
and faces such problems as the rapid growth of a population almost
entirely dependent on land, severe ecological decline and consequent
landlessness, and the growth of a class of educated but underemployed
young whose thirst for change can only have increased during the early
months of 1990. The events of recent history are referred to regularly
in Nepali literature, and writers have not. shied away from addressing
current issues with insight arid vigor. Because most of the research for
this book was completed in 1988, the poems and stories translated here
make no reference to the momentous events that occurred only two years
 INTRODUCTION 5

later, although some contain hints of the circumstances that produced

the "revolution."

NEPALI LITERATURE: ANTECEDENTS

Nepali is an Indo-European language that is closely related to the other
major languages of northern India, such as Hindi and Bengali. Approxi-
mately 17 million people speak Nepali, of whom perhaps one-third have
acquired the language in addition to the mother tongue of their own
ethnic group. The great majority of Nepali speakers, of course, live
within the borders of modern Nepal, but Nepali is also the dominant
language of the Darjeeling district of West Bengal, Sikkim, and parts
of southern Bhutan and Assam. Substantial Nepali communities have
grown up in north Indian cities such as Patna, New Delhi, and Banaras.
For at least three centuries, Nepali has fulfilled the need for a "link
language" or lingua franca among the various communities of the east-
ern Himalaya, a region of extraordinary linguistic diversity. During the
past few decades, Nepali's prestige as a major language of South Asia
has also grown considerably. In 1958 it was formally declared to be the
national language of Nepal and was thus invested with an important
role in the promotion of national unity. More recently, it was recog-
nized as a major Indian literary language by the Sahitya Akademl in
New Delhi, India's foremost institution for the promotion of vernacular
literatures.
The oldest specimens of written Nepali extant are royal edicts from
western Nepal, inscribed on stelae and copperplates, that date from the
thirteenth century. Other than epigraphic material, however, very little
Nepali literature has been discovered that dates back further than the
seventeenth century. Nepali literature is therefore a much newer phe-
nomenon than is literature in certain other languages of the region;
Newarl, for instance, has a rich literary tradition that dates back at least
five hundred years. The translations into Nepali from Sanskrit scripture,
royal biographies, and medicinal treatises that emanate from the sev-
enteenth century possess very little literary merit, and the first Nepali
poet of any real stature was Suvanand Das, who composed panegyric
verse in praise of the king of Gorkha, Prithvinarayan Shah. Although
the works of several other quite interesting eighteenth-century Nepali
poets have been preserved and published, it is to a Brahman named
Bhanubhakta Acharya (1814—1868) that Nepali literature really owes its
first major work.
Bhanubhakta Acharya played a fundamental role in the development
of Nepali as a literary language and is therefore honored as its "founder
6 INTRODUCTION

poet" (adi-kavi)} Obviously, he was by no means the first person ever to

compose Nepali verse, but his rendering of the Rarnayana epic into
simple, idiomatic, rhyming Nepali was entirely without known prece-
dent in the language. Until Bhanubhakta, 2 few Nepali writers had been
able to shake off the influence of the more sophisticated Indian litera-
tures. As a consequence, their literary language was heavily larded with
Sanskrit philosophical terms, or else it borrowed extensively from the
languages of adjacent regions of India that possessed more developed
literatures. Hindi devotional verse was an obvious source for such bor-
rowings. Nowadays, Nepali writers come from various strata of society
and strive to distance their language from Hindi, to which Nepali is quite
closely related arid with which it shares much of its word stock. These
efforts are inspired partly by a nationalism that was largely invisible
among the high-caste Nepali elites that monopolized the literary culture
of Nepal in earlier centuries. Bhanubhakta's Rarnayana was the first
example of a Hindu epic that had not merely been translated into the
Nepali language but had been "Nepali-ised" in every other aspect as
well. It is still among the most important and best-loved works of Nepali
literature, arid along with Bhanubhakta's other works it became a model
for subsequent writers.
The second great writer in the history of Nepali literature, Motlram
Bhatta (1866—1896), was an enthusiastic literary activist inspired by the
example of the Indian writers who were organizing themselves in Ba-
naras, where Motlram spent about twenty years of his short life. Bhatta
was the first to recognize the significance of Bhanubhakta's Ramayaria,
and it was due to Bhatta's efforts that the poem was first published in
1887, some forty years after its composition. The Ramayana was followed
four years later by Bhatta's biography of Bhariubhakta (M. Bhatta [1891]
1964). This is a delightful narrative interspersed with poems, but its
historical authenticity is open to question. Bhatta subsequently became
concerned about increasing the prestige of Nepali literature: he gath-
ered groups of contemporaries about him in both Banaras and Kath-
mandu, encouraging literary debate and undertaking publishing projects.
Through his own writings, he also attempted to broaden the scope of
Nepali poetry, which was still largely confined to devotional verse, by
developing interest in other genres such as the Urdu lyric known as the
gazal (a Persian meter used in popular love songs) and the "erotic" style
1. The term ddi-havi translates literally as "first" or "prime" poet.
2. Nepali writers do not necessarily refer to people by the names that a Western reader
might assume to be surnames because these are often impersonal titles (Acharya, for in-
stance, translates as preceptor) or exceedingly common caste designations. I have followed
the Nepali practice: because Nepalis do not refer to llieir "founder poet" as Acharya, or
their "laureate;" as Paudydl, there seems no need for us to do so either.
 INTRODUCTION 7

of shringar poetry. This latter genre, which celebrates the beauty of the
female form in heavily stylized and allegorical language, is now gener-
ally considered decadent and indulgent, but it retains a few exponents
among older poets. Kedar Man Vyathit's "Woman: Flavor, Sweetness,
Brightness" (Nan: Rasa, Mddhurya, Aloka) is an example of modern shrin-
gar poetry.
Bhatta and his contemporaries prepared the ground for the growth
of a body of creative literature in the Nepali language that would even-
tually enhance its prestige beyond measure. At the turn of the century,
however, this process had barely begun. There were very few printing
presses in Nepal and even fewer commercial publishers. The grammar
and spelling of written Nepali remained completely unstandardized.
The almost total absence of facilities offering public education meant
that literacy was still the exclusive preserve of the powerful elites. The
scope of existing Nepali literature was governed and limited by tradi-
tional convention and the somewhat decadent tastes of a tiny readership.
The development and enrichment of Nepali literature that have taken
place since the early twentieth century can only be described as re-
markable.
The first signs of a literary awakening are actually to be found in a
number of important government initiatives. A tradition of formal jour-
nalism was established in 1901 when the unusually liberal Raria ruler
Deva Shamsher established the Gorkhapatra (Gorkha Paper). This news-
paper, which is now published daily, is the official organ of the govern-
ment of Nepal, and during the first thirty years of its existence it was
the only periodical publication to be produced within the kingdom. It
therefore provided a much-needed forum for the publication of poems,
stories, and articles. The Rana administration headed by Chandra Sham-
sher (r. 1901.— 1929) also sought to promote Nepali literature by establish-
ing the Gorkha (later Nepali) Bhasha PrakashinI Samiti (Gorkha
Language Publication Committee) in 1913. Chandra Shamsher is re-
puted to have declared, "There aren't even any books in Nepali! Just
reading the Krishnacharitra and the Rarnayana is not enough!" (Dhun-
garia 1972, 29).3 The committee had a dual role, however: as well as
publishing books that met with its approval, it also operated a strong
code of censorship:
If anyone wishes to publish a book, he must, first bring it. to the committee
for inspection. No book may be published without the stamp of the com-
mittee's approval. . . . If a book is published without the committee's ap-

3. The Krishnacharitra is a poem of 169 verses by Vasant. Sharma (1803—1890) that

narrates the legends of Krishna and enjoyed some popularity in Nepal during the nine-
teenth century.
8 INTRODUCTION

proval, its publisher will be fined 50 rupees. If the contents of this book
are deemed to be improper, all copies will be seized and punishment pro-
claimed and meted out. (Bhattaral 1976, 30)

Although this law was not enforced very consistently, there were periods
during which offending writers were punished with extreme severity.
The committee therefore came to be regarded with suspicion, and be-
cause it maintained an effective monopoly over Nepali publishing inside
Nepal until the 1930s, poets and writers who wished to escape the over-
bearing censorship of their work had to publish, and even live, in Indian
towns, most notably Banaras and Darjeeling. The relative conservatism
of early works by poets such as Lekhnath Paudyal and Lakshmlprasad
Devkota is explained partially by the fact that they resided in Kathmandu
and therefore had to exercise extreme caution. Periodical publications,
such as Sundari (The Beautiful, established 1906), Madhavi (1908), Cork-
hall (1916), and the Nepali Sdhitya Sammelan Patrika (Nepali Literature
Association Journal, 1932),4 that emanated from Nepali communities in
India played a crucial role in the development of Nepali literature during
the first few decades of the century. Indeed, Balkrishna Sama is quoted
as once having said, "What Darjeeling thinks today, Nepal thinks to-
morrow" (Giri & Pariyar 1977, 5).
In my discussion of Nepali literature I have avoided as far as possible
the question of modernity because any division of literature into the
categories "modern" and "premodcrn" is inevitably contentious. Never-
theless, the concept of modernity is of central concern to Nepali writers
and critics when they consider the development of their literature. Some
consider Bhatta, Lekhnath, or Guruprasad Mainall to be the founders
of the modern era; others regard the political changes of 1950 as a
watershed. These assessments are based upon a number of assumptions.
It is held to be axiomatic, for instance, that religious or devotional lit-
erature is "old-fashioned" and that the modern writer should concen-
trate on secular themes. Time-honored forms and conventions inherited
from Sanskrit literature have come to be considered restrictive; the aban-
donment by many poets of metrical forms and the development of prose
genres are therefore regarded as major steps forward. In fiction, social
realism came to be highly prized, and Western genres such as the novel
and the short story were adopted arid developed. This impulse to mod-
ernize Nepali literature was closely linked to a widespread desire for
greater freedom of thought and expression and a growing interest in,
and exposure to, the world outside Nepal.

4. This was the journal of the Nepali Sahilya Sammelan (Nepali Literature Association),
founded in Darjeeling in 1924. The association is still active today and produces a journal,
Diydlo (The Lamp).
 INTRODUCTION 9

Perhaps the most important event in this process was the appearance
of Kathmandu's first literary journal, the monthly Shdradd, in 1934. Shd-
radd, named after the goddess of the arts, SaraswatI, was published with
the help of a government subsidy under a regime headed by Juddha
Shamsher that initially gave ground to demands for reform and liber-
alization. Described by Yadunath Khanal as "a product of an unwritten,
silent compromise, allowed and accepted as an experiment, between the
authorities and the rising impatient intellectuals" (1977, 236), Shdradd
provided a vital forum for Nepalis to publish their works within the
kingdom itself. In a sense, this journal also gave birth to some of Nepal's
first "modern" writers. Between 1936 and 1963, when its publication
ceased, Shdradd published nearly two hundred poems by Siddhicharan,
Lekhnath, Rimal, Sama, and Devkota alone, as well as innumerable sto-
ries by Sama, Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala, BhavanI Bhikshu, and others
(Subedl 1978, 7—9). It is therefore from the Shdradd era and the years
that followed that most of the works translated here emanate.
This page intentionally left blank
 PART O N E

The Poets of Nepal

This page intentionally left blank
 Nepali Poetry

Poetry is the richest genre of twentieth-century Nepali literature. Al-

though the short story has developed strongly, the drama holds its ground
in the face of fierce competition from the cinema, and the novel is in-
creasingly popular, almost every Nepali writer composes poetry. Since
the appearance of Shdradd, Nepali poetry has become diverse and so-
phisticated. The poets I have selected for inclusion represent different
stages and strands of this development, and I have attempted to present
them in an order that reflects the chronology of literary change. The
direction that this process of evolution has taken should be clear from
the introduction to individual poets and the translations of their poems.
Here, a few general comments are offered by way of introduction.
Lekhnath Paudyal, Balkrishna Sama, and Lakshmlprasad Devkota
were undoubtedly the founders of twentieth-century Nepali poetry, and
each was a distinctly different poet. Lekhnath was the supreme exponent
of meter, alliteration, and melody and the first to perfect the art of for-
mal composition in Nepali. His impact on poets contemporary with him
was powerful, eventually producing a kind of "school." Although his
influence has waned, this school retains some notable members. 1 Sama
was primarily a dramatist, but his poems were also important. He began
as a disciple of Lekhnath but later rebelled against the restraints of
conventional forms with the same vigor that he brought to his opposition
to Rana autocracy. Sanaa's compositions are colored by sensitivity, intel-
lectualism, and clarity, and because of his role as a social reformer and
the accessibility of his work, he is still highly respected. Both Lekhnath

1. These include Madhav Prasad Ghimire (b. 1919), whose long lyric poem on the loss
of his wife, Gaur! (1947), remains extremely popular.

13
14 THE POETS OF N E P A L

and Sama were deliberate, methodical craftsmen and masters of par-

ticular modes of poetic composition, but the erratic genius of Lakshml-
prasad Devkota brought an entirely new tone and spirit to Nepali poetry.
Early in his career, he took the revolutionary step of using folk meters
in the long narrative poems that are now among the most popular works
of Nepali literature. Later, he produced the greatest epics of his lan-
guage and finally, adopting free-verse forms, he composed some of its
most eloquent poems. It would be difficult to overstate Devkota's im-
portance in the modern literature of Nepal: his appearance on the scene
has been compared to that of a meteor in the sky or as Nepali poetry
reaching full maturity "with a kind of explosion" (Rubin 1980, 4).
The Sharada era produced poets who were influenced by their three
great contemporaries, but also made their own distinctive contributions
to the development of the genre. In his early years, Siddhicharan was
obviously a disciple of Devkota, but his poems are calmer, clearer, and
less rhapsodic. Vyathit also had much in common with Lekhnath, but
he differed in his obvious social concern and his gift for composing short
epigrammatic poems. Rimal was motivated principally by his political
views, but he also did much to establish free verse and the prose poem
in Nepali. His influence is more apparent in the work of young poets
today than is that of most of his contemporaries. The Sharada poets were
men who were in their prime during the 1940s and 1950s, although
both Siddhicharan and Vyathit remain active today. The revolution of
1950—1951 certainly brought an atmosphere of greater freedom to Ne-
pal, and a large number of works were published that had been withheld
for fear of censorship. Few immediate changes took place in the Nepali
literary scene, however, and the prerevolutionary poets continued to oc-
cupy a preeminent position until the following decade.
During the 1960s, Nepali poetry departed quite radically from the
norms of the preceding twenty-five years, which was a result of the un-
precedented changes that occurred in Nepali society in general and in
intellectual circles in particular. After 1960, a new literary journal, Ril-
prekhd (Outline) quickly became Nepal's major organ for aspiring new
writers. Among these was Mohan Koirala, arguably the most significant
poet to have emerged in Nepal since Devkota. The philosophical outlook
of the generation of poets who emerged after 1960 differed from that
of its predecessors in many respects. The immense expansion of edu-
cation spread literacy throughout Nepal and produced a generation of
graduates who were familiar with philosophies and literatures other than
their own. The initial effects of this intellectual opening out in Nepal
could be seen clearly in the poetry of the Third Dimension movement
and particularly in the work of BairagI Kainla and Ishwar Ballabh. The
new poetry of the 1960s was full of obscure mythological references and
 N E P A L I POETRY 15

apparently meaningless imagery; this "cult of obscurantism" also influ-

enced later poets, such as Banlra Giri. It was coupled with a sense of
pessimism and social alienation engendered by lack of opportunity in
Nepal, which is expressed poignantly by the novelist and poet Parijat
and angrily by Haribhakta Katuval.
The emergence of Bhupi Sherchan brought about further changes
in the language and tone of Nepali poetry as well as in its purpose. His
satire, humor, and anger were expressed in rhythmic free-verse forms,
and the simplicity of his diction signified an urge to speak to a mass
readership, not just to the members of the intellectual elite. During the
1960s, Nepali poetry seemed divorced from the realities of the society
that produced it, but in the decade that followed it again addressed social
and political issues in a language stripped of earlier pretensions. Poetry
reassumed the role it had played during the Sharadd era, once again
becoming a medium for the expression of social criticism and political
dissent. This trend reached a kind of climax in the "street poetry revo-
lution" of 1979—f 980, and Nepali writers played an important role in
the political upheavals of February-April 1990 (Hutt 1990). This would
surely have been a source of satisfaction to the mahakavi (great poet)
Lakshrnlprasad Devkota, who once wrote:
Our social and political contexts demand a revision in spirit and in style.
We must speak to our times. The politicians and demagogues do it the
wrong way, through mechanical loudspeakers. Ours should be the still,
small voice of the quick, knowing heart. We are too poor to educate the
nation to high standards all at. one jump. Nor is it. possible to kill the time
factor. But. there is a greater thing we can do and must do for the present
day and the living generation. We can make the masses read us if we read
their innermost visions first. (1981, 3)

Almost every educated Nepali turns his or her hand to the compo-
sition of poetry at some stage of life. In previous centuries, poetic com-
position was considered a scholarly and quasi-religious exercise that was
closely linked to scriptural learning. It therefore remained the almost
exclusive preserve of the Brahman male. Today, however, Nepali poets
come from a variety of ethnic groups. Among those whose poems are
translated here, there are not only Brahmans but also Newars, a Limbu,
a Thakall, and a Tarnang, and although it is still rather more usual for
a poet to be male, the number of highly regarded women poets is grow-
ing steadily. Even members of Nepal's royal family have published po-
etry: the late king Mahendra (M. B. B. Shah) wrote some very popular
romantic poems, and the present queen, writing as Chandaril Shah, has
recently published a collection of songs.
The Nepali literary world is centered in two Himalayan towns: Kath-
16 THE POKTS OF N E P A L

mandu, the capital of Nepal, and Darjeeling, in the Himalayan foothills

of the Indian state of West Bengal. Other cities, notably Banaras, served
as publishing centers during the period of Rana rule in Nepal, but their
importance has diminished in recent years. Until the fall of the Ranas,
some of the most innovative Nepali writers were active in Darjeeling
(the novelist Lainsingh Bangdel and the poet Agam Singh Giri are es-
pecially worthy of note), and fundamental work was also done by people
such as Paras Mani Pradhan to reform and standardize the literary lan-
guage. In more recent years, Darjeeling Nepalis have been concerned
with establishing their identity as a distinct ethnic and linguistic group
within India and with distancing themselves from Nepal. Thus, the links
between the two towns have weakened to the extent that writers are
sometimes described as a "Darjeeling poet" or a "Kathmandu poet" as
if the two categories were in some way exclusive. This difference is also
underscored by minor differences in dialect between the two centers.
It has always been well-nigh impossible for a Nepali writer to earn a
livelihood from literary work alone. All poets therefore support them-
selves with income from other sources. Lekhnath was a family priest and
teacher of Sanskrit; Devkota supported his family with private tutorial
work and occasionally held posts in government institutions. Nowadays,
poets may be college lecturers (Banlra Giri), or they may be employed
in biscuit factories (Bishwabimohan Shreshtha). Many are also involved
in the production of literary journals or in the activities of governmental
and voluntary literary organizations. Devkota, for instance, edited the
influential journal Indrem (Rainbow) and was also employed by the Ne-
pali Bhashanuvad Parishad (Nepali Translation Council) from 1943 to
1946. Sama became vice-chancellor of the Royal Nepal Academy, as did
Vyathit. Both Rirnal and Siddhicharan were for some time editors of
Shdradd, arid nowadays many younger poets are active in associations
such as the Sahityik Patrakar Sangha (Literary Writers' Association) or
the Sirjanshll Sahityik Samaj (Greative Literature Society), which orga-
nize readings, publish journals, and attempt to claim a wider audience
for Nepali literature.
There are various ways in which Nepal rewards its most accomplished
poets. Rajakiya Pragya Pratishthan (the Royal Nepal Academy), Nepal's
foremost institution for the promotion of the kingdom's arts and culture,
was founded in 1957 and now grants salaried memberships to leading
writers and scholars for periods of five years. Academy members are
thereby enabled to devote themselves to creative and scholarly work with-
out the need for a subsidiary income. The period during which Kcdar
Man Vyathit was in charge of the academy is remembered as a golden
age for Nepali poetry, but in general the scale of the academy's activities
 NEPALI POETRY 17

is limited by budgetary constraints. Nevertheless, the academy is a major

poetry publisher and has produced many of the anthologies and col-
lections upon which I have drawn for the purpose of this book. The
academy also produces a monthly poetry journal, Kavila (Poetry), edited
until his recent demise by Bhupi Shcrchan, and awards annual prizes to
prominent writers; these include the Tribhuvan Puraskar, a sum of money
equivalent to two or three years of a professional salary.
Another important institution is the Maclan Puraskar Guthi (Madari
Prize Guild), founded in 1955 and based in the city of Patan (Lalitpur).
The Guthi maintains the single largest library of Nepali books, produces
the scholarly literary journal Nepali, and awards two annual prizes (Ma-
dan Puraskar) to the year's best literary book and nonliterary book in
Nepali.
Sajha Prakashan (Sajha Publishers) is the largest commercial publisher
of Nepali books, with a list of nearly six hundred titles. It assumed the
publishing role of the Nepali Bhasha PrakashinI Sarniti (Nepali Lan-
guage Publications Committee) in 1964 and established an annual lit-
erary prize, the Sajha Puraskar, in 1967. Since 1982 Sajha Prakashan
has also produced another important literary journal, Garimd (Dignity).
The Gorkhapatra Sansthan (Gorkhapatra Corporation) produces the
daily newspaper Gorkhapatra and the literary monthly Madhupark (Li-
bation). The latter publication has become the kingdom's most sophis-
ticated periodical under the editorship of Krishnabhakta Shreshtha, who
is himself a poet of some renown. With Garima, Bagar (The Shore, an
independently produced poetry journal), and the academy's Kavita (Po-
etry), Madhupark is now among the leading journals for the promotion
of modern Nepali poetry. The monthly appearance of each of these
journals is eagerly awaited by the literary community of Kathmandu,
many of whose members congregate each evening around the old plpai
tree on New Road. Madhupark in particular has a wide circulation outside
the capital. In India, too, institutions such as Darjeeling's Nepali Sahitya
Samrnelan (Nepali Literature Association) and the West Bengal govern-
ment's Nepali Academy produce noted journals and award annual lit-
erary prizes.
Despite the limited nature of official support for publishing and lit-
erary ventures in Nepal, the literary scene is vibrant. The days when
Nepali poets had to undertake long periods of exile to escape censor-
ship, fines, and imprisonment have passed, but until April 1990 the
strictures of various laws regarding public security, national unity, party
political activity, and defamation of the royal family still made writers
cautious. With increasing frequency during the f98()s, writers were de-
tained, newspapers and journals were banned, and editors were fined.
18 THE POETS OF N E P A L

But poetry remained the most vital and innovative genre and the me-
dium through which sentiments and opinions on contemporary social
and political issues were most frequently expressed. In Nepal, poets
gather regularly for kavi-sammelan (reading sessions), and the status of
"published poet" is eagerly sought. Most collections and anthologies pro-
duced by the major publishers have first, editions of 1,000 copies—a
fairly substantial quantity by most standards. Literary communities exist
in both Kathmandu and Darjeeling, with the inevitable loyalties, factions,
and critics. Books and articles on Nepali poetry abound, and critics such
as Taranath Sharma (formerly known as Tanasarma), Ishwar Baral, and
Abhi Subedl are highly respected.

F E A T U R E S OE N E P A L I POETRY
The last eighty years have seen a gradual drift away from traditional
forms in Nepali verse, although a few poets do still employ classical me-
ters. Until the late nineteenth century, however, almost all Nepali poetry-
fulfilled the requirements ol Sanskrit prosody and was usually composed
to capture and convey one of the nine rasa. Rasa literally means "juice,"
but in the context of the arts it has the sense of "aesthetic quality" or
"mood." The concept of rasa tended to dictate and limit the number of
themes and topics deemed appropriate for poetry.
Classical Sanskrit meters, many of which are derived from ancient
Vedic forms, are based on quantity and are extremely strict. A syllable
with a long vowel is considered long, or "heavy," whereas a syllable is
short, or "light," when it contains only a short vowel. Whether a syllable
is followed by a single consonant or a conjunct consonant also affects its
metrical length. The simplest classical meter, and consequently one of
the most commonly used, is the anushtubh (or anushtup), often referred
to simply as shioka, "stanza." This allows nine of the sixteen syllables of
each line to be either long or short and therefore provides an unusual
degree of flexibility. In most other meters, however, the quantity of each
syllable is rigidly determined. The shardula-vikridila that Bhanubhakta
adopted in his Ramayana epic is a typical example. Each line of verse
in this meter must contain nineteen syllables with a caesura after the
twelfth, and the value of each and every syllable is dictated with no scope
for adaptation or compromise.
Evidently, the ability to compose metrical verse that retains a sense
of freshness and spontaneity is a skill that can be acquired only through
diligent study and has therefore remained the preserve of the more
erudite, high-caste sections of society. Most Nepali poets now regard
these rules and conventions as restrictive, outdated, and elitist, especially
 N E P A L I POETRY 19

because they also extend to considerations of theme and structure. Yet

it is significant that the skill to compose poetry in a classical mode was
considered an important part of a poet's repertoire until quite recently.
Balkrishna Sama used Vedic meters even in some of his later poems,
and Devkota gave a dazzling display of his virtuosity in the Shakuntala
Mahdkavya (The Epic of Shakuntala) by employing no less than twenty
different meters.
The first attempts to break the stranglehold of classical conventions
were made during the 1920s and 1930s when poets such as Devkota
began to use meters and rhythms taken from Nepali folk songs. The
musical jhyaure became especially popular and retains some currency to-
day. Such developments were part of a more general trend toward the
definition of a specifically Nepali identity distinct from pan-Indian cul-
tural and literary traditions. These changes could also be regarded as a
literary manifestation of the Nepali nationalism that eventually toppled
the Rana autocracy.
In the years that followed, many poets abandoned meter altogether.
Nonmetrical Nepali verse is termed gadya-kavita, literally "prose poetry."
Most nonmetrical poems can be described as free verse, but a few works
do exist, such as Sama's "Sight of the Incarnation" (Avatar-Darshari), that
seem to be conscious efforts to compose genuine prose poems. As Nepali
poetry departed from the conventions of its Sanskrit antecedents, its
language also changed. The arcane Sanskrit vocabulary required by clas-
sical formulas was no longer relevant. When poets began to address con-
temporary issues and to dispense with traditional forms, they also strove
to make their works more readily comprehensible. The vocabulary of
the "old" poetry was therefore rapidly discarded.
Nepali poetry is composed in several distinct generic forms. The most
common is, of course, the simple "poem" (kavita) written in metrical or
free-verse form. A khanda-kdvya, "episodic poem," is longer and is usually
published as a book in its own right. It consists of either a description
or a narrative divided into chapters of equal length. Devkota's narrative
poem Muna-Madan (Muna and Madan) and Lekhnath's description of
the seasons, Ritu-Vichdra (Reflections on the Seasons), are two famous
examples. Because the khanda-kdvya is a form with classical antecedents,
it is invariably composed in metrical verse. The Idmo kavita, or "long
poem," however, is a modern free-verse form that is not divided into
chapters and that can address any topic or theme. The longest poetic
genre is the mahdkavya, the "epic poem," another classical form that
must be composed in metrical verse. The importance and popularity of
the khanda-kdvya and the mahdkavya have diminished significantly in the
years since 1950.
20 THE POETS OF N E P A L

SOME PROBLKMS OF TRANSLATION

All translation involves a loss, whether it be of" music arid rhythm or

subtle nuances of meaning. To translate from one European language
into another is no easy task, but when the cultural milieus of the two
languages concerned are as different from each other as those of Nepali
and English are, the problems can sometimes seem insurmountable.
The first priority in translating these poems has been to convey their
meaning, tone, and emotional impact. On numerous occasions, I have
begun to translate poems that seemed especially important or interesting
only to realize that justice simply could not be done to the original and
that the task had best be abandoned. Lekhnath's poems in particular,
with their dependence on alliteration and meter, are inhospitable ter-
ritory for the translator: to render them into rhyming couplets would
be to trivialize and detract from their seriousness, but a free-verse trans-
lation that lacked a distinctive rhythm would be dishonest. For these
reasons, Lekhnath is represented here by only a lew of his shorter
poems: to appreciate fully the elegance of a work such as Reflections on
the Seasons, a knowledge of Nepali is essential. In contrast, some of Bhupi
Sherchan's compositions lend themselves particularly well to translation,
especially to an admirer of Philip Larkin's poems. (See, for example, "A
Cruel Blow at Dawn" [Praia: EkAghdt].) In every case, I have attempted
to produce an English translation that can pass as poetry, without taking
too many liberties with the sense ol the original poem. I cannot claim
perfection for these translations, and it would of course be possible to
continue tinkering with them and redrafting them for years to come.
Eventually, however, one must decide that few major improvements can
be made and that the time has come to publish, although, one hopes,
not to await damnation.
The intrinsic difficulty of translating Nepali poetry into English stems
partly from some important differences between the two languages. The
nature of the Nepali language provides poets with great scope for omit-
ting grammatically dispensable pronouns and suffixes and for devising
convoluted syntactic patterns. In some poems, it is impossible for any
single line to be translated in isolation: the meaning of each stanza must
be rendered prosaically and then reconstituted in a versified form that
comes as close as possible to that of the original Nepali. This is partly
because Nepali follows the pattern of subject-object-verb and possesses
participles and adjectival verb forms for which English has no real equiva-
lents. But the untranslatable character of some Nepali poetry can also
be explained in terms of poetic license. Nepali is also capable of extreme
brevity: to convey accurately the meaning of a line of only three or four
words, a much longer English translation may be necessary.
 N E P A L I POETRY 21

The translator is often torn between considerations of semantic ex-

actitude and literary elegance. For example, how should one translate
the title of Parijat's "Sohorcra Jau"? Jdu is a simple imperative mean-
ing "go" or "go away," but sohorera is a conjunctive participle that could
be translated as "sweeping," "while sweeping," "having swept," or even
"sweepingly," none of which lends itself particularly well to a poetic
rendering. "Sweep Away" is the closest I have come to a compromise
between the exact meaning and the requirements of poetic language.
Problems can also arise when poets refer to specific species of animals
or plants. This causes no difficulty when such references are to owls or
to pine trees, but in many instances one can find no commonly known
English name. A botanically correct translation of a verse from Mohan
Koirala's "It's a Mineral, the Mind" (Khanij Ho Man) would read as fol-
lows:
I am a Himalayan pencil cedar with countless boughs,
the sayapatri flower which hides a thousand petals,
a pointed branch of the scented Ficus hirta . . .
Clearly, such a pedantic rendering would do little justice to the original
Nepali poem.
A further problem is caused by the abundance of adjectival synonyms
in Nepali, which English cannot reflect. The translator must therefore
despair of conveying the textural richness that this abundance of choice
imparts to the poetry in its original language. As John Brough points
out, Sanskrit has some fifty words for "lotus," but "the English translator
has only 'lotus,' and he must make the best of it" (1968, 31). Nepali poets
also make innumerable references to characters and events from Hindu,
and occasionally Buddhist, mythology and from their own historical past.
Nepali folklore and the great Mahabharata epic are inexhaustible sources
of stories and parables with which most Nepalis are familiar. A non-
Nepali reader will require some explanation of these references if the
meaning of the poem is to be comprehended, and brief notes are there-
fore supplied wherever necessary.
 Lekhnath Paudyal (1885-1966)

Lekhnath Paudyal was the (bunding lather of twentieth-century Nepali

poetry, hut his most important contribution was to the enrichment and
refinement of its language rather than to its philosophical breadth. His
poems possessed a formal dignity that had been lacking in most earlier
works in Nepali; many of them conformed in their outlook with the
philosophy of orthodox Vedanta, although others were essentially origi-
nal in their tone and inspiration. The best of Lekhnath's poems adhered
to the old-fashioned conventions of Sanskrit poetics (kdvya) but also
hinted at a more spontaneous and emotional spirit. Although often re-
garded as the first modern Nepali poet, Lekhnath is probably more
accurately described as a traditionalist who perfected a classical style of
Nepali verse. Note, however, that his poems occasionally made reference
to contemporary social and political issues; these were the first glim-
merings of the poetic spirit that was to come after him.
Lekhnath was born into a Brahman family in western Nepal in 1885
and received his first lessons from his father. Around the turn of the
century, he was sent to the capital to attend a Sanskrit school and thence
to the holy city of Bariaras, as was customary, to continue his higher
education. During his stay in India, his young wife died, and he met
with little academic success. Penniless, he embarked on a search for his
father's olcf estate in the Nepalese lowlands, which was ultimately fruit-
less, and he therefore spent the next few years of his life seeking work
in India. In 1909 he returned to Kathmandu, where he entered the
employ of Bhlm Shamsher, an important member of the ruling Rana
family, as priest and tutor. He retained this post for twenty-five years.
As an educated Brahman, Lekhnath was well acquainted with the
99
 I.EKMNATH PAUDYAl. 23

classics of Sanskrit literature, from which he drew great inspiration.

From an early age, he composed pedantic "riddle-solving" (samasyd-purti)
verses, a popular genre adapted from an earlier Sanskrit tradition, and
his first published poems appeared in 1904. Two poems published in an
Indian Nepali journal, Sundari, in 1906 greatly impressed Ram Mani
Acharya Dlkshit, the editor of the journal Mddhavl, who became the first
chair of the Gorkha Bhasha Prakashim Samiti (Gorkha Language Pub-
lication Committee) in 1913 and did much to help Lekhnath to establish
his reputation as a poet. His first major composition was "Reflections on
the Rains" (Varshd Vichdra) and it was first published in Madhavim 1909.
This poem was later expanded and incorporated into Reflections on the
Seasons (Ritu Vichdra), completed in 1916 but not published until 1934.
More of his early poems also appeared in a collection published in Bom-
bay in 1912.
One of Lekhnalh's most popular poems, "A Parrot in a Gage" (Pinjarako
Sugd) is usually interpreted as an allegory with a dual meaning: on one
level of interpretation, it describes the condition of the soul trapped in
the body, a common theme in Hindu devotional verse, but it also bewails
the poet's lot as an employee of Bhlm Sharnsher. Here the parrot, which
has to make profound utterances according to its master's whim, is ac-
tually the poet himself. This particular poem is extremely famous in
Nepal because it. is one of the earliest examples of a writer criticizing
the Rana families who ruled the country at the time. In terms of literary
merit, however, it does not rank especially highly in comparison with
Lekhnath's other verse because it suffers from excessive length and fre-
quent repetition. Indeed, some critics regard it as a poem originally
written for children.
Lekhnath produced one of his most important contributions to Nepali
poetry at quite an early stage of his career: his first khanda-kdvya (episodic
poem), Reflections on the Seasons, demonstrated a maturity that was with-
out precedent in Nepali poetry. Indeed, it is largely to Lekhnath Paudyal
that this genre owes its prestige in Nepali literature. The primary in-
spiration for this work was probably The Chain of the Seasons (Ritu-Samhdra)
by the great fifth-century Sanskrit poet Kalldasa. Each of the six "epi-
sodes" of Lekhnath's poem comprises one hundred couplets in the clas-
sical anushtup meter and describes one of the six seasons of the Indian
year. Most of the metaphors and similes employed in the poem were
borrowed directly from Sanskrit conventions for the description of na-
ture (prakriti-varnana), but a few were unusual for their apparent ref-
erence to contemporary political issues:

In the forest depths stands a bare poinseuia

Like India bereft of her strength and wisdom . . .
24 T H K 1'OK'I'S OF N E P A L

Soon the flowers seem tired and wan,

sucked dry of all their nectar,
As pale as a backward land

The poem is also often praised for the subtlety of its alliterations and
for the dexterity with which Lekhnath constructed internal rhymes:
divya anandako ranga divya-k;"inti-farang~a cha
divya unnatiko dhanga divya sara prasanga cha
Divine the colors of bliss,
divine the ripples of light,
Divine the manner of their progress,
divine the whole occasion

Lekhnath did not develop the great promise of these early episodic
poems further until much later in his life, but a large number of his
shorter poems continued to appear in a variety of literary journals in
both India and Nepal. Many poems were probably never published and
may now be lost. A two-volume collection, Delicacy (Ldlitya) was published
in 1967—1968 and contained one hundred poems. Lekhnath's shorter
works covered a wide variety of topics and conveyed all of the nine rasa.
Although many are plainly moralistic, some have a whimsical charm and
are often couched in uncharacteristically simple language. One such is
"The Chirruping of a Swallow" (Gaunthaliko Chiribiri), first published in
1935, in which a swallow explains the transient nature of existence to
the poet:
You say this house is yours,
I say that it is mine,
To whom in fact does it belong?
Turn your mind to that!

His devotional poems are more formal and are admired for their
beauty and for the sincerity of the emotions they express. "Remember-
ing Saraswati" (Saraswati-Smriti) is the prime illustration of this feature
of Lekhnath's poetry. Other compositions, such as "Dawn" (Arunodaya,
1935), represent obscure philosophical abstractions:
Inside the ear, a mellifluous sound
is drawn out in the f i f t h note,
the more I submerge to look within,
the more I feel a holy mood

Poems such as "Himalaya" (Himdl) are probably intended to arouse pa-

triotic feeling. Lekhnath approached all his work in the deliberate man-
 L K K H N A T H PAUOYAL 25

ner of a craftsman, paying meticulous attention to meter, vocabulary,

and alliteration. His primary concern was to create "sweetness" in the
language of his poems, and many were rewritten several times before
the poet was content with them.
In 1951, Lekhnath was invested by King Tribhuvan with the title of
kavi shiromani, which literally means "crest-jewel poet" but is generally
translated as "poet laureate." Since his death in 1966, no other poet has
been similarly honored, so the title would seem to be his in perpetuity.
His first composition after 1950 was a long poem entitled "Remembering
the f ruth of Undying Light" (Amarjyotiko Satya-Smrili), which expressed
grief over the death of Mahatma Gandhi. Under the censorious rule of
the Rana regime, this would probably have been interpreted as an ex-
pression of support for the Nepali Congress Party.
The work that is now regarded as Lekhnath's magnum opus is "The
Young Ascetic" (Taruna Tapasi), published in 1953. "The Young Ascetic"
is a lengthy narrative poem concerning a poet stricken by grief at the
death of his wife, who sits beneath a tree by the wayside. As he mourns
alone, a reriunciant sadhu appears before him; this man later turns out
to be the spirit of the tree beneath which the poet sits, 'f'he sadhu delivers
a long homily to the mourning poet: as a tree, rooted to one spot, the
sadhu has experienced many hardships and has learned much from his
observation of the people who have rested in his shade. Thus, after long
years of watchfulness and contemplation, he has achieved spiritual en-
lightenment. The poem contains much that can readily be construed as
symbolism, allegory, and even autobiography. The poet probably rep-
resents Lekhnath himself, and the descriptions of the changing seasons
are said to represent the advent and departure of the various ruling
families of Nepal.
Lekhnath was honored by the Nepali literary world on his seventieth
birthday in 1955 when he became the focal point of a procession around
the streets of Kathmandu. The procession was probably modeled on
the old-age initiation ceremony practiced by the Newars of Kathmandu
Valley. The old poet was seated in a ceremonial carriage and paraded
through the city, pulled by most of the better known poets of the time
and even by the prime minister. In 1957, he was awarded membership
in the newly founded Royal Nepal Academy, and in 1969 he was honored
posthumously with the prestigious Tribhuvan Puraskar pri/e. These
honors are a mark of the peculiar reverence felt by members of the
cultural establishment of Nepal for the man whose poems represent the
"classical" aspect of their modern literature. He can no longer escape
the scorn of the young, however, and he is rarely imitated by aspiring
poets. In an essay published in 1945, Devkota defended the "laureate"
from his critics:
26 THE POETS OF NEPAL

Whether poetry should be composed in colloquial language or not is still

a matter for dispute: we praise the attempts that are made to utilize the
melodiousness of rural or mountain dialects, but this, after all, is not our
only resort. Even if one agrees that meter can fragment the flow of poetry,
it remains true that less criticism can be made of the poet whose feelings
emerge in rounded, smooth, illuminated forms than of the poet who ex-
presses himself in an undeveloped torrent of primitivism. (1945, 223)

Surprisingly little is known about the personal life of the man whose
poems are now read and learned by every Nepali schoolchild. In the
few portraits that exist, Lekhnath, an old man with a long white beard,
peers inquisitively at the camera from behind a pair of cheap wire-
framed spectacles. Born into a tradition of conservative and priestly
scholasticism, he was innovative enough to compose poems in his mother
tongue that dared to make occasional references to contemporary social
realities, and he also brought the discipline and refinement of ancient
Sanskrit conventions to the development of Nepali poetry.
The essential quality of much of Lekhnath's poetry derives mainly
from his choice of vocabulary and his use ol meter and alliteration; it
is therefore rather less amenable to effective translation than the works
of most later poets, a fact reflected by the small number of poems trans-
lated here. Of these, "A Parrot in a Cage" has been slightly abridged:
the Nepali poem contains 25 verses. A translation of Reflections on the
Spring, completed some years ago, has with some regrets been deleted
from this selection. Many of the one hundred couplets that make up
this famous poem are merely exercises in alliteration and rhyme, and
as a whole Reflections on the Spring tends to defy translation.
Most of Lekhnath Paudyal's shorter poems are collected in Lalilya
(Delicacy), published in two volumes in 19(57 and 1968. His longer works
—khanda-kavya and mahakavya—are (with dales of first publication) Rilu
Vichdra (Contemplation of the Seasons, 19 f 6), Buddhi Vinoda (Enjoy-
ments of Wisdom, 1916), Satya-Kali-Samvada (A Dialogue Between the
Degenerate Age and the Age of Truth, 1919), Amur fyotiko Satya-Smriti
(Remembering the Truth of Undying Light, 1951), Taruna Tapasl (The
Young Ascetic, 1953), and Mero Rama (My Cod, 1954). Another epic
poem, entitled GangYi-Gawri (Goddess of the Ganges), remains unfinished.

A PARROT IN A CAGE (PINJARAKO SUGA)

A pitiful, twice-born' child called parrot,

1 have been trapped in a cage,

1. Dvija means "twice born" and therefore of Brahman, or possibly Vaishya, caste.
 LKKHNATHPAUDYAL 27

Even in rny dreams, Lord Shiva,

I find not a grain of peace or rest.
My brothers, my mother and father,
Dwell in a far forest corner,
To whom can I pour out my anguish,
Lamenting from this cage?
Sometimes I weep and shed my tears,
Sometimes I am like a corpse,
Sometimes I leap about, insane,
Remembering forest joys.
This poor thing which wandered the glades
And ate wild fruits of daily delight
Has been thrust by Fate into a cage;
Destiny, Lord, is strange!
All about me I see only foes,
Nowhere can I find a friend,
What can 1 do, how shall I escape,
To whom can I unburden my heart?
Sometimes it's cold, sometimes the sun shines,
Sometimes I prattle, sometimes I am still,
I am ruled by the fancies of children,
My fortune is constant change.
For rny food I have only third-class rice,
And that does not fill me by half,
I cast a glance at my water pot:
Such comforts! That, too, is dry!
Hoarse my voice, tiresome these bonds,
To have to speak is further torment,
But if I refuse to utter a word,
A stick is brandished, ready to beat me.
One says, "It is a stupid ass!"
Another cries, "See, it refuses to speak!"
A third wants me to utter God's name:
"Atma Ram, speak, speak, say the name!"
Fate, you gave my life to this constraint,
You gave me a voice I am forced to use,
But you gave me only half my needs;
Pate, you are all compassion!
And you gave me faculties both
Of melodious speech and discerning taste,
But what do these obtain for me, save
Confinement, abuse, constant threats?
28 THE 1'OKTS OF N E P A L

Jailing me, distressing me,

Are the curious sports Man plays,
What heinous crimes these are,
Deliver me, thou God of pity.
Humanity is all virtue's foe,
Exploiting the good till their hearts are dry,
Why should Man ever be content
Till winged breath itself is snatched away?
While a single man on this earth remains,
Until all men have vanished,
Do not let poor parrots be born,
Oh Lord, please hear my prayer!
(1914/17; from Adhunik Nepali Kavild 1971)

HIMALAYA (HIMAL)

A scarf of pure white snow

Hangs down from its head to its feet,
Cascades like strings of pearls
Glisten on its breast,
A net of dri/,/,ling cloud
Encircles its waist like a gray woolen shawl:
An astounding sight, still and bright,
Our blessed Himalaya.
Yaks graze fine grass on its steepest slopes,
And muskdccr spread their scent divine,
Each day it receives the sun's first embrace:
A pillar of fortune, deep and still,
Our blessed Himalaya.
It endures the blows of tempest and storm,
And bears the tumult of the rams;
Onto its head it lakes the burning sun's harsh fire,
For ages past it has watched over Creation,
And now it stands smiling, an enlightened ascetic,
Our blessed Himalaya.
Land of the Ganga's birth,
Holy Shiva's place of rest,
Gaurl's jeweled palace of play, 2
Cruel black Death cannot, enter
This still, celestial column,
Our blessed Himalaya.
It nurtures mines of precious gems,
And gives pure water, sweet as nectar,
'2. Gaurl is a name of ParvatI, spouse oi Shiva.
 L E K H N A T H PAUDYAL 29

And they say it still contains

Alaka, the Yaksha's capital; 3
Climbing to its peak, one's heart
Is full of thoughts of heaven,
Thus bright with light and wealth,
Our blessed Himalaya.
(from Adhunik Nepali Kavita 1971; also
included in Nepali Kavita Saneraha
[1973] 1988, vol. 1)

REMEMBERING SARASWATI (SARASWATI-SMRITI)

She plays the lute of the tender soul,

Plucking thousands of sweet sounds
With the gentle nails of the mind,
As she sits upon the heart's opened lotus:
May I never forget, for the whole of my life,
The goddess Saraswati. 4
She wears a crystal necklace
Of clear and lovely shapes,
It refines the practical arts of this world,
And my heart ever fills with her waves of light:
May 1 never forget, through the whole of my life,
The goddess Saraswati.
She keeps the great book of remembrance,
Recording all things seen, heard, and felt,
All are entered in their fullness,
And nothing is omitted:
May I never forget, through the whole oi my life,
The goddess Saraswati.
She rides the quick and magical swan 5
Which dives and plays in our hearts' deep lake,
And she brings to life the world's games and their glory:
May I never forget, through the whole of rny Hie,
The goddess Saraswati.
"When you come to comprehend
The world-pervading sweetness
Of this my art of living,
Your fear and ignorance must surely end."
With this she gestures reassurance:

3. The Yakshas are attendants to the god of wealth, Kubera, who dwells in the fabulous
city of Alaka.
4. Saraswati, consort of the god Brahma, is patron of the arts and literature.
5. Kach Hindu deity has fiis or tier own "vehicle"; Saraswat! is borne by a swan.
30 THE POKTS OF N K P A L

May I never forget, through the whole of my life,

The goddess Saraswatl.
(from Adhunik Nepali Kauitil 1971)

AN ODE TO DEATH (KAL MAHIMA)

It knows naught of mercy, forgiveness, love,
It. makes neither promises nor mistakes,
And never is it content,
India himself may bow down at its feet,1'
But it heeds not Indra's plea,
It does not pick through the pile,
Dividing sweet from sour,
But checks through all our records;
It. never strikes in error.
Kings and paupers are all alike,
It picks them up and bears them away,
Never put off till its stomach is filled;
Medicine's cures present no threat,
Like an undying hunter, it moves unseen.
It bathes in pools of tears,
It dislikes all cool waters,
Without, a dry old skeleton
It cannot make its bed,
It wears no more than ashes,
Sings naught but lamentation.
Everything is gulped straight down,
To pause and chew would mean starvation,
All that is swallowed is spewed straight out,
Nothing is digested, through long ages,
Death's hunger never sated.
(from Adhunik Nepali Kavitri 1971)

LAST POEM (AKHIRI KAV/TA)

God Himself endures this pain,
This body is where He dwells,
By its fall He is surely saddened,
He quietly picks up Llis tilings, and goes.
(1965?; from Adhunik Nepali
Kaviia 1971)

6. Indra is the mighty Hindu god of war and of the rains.

 Balkrishna Sama (1903-1981)

Lekhnath Paudyal, Balkrishna Sama, and Lakshrmprasad Devkota were

the three most important Nepali writers of the first half of this century,
and their influence is still felt today. Lekhnath strove for classical pre-
cision in traditional poetic genres; Devkota's effusive and emotional
works provoked a redefinition of the art of poetic composition in Nepali.
In contrast to both of these, Balkrishna Sama was essentially an intel-
lectual whose personal values and knowledge of world culture brought
austerity and eclecticism to his work. He was also regarded highly for
his efforts to simplify and colloquiali/.e the language of Nepali verse.
Sama was born Balkrishna Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana in 1903. As
a member of the ruling family, he naturally enjoyed many privileges:
his formative years were spent in sumptuous surroundings, and he re-
ceived the best education available in Nepal at that time. In 1923 he
became a high-ranking army officer, as was customary for the sons of
Rana families, but from 1933 onward he was able to dedicate himself
wholly to literature because he was made chair of the kingdom's main
publishing body, the Nepali Language Publication Committee. He changed
his name to Sama, "equal," in 1948 after spending several months in
prison for his association with political forces inimical to his family's
regime. It is by this pseudonym that he is now usually known. Sama is
universally regarded as the greatest Nepali playwright, and it was pri-
marily to drama that he devoted his efforts during the first half of his
life. In recognition of his enormous contribution to the enrichment of
Nepali literature, he was made a member of the Royal Nepal Academy
in 1957, its vice-chancellor in 1968, arid a life member after his retire-
ment in 1971.
The young Balkrishna seems to have been unusually gifted because
31
32 THE POK'I'S OF N E P A L

he began to compose metrical verses before he was eight years old, imi-
tating those of his father and his tutor, the father of LakshmTprasad
Devkota. Balkrishna conceived an affection for music and art and de-
veloped a sense of reverence for sacrecl literature, particularly the Ra-
mayana of Bhanubhakta: "Up until then, it had never occurred to me
that the Ramayana was the work of a human being. When I watched
my sister bowing down before the book, I thought it had been created
by one of the gods!" (Sama 1966, 14).
At school, he read William Wordsworth and other English poets and
even translated the poem "Lucy Gray" into Nepali in 19f4. He was also
impressed by Lekhnath Paudyal's "Ritu Vichdra," and Lekhnath's influ-
ence is clearly discernible in Balkrishna's earliest compositions. His first
play, Tdnsenkojhan (Rain at Tanscn), which he wrote in 192f, used the
classical anushtup meter, and he wrote most subsequent dramas in verse
forms. These included the classic works of Nepali theater: Mutuko Vyathd
(Heart's Anguish, 1929), Mukunda-lndird (Mukunda and Indira, 1937),
and Prahldd (1938). Sama was undoubtedly influenced by Shakespeare's
use of verse in drama and experimented with unorthodox metrical com-
binations, showing scant regard for the rules of Sanskrit prosody.
Sama was also an accomplished painter and story writer, as well as
the author of a speculative philosophical treatise, Regulated Randomness
(Niyamit Akasamikta). His poetry represented the second facet of his lit-
erary personality, although it was certainly no less important to him than
his plays. All of his poems were published as a single collection in 1981,
with the exception of two long works that appeared separately. It is clear
from this volume that Sama produced far more poetry in his later years
than in his youth: less than forty poems were published before 1950,
but more than one hundred and fifty appeared between 1950 and 1979.
T. Sharrna (1982, 92) believes that Sama's poems fall into four categories.
The earliest were fairly conventional compositions in Sanskrit meters
and were followed by the many songlike poems that are sprinkled
throughout Sama's first verse dramas. After 1950, he produced poems
that dealt with philosophical themes in ancient Vedic meters, as well as
thernatically similar poems written in free verse. 1'he earlier composi-
tions were more formulaic than later works, although Sama's interest in
experimentation was clearly evident at an early stage. In "Broken Vase"
(Phuteko Phulddn, 1935), for instance, the opening verse is symbolically
shattered and fragmented:

oh the vase . . . from my hand . . .

slipped . . . fell to the door . . . broke with a crack
. . . water spilled . . . flowers, too,
. . . smashed . . . to smithereens!
Random documents with unrelated
content Scribd suggests to you:
 The life of George Stephenson proves that notwithstanding the
novelty and great importance of his improvements in steam transit,
he did not "discover" these improvements. He did not discover that a
floating embankment would carry a railway across Chat Moss,
neither did he discover that the friction between the wheels of a
locomotive and the rails would enable a train to be drawn by tractive
power alone. Everything connected with his novel history shows that
all of his improvements were founded upon a method of reasoning
from principles and generally inductively. To say that he "discovered"
our railway system, according to the ordinary construction of the
term, would be to detract from his hard and well-earned reputation,
and place him among a class of fortunate schemers, who can claim
no place in the history of legitimate engineering.
Count Rumford did not by chance develope the philosophy of
forces upon which we may say the whole science of dynamics now
rests; he set out upon a methodical plan to demonstrate conceptions
that were already matured in his mind, and to verify principles which
he had assumed by inductive reasoning. The greater part of really
good and substantial improvements, such as have performed any
considerable part in developing modern mechanical engineering,
have come through this course of first dealing with primary
principles, instead of groping about blindly after mechanical
expedients, and present circumstances point to a time not far distant
when chance discovery will quite disappear.
(1.) What change has taken place in the meaning of the name "invention"
as applied to machine improvement?—(2.) What should precede an attempt
to invent or improve machinery?—(3.) In what sense should the name
invention be applied to the works of such men as Bentham, Bodmer, or
Stephenson?
 CHAPTER XLI.
WORKSHOP EXPERIENCE.
To urge the necessity of learning practical fitting as a part of an
engineering education is superfluous. A mechanical engineer who
has not been "through the shop" can never expect to attain success,
nor command the respect even of the most inferior workmen;
without a power of influencing and controlling others, he is neither
fitted to direct construction, nor to manage details of any kind
connected with engineering industry. There is nothing that more
provokes a feeling of resentment in the mind of a skilled man than
to meet with those who have attempted to qualify themselves in the
theoretical and commercial details of engineering work, and then
assume to direct labour which they do not understand; nor is a
skilled man long in detecting an engineer of this class; a dozen
words in conversation upon any mechanical subject is generally
enough to furnish a clue to the amount of practical knowledge
possessed by the speaker.
As remarked in a previous place, no one can expect to prepare
successful designs for machinery, who does not understand the
details of its construction; he should know how each piece is
moulded, forged, turned, planed, or bored, and the relative cost of
these processes by the different methods which may be adopted.
An engineer may direct and control work without a knowledge of
practical fitting, but such control is merely a commercial one, and
cannot of course extend to mechanical details which are generally
the vital part; the obedience that may thus be enforced in controlling
others is not to be confounded with the respect which a superior
knowledge of work commands.
 A gain from learning practical fitting is the confidence which such
knowledge inspires in either the direction of work or the preparation
of plans for machinery. An engineer who hesitates in his plans for
fear of criticism, or who does not feel a perfect confidence in them,
will never achieve much success.
Improvements, which have totally changed machine fitting during
thirty years past, have been of a character to dispense in a great
measure with hand skill, and supplant it with what may be termed
mental skill. The mere physical effect produced by a man's hands
has steadily diminished in value, until it has now almost come to be
reckoned in foot-pounds; but the necessity for practical knowledge
instead of being diminished is increased.
Formerly an apprentice entered a shop to learn hand skill, and to
acquaint himself with a number of mysterious processes; to learn a
series of arbitrary rules which might serve to place him at a
disadvantage even with those whose capacity was inferior and who
had less education; but now the whole is changed. An engineer
apprentice enters the shop with a confidence that he may learn
whatever the facilities afford if he will put forth the required efforts;
there are no mysteries to be solved; nearly all problems are reached
and explained by science, leaving a greater share of the shop-time
of a learner to be devoted to studying what is special.
This change in engineering pursuits has also produced a change in
the workmen almost as thorough as in manipulation. A man who
deals with special knowledge only and feels that the secrets of his
calling are not governed by systematic rules, by which others may
qualify themselves without his assistance, is always more or less
narrow-minded and ignorant. The nature of his relations to others
makes him so; of this no better proof is wanted than to contrast the
intelligence of workmen who are engaged in what may be termed
exclusive callings with people whose pursuits are regulated by
general rules and principles. A machinist of modern times, having
outgrown this exclusive idea, has been raised thereby to a social
position confessedly superior to that of most other mechanics, so
that shop association once so dreaded by those who would
otherwise have become mechanics, is no longer an obstacle.
Some hints will now be given relating to apprentice experience in
a workshop, such matters being selected as are most likely to be of
interest and use to a learner.
Upon entering a shop the first thing to be done is to gain the
confidence and the respect of the manager or foreman who has
charge of the work; to gain such confidence and respect is different
from, and has nothing to do with, social relations and must depend
wholly upon what transpires in the works. To inspire the confidence
of a friend one must be kind, faithful, and honourable; but to
command the confidence of a foreman one must be punctual,
diligent, and intelligent. There are no more kindly sentiments than
those which may be founded on a regard for industry and earnest
effort. A learner may have the misfortune to break tools, spoil work,
and fail in every way to satisfy himself, yet if he is punctual, diligent,
and manifests an interest in the work, his misfortunes will not cause
unkind resentment.
It must always be remembered that what is to be learned should
not be estimated according to a learner's ideas of its importance. A
manager and workmen generally look upon fitting as one of the
most honourable and intelligent of pursuits, deserving of the respect
and best efforts of an apprentice; and while a learner may not think
it a serious thing to make a bad fit, or to meet with an accident, his
estimate is not the one to judge from. The least word or act which
will lead workmen to think that an apprentice is indifferent, at once
destroys interest in his success, and cuts off one of the main sources
from which information may be derived.
An apprentice in entering the workshop should avoid everything
tending to an appearance of fastidiousness, either of manner or
dress; nothing is more repulsive to workmen, and it may be added,
nothing is more out of place in a machine shop than to divide one's
time between the work and an attempt to keep clean. An effort to
keep as neat as the nature of the work will admit is at all times right,
but to dress in clothing not appropriate, or to allow a fear of grease
to interfere with the performance of work, is sure to provoke
derision.
The art of keeping reasonably clean even in a machine shop is
worth studying; some men are greased from head to foot in a few
hours, no matter what their work may be; while others will perform
almost any kind of work, and keep clean without sacrificing
convenience in the least. This difference is the result of habits
readily acquired and easily retained.
Punctuality costs nothing, and buys a great deal; a learner who
reaches the shop a quarter of an hour before starting time, and
spends that time in looking about, manifests thereby an interest in
the work, and avails himself of an important privilege, one of the
most effectual in gaining shop knowledge. Ten minutes spent in
walking about, noting the changes wrought in the work from day to
day, furnishes constant material for thought, and acquaints a learner
with many things which would otherwise escape attention. It
requires, however, no little care and discrimination to avoid a kind of
resentment which workmen feel in having their work examined,
especially if they have met with an accident or made a mistake, and
when such inspection is thought to be prompted by curiosity only.
The better plan in such cases is to ask permission to examine work
in such a way that no one will hear the request except the person
addressed; such an application generally will secure both consent
and explanation.
Politeness is as indispensable to a learner in a machine shop as it
is to a gentleman in society. The character of the courtesy may be
modified to suit the circumstances and the person, but still it is
courtesy. An apprentice may understand differential calculus, but a
workman may understand how to bore a steam cylinder; and in the
workman's estimation a problem in calculus is a trivial thing to
understand compared with the boring of a steam engine cylinder.
Under these circumstances, if a workman is not allowed to balance
some of his knowledge against politeness, an apprentice is placed at
a disadvantage.
Questions and answers constitute the principal medium for
acquiring technical information, and engineering apprentices should
carefully study the philosophy of questions and answers, just as he
does the principles of machinery. Without the art of questioning but
slow progress will be made in learning shop manipulation. A proper
question is one which the person asked will understand, and the
answer be understood when it is given; not an easy rule, but a
correct one. The main point is to consider questions before they are
asked; make them relevant to the work in hand, and not too many.
To ask frequent questions, is to convey an impression that the
answers are not considered, an inference which is certainly a fair
one, if the questions relate to a subject demanding some
consideration. If a man is asked one minute what diametrical pitch
means, and the next minute how much cast iron shrinks in cooling,
he is very apt to be disgusted, and think the second question not
worth answering.
It is important, in asking questions, to consider the mood and
present occupation of the person addressed; one question asked
when a man's mind is not too much occupied, and when he is in a
communicative humour, is worth a dozen questions asked when he is
engaged, and not disposed to talk.
It is a matter of courtesy in the usages of a shop, and one of
expediency to a learner, to ask questions from those who are
presumed to be best informed on the subject to which the questions
relate; and it is equally a matter of courtesy to ask questions of
different workmen, being careful, however, never to ask two
different persons the same question, nor questions that may call out
conflicting answers.
There is not a more generous or kindly feeling in the world than
that with which a skilled mechanic will share his knowledge with
those who have gained his esteem, and who he thinks merit and
desire the aid that he can give.
 An excellent plan to retain what is learned, is to make notes.
There is nothing will assist the memory more in learning mechanics
than to write down facts as they are learned, even if such
memoranda are never referred to after they are made.
It is not intended to recommend writing down rules or tables
relating to shop manipulation so much as facts which require remark
or comment to impress them on the memory; writing notes not only
assists in committing the subjects to memory, but cultivates a power
of composing technical descriptions, a very necessary part of an
engineering education. Specifications for engineering work are a
most difficult kind of composition and may be made long, tedious,
and irrelevant, or concise and lucid.
There are also a large number of conventional phrases and
endless technicalities to be learned, and to write them will assist in
committing them to memory and decide their orthography.
In making notes, as much as possible of what is written should be
condensed into brief formulæ, a form of expression which is fast
becoming the written language of machine shops. Reading formulæ
is in a great degree a matter of habit, like studying mechanical
drawings; that which at the beginning is a maze of complexity, after
a time becomes intelligible and clear at a glance.
Upon entering the shop, a learner will generally, to use a shop
phrase, "be introduced to a hammer and chisel;" he will, perhaps,
regard these hand tools with a kind of contempt. Seeing other
operations carried on by power, and the machines in charge of
skilled men, he is likely to esteem chipping and filing as of but little
importance and mainly intended for keeping apprentices employed.
But long after, when a score of years has been added to his
experience, the hammer, chisel, and file, will remain the most crucial
test of his hand skill, and after learning to manipulate power tools of
all kinds in the most thorough manner, a few blows with a chipping
hammer, or a half-dozen strokes with a file, will not only be a more
difficult test of skill, but one most likely to be met with.
 To learn to chip and file is indispensable, if for no other purpose,
to be able to judge of the proficiency of others or to instruct them.
Chipping and filing are purely matters of hand skill, tedious to learn,
but when once acquired, are never forgotten. The use of a file is an
interesting problem to study, and one of no little intricacy; in filing
across a surface one inch wide, with a file twelve inches long, the
pressure required at each end to guide it level may change at each
stroke from nothing to twenty pounds or more; the nice sense of
feeling which determines this is a matter of habit acquired by long
practice. It is a wonder indeed that true surfaces can be made with
a file, or even that a file can be used at all, except for rough work.
If asked for advice as to the most important object for an
apprentice to aim at in beginning his fitting course, nine out of ten
experienced men will say, "to do work well." As power is measured
by force and velocity, work is measured by the two conditions of skill
and time. The first consideration being, how well a thing may be
done, and secondly, in how short a time may it be performed; the
skill spent on a piece of work is the measure of its worth; if work is
badly executed, it makes no difference how short the time of
performance has been; this can add nothing to the value of what is
done although the expense is diminished.
A learner is apt to reverse this proposition at the beginning, and
place time before skill, but if he will note what passes around him, it
will be seen that criticism is always first directed to the character of
work performed. A manager does not ask a workman how long a
time was consumed in preparing a piece of work until its character
has been passed upon; in short, the quality of work is its mechanical
standard, and the time consumed in preparing work is its
commercial standard. A job is never properly done when the
workman who performed it can see faults, and in machine fitting, as
a rule, the best skill that can be applied is no more than the
conditions call for; so that the first thing to be learned is to perform
work well, and afterwards to perform it rapidly.
 Good fitting is often not so much a question of skill as of the
standard which a workman has fixed in his mind, and to which all
that he does will more or less conform. If this standard is one of
exactness and precision, all that is performed, whether it be filing,
turning, planing, or drawing, will come to this standard. This faculty
of mind can be defined no further than to say that it is an aversion
to whatever is imperfect, and a love for what is exact and precise.
There is no faculty which has so much to do with success in
mechanical pursuits, nor is there any trait more susceptible of
cultivation. Methodical exactness, reasoning, and persistence are the
powers which lead to proficiency in engineering pursuits.
There is, perhaps, no more fitting conclusion to these suggestions
for apprentices than a word about health and strength. It was
remarked in connection with the subject of drawing, that the powers
of a mechanical engineer were to be measured by his education and
mental abilities, no more than by his vitality and physical strength, a
proposition which it will be well for an apprentice to keep in mind.
One not accustomed to manual labour will, after commencing, find
his limbs aching, his hands sore; he will feel exhausted both at the
beginning and at the end of a day's work. These are not dangerous
symptoms. He has only to wait until his system is built up so as to
sustain this new draught upon its resources, and until nature
furnishes a power of endurance, which will in the end be a source of
pride, and add a score of years to life. Have plenty of sleep, plenty
of plain, substantial food, keep the skin clean and active, laugh at
privations, and cultivate a spirit of self-sacrifice and a pride in
endurance that will court the hardest and longest efforts. An
apprentice who has not the spirit and firmness to endure physical
labour, and adapt himself to the conditions of a workshop, should
select some pursuit of a nature less aggressive than mechanical
engineering.
PRINTED BY BALLANTYNE, HANSON AND CO.
EDINBURGH AND LONDON
 BOOKS RELATING TO MACHINE
TOOLS AND MANUFACTURING
PROCESSES.
By J. RICHARDS.

The Economy of Workshop Manipulation.

A LOGICAL METHOD OF LEARNING CONSTRUCTIVE MECHANICS.
Arranged with Questions for the use of Apprentice Engineers and Students.
Crown 8vo, cloth, 5s.

A Treatise on the Construction and Operation of

Wood-Working Machines,
Containing One Hundred and Forty Plates and Engravings of English, French, and
American Machines, has received the most favourable notice from the
Scientific Press.
Crown 4to, cloth gilt, 25s.
 The Operator's Hand-Book of Wood-Working
Machinery,
FOR PRACTICAL WORKMEN.
The Work contains Sixty-two Original Engravings, with Instructions for
Erecting Factories, Operating Machines, &c.
Crown 8vo, cloth, 6s.

To be published soon,

The Conversion of Wood by Machinery.

A Series of Articles, chiefly Historical and Economical, written for the
"Timber Trades' Journal," London, during 1875.

Mechanical Humour;
A Collection of Original Anecdotes connected with Engineering and
Mechanical Subjects.
Crown 8vo, 2s. 6d.
 Catalogue of Books
RELATING TO

PR AC TIC AL SC IEN C E,
PUBLISHED AND SOLD BY

E . & F. N . S P O N .

LO N D O N : 4 8 , C H A R I N G C R O SS.
N E W YO R K : 4 4 6 , B R O O M E S T R E E T.

Architects' Handbook.
A Handbook of Formulæ, Tables, and Memoranda, for
Architectural Surveyors and others engaged in Building, by
J. T. Hurst, C.E., tenth edition, thoroughly revised and re-
written, royal 32mo, roan 5 0
André's Handbook of Mapping.
Containing Instructions for the Preparation of Engineering,
Architectural, and Mechanical Drawings, with numerous
coloured examples, crown 4to, cloth 15 0
Blast-Furnace.
Researches on the Action of the Blast-Furnace, by Charles
Schinz, translated from the German by W. H. Maw, and
Moritz Müller, plates, crown 8vo, cloth 8 6
Bridges.
Estimates and Diagrams of Railway Bridges for Turnpike,
Public and Occupation Roads, in the Embankments of
Double or Single Lines, and Cuttings of Double Lines, with
Form for Calculating Quantities in Skew Structures, etc.,
also Culverts of various dimensions, and at Station
Buildings, by J. W. Grover, M.I.C.E., second edition,
enlarged, with 37 coloured plates, folio, cloth 31 6
Bridges.
Iron and Timber Railway Superstructures and General
Works; giving Dimensions and Quantities for the Standard
4ft. 8½ in. gauge and the Metre 3ft. 3⅜ in. gauge, with
some Earthwork Tables and Outlines of a Specification and
Requirements, by J. W. Grover, M. Inst. C.E., folio, cloth £2 2 0
Bridges.
The Strains upon Bridge Girders and Roof Trusses, including
the Warren, Lattice, Trellis, Bowstring, and other Forms of
Girders, the Curved Roof, and Simple and Compound
Trusses, by Thos. Cargill, C.E.B.A.T., C.D., Assoc. Inst. C.E.,
Member of the Society of Engineers, with 64 illustrations,
drawn and worked out to scale, 8vo, cloth 12 6
Bridges.
Construction of the Great Victoria Bridge, in Canada, by
James Hodges, Engineer to Messrs. Peto, Brassey, and
Betts, Contractors, vol. 1, imp. 4to, illustrated with 17
coloured plates, and numerous wood engravings; vol. 2,
royal folio, containing 28 double and 19 single plates,
together 2 vols., half-bound in morocco £4 14 6
Bridges.
Long-Span Railway Bridges, comprising Investigations of
the Comparative Theoretical and Practical Advantages of
the various adopted or proposed Type Systems of
Construction, with numerous Formulæ and Tables giving the
weight of Iron or Steel required in Bridges from 300 feet to
the limiting Spans; to which are added similar Investigations
and Tables relating to Short-Span Railway Bridges, second
and revised edition, by B. Baker, Assoc. Inst. C.E., plates,
crown 8vo, cloth 5 0
Builders' Price-Book.
Spons' Builders' Pocket-Book of Prices and Memoranda,
edited by W. Young, architect, royal 32mo, roan 4 6
or cloth, vermilion edges 3 6
Published annually.
Cabinet Making.
The Cabinet Maker; being a Collection of the most approved
designs in the Mediæval, Louis-Seize, and Old English
styles, for the use of Cabinet Makers, Carvers, etc., by R.
Charles, 96 plates, folio, half-bound 21 0
Carpentry.
Elementary Principles of Carpentry, by Thomas Tredgold,
revised from the original edition, and partly rewritten, by
John Thomas Hurst, contained in 517 pages of letterpress,
and illustrated with 48 plates and 150 wood engravings,
second edition, crown 8vo, handsomely bound in cloth 18 0
Compensations.
Compensations, a Text-book for Surveyors, in tabulated
form, by Banister Fletcher, crown 8vo, cloth 5 0
Coffee.
The Coffee Planter of Ceylon, by William Sabonadière, with
an Appendix containing various extracts and letters from
other authority, bearing on the same subject, second
edition, enlarged and revised, illustrated by plates and
wood engravings, crown 8vo, cloth 7 6
Coffee and Chicory.
Coffee and Chicory; the Culture, Chemical Composition,
Preparation for Market, and Consumption, with simple tests
for detecting adulteration, and practical hints for the
Producer and Consumer, by P. L. Simmonds, F.S.S., author
of 'The Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom,'
'Dictionary of Products,' etc., etc., illustrated by numerous
wood engravings, post 8vo, cloth 2 0
Cotton Cultivation.
Cotton Cultivation in its various details, the Barrage of Great
Rivers, and Instructions for Irrigating, Embanking, Draining,
 and Tilling Land in Tropical and other Countries possessing
high thermometric temperatures, especially adapted to the
improvement of the cultural soils of India, by Joseph Gibbs,
Member Institute Civil Engineers, with 5 plates, crown 8vo,
cloth 7 6
Curves, Railway.
Treatise on the setting out of Railway Curves, with full
Tables of the Angles, Distances, and Offsets required,
especially arranged for the use of Measurements in feet and
imperial links, but also adapted for the use of any other unit
of Measurement, by David Livingstone, crown 8vo, cloth 10 6
Curve Tables.
Tables for setting out Railway Curves, arranged by Chas.
Pullar Hogg, C.E., a series of cards arranged for
Manipulation, with a sheet of Explanations and Examples, in
neat cloth case 4 6
Dilapidations.
Dilapidations, a Text-book for Architects and Surveyors, in
tabulated form, by Banister Fletcher, Fellow Royal Inst. Brit.
Arch. (Author of Model Houses), showing who are liable for
Dilapidations, and the extent of the liability of Lessors,
Lessees, Tenants at will, Tenants by elegit, Statute,
Merchant, or Staple Tenants in fee simple, Tenants in tail,
Tenants for life, Tenants for years without impeachment of
Waste, Mortgagor, Mortgagee in Possession, Yearly Tenants,
Tenants in common, and joint Tenants, Rights of
coparceners, also what are dilapidations and waste, and
further fully instructs the surveyor how to take and value
them, to which is added the duties of surveyors, with a
table of legal cases, embracing the most recent, and
illustrated throughout by examples drawn from the author's
experience, and latest legal decisions, crown 8vo, cloth 5 0
Earthwork Tables.
Tables for Computing the Contents of Earthwork in the
Cuttings and Embankments of Railways, by W. Macgregor,
royal 8vo, cloth 6 0
Economy in the Use of Steam.
 A Statement of the Principles on which a Saving of Steam
can be best effected, by Frank Salter, B.Sc., crown 8vo 3 6
Electrical Standards.
Reports of the Committee on Electrical Standards appointed
by the British Association, revised by Sir W. Thomson, Dr. J.
P. Joule, Professors Clark, Maxwell, and Fleeming Jenkin,
with a Report to the Royal Society on Units of Electrical
Resistance, by Prof. F. Jenkin, edited by Professor Fleeming
Jenkin, F.R.S., plates, 8vo, cloth 9 0
Electric Telegraph.
Electrical Tables and Formulæ for the Use of Telegraph
Inspectors and Operators, compiled by Latimer Clark and
Robert Sabine, with wood engravings, crown 8vo, cloth 12 6
Engineering.
Spons' Dictionary of Engineering, Civil, Mechanical, Military,
and Naval, with technical terms in French, German, Italian,
and Spanish, 3100 pp., and nearly 8000 engravings, super-
royal 8vo, in
8 divisions, cloth, 13 s. 6 d. each £5 8 0
8 " half-morocco £6 8 0
8 " French morocco £7 4 0
Complete in 3 vols., cloth £5 5 0
Bound in a superior manner, half-morocco, top edge gilt, 3 vols.
£6 12 0
Engineers' Companion.
The Office and Cabin Companion for Engineers and Officers
of Steam Vessels, consisting of observations, rules, and
tables to facilitate such Calculations as Naval Officers and
Engineers are called upon to make, by J. Simond Holland,
second edition, 12mo, cloth 3 0
Engineering Drawing.
An Elementary Treatise on Orthographic Projection, being a
new method of Teaching the Science of Mechanical and
Engineering Drawing, intended for the instruction of
Engineers, Architects, Builders, Smiths, Masons, and
Bricklayers, and for the use of Schools, with numerous
illustrations on wood and steel, by William Binns, Associate
Institute Civil Engineers, late Master of the Mechanical
 Drawing Class at the Department of Science and Art, and at
the School of Mines, formerly Professor of Applied
Mechanics, at the College for Civil Engineers, etc., seventh
edition, 8vo, cloth 9 0
Mr. Binns' system of Mechanical Drawing is in successful
operation in all the Art Schools of the United Kingdom.
Engineering Drawing.
The Second Course of Orthographic Projection; being a
continuation of the New Method of Teaching the Science of
Mechanical and Engineering Drawing; with some Practical
Remarks on the Teeth of Wheels, the Projection of
Shadows, Principles of Shading, and the Practice of Making
to Scale Drawings from Actual Machinery. Intended for the
Instruction of Engineers, Architects, Builders, Smiths,
Masons, and Bricklayers, and for the use of Science Schools
and Classes, with numerous illustrations, by William Binns,
Consulting Engineer, Associate I.C.E., late Master of the
Mechanical Drawing Class at the Department of Science and
Art, and at the Royal School of Mines; formerly Professor of
Applied Mechanics at the College for Civil Engineers, etc.,
8vo, cloth 10 6
Engineers' Pocket-Book.
The Pocket-Book of Pocket-Books, being Molesworth and
Hurst's Pocket-Books, printed on India paper and bound
together in one volume, royal 32mo, russia, gilt edges 12 6
Engineers' Pocket-Book.
A Pocket-Book of Useful Formulæ and Memoranda for Civil
and Mechanical Engineers, by Guilford L. Molesworth, Mem.
Ins. C. E., Consulting Engineer to the Government of India
for State Railways, eighteenth edition, revised, with
considerable additions by the author; together with a
valuable contribution on Telegraphs by R. S. Brough, 32mo,
roan 6 0
Ditto, Interleaved with ruled Paper for Office use 9 0
Ditto, printed on India paper, for the waistcoat pocket 6 0
Engineers' Price-Book.
Applebys' Illustrated Handbook of Machinery and Iron Work,
with the Cost, the Working Expenses, and the Results
 obtained in the use of Steam and Hand Cranes, Pumps,
Fixed and Portable Steam Engines, and various other
Machines; with Weight, Measurement, etc., etc.; also Prices
of Tools, Iron Works, Stores, and Materials required by Civil
and Mechanical Engineers, Merchants, and others; together
with numerous Tables and Memoranda, by Appleby Bros.,
Engineers, many hundred wood engravings, 8vo, cloth 12 6
Engineers' Tables.
Spons' Tables and Memoranda for Engineers, selected and
arranged by J. T. Hurst, C.E., Author of 'Architectural
Surveyors' Handbook,' 'Hurst's Tredgold's Carpentry,' etc.,
64mo, roan, gilt edges, second edition 1 0
Or in cloth case 1 6
French Measures.
French Measures and English Equivalents, by John Brook.
For the use of Engineers, Manufacturers of Iron,
Draughtsmen, etc., 18mo, roan 1 0
"In a series of compact tables the English values of the French measures
are arranged from one to a thousand millimetres, and from one to a hundred
metres; the fractions of an inch progressing in sixteenths are also reduced to
French values. The little book will be found useful to almost every engineer."—
Engineering.
French-Polishing.
The French-Polisher's Manual, by a French-Polisher,
containing Timber Staining, Washing, Matching, Improving,
Painting, Imitations, Directions for Staining, Sizing,
Embodying, Smoothing, Spirit Varnishing, French-Polishing,
Directions for Re-polishing, royal 32mo, sewed 0 6
Gas.
Analysis, Technical Valuation, Purification and Use of Coal
Gas, by the Rev. W. R. Bowditch, M.A., with wood
engravings, 8vo, cloth 12 6
Gas Works.
Instructions for the Management of Gas Works, by W. C.
Holmes, Engineer, 8vo, cloth 4 0
Gunner's Pocket-Book.
 Bridges' Gunner's Pocket-Book, compiled by Captain T. W.
Bridges, H.P. Royal Artillery, crown 32mo, roan, 1s.; or
morocco 1 6
Handrailing.
Handrailing cut square to the Plank, without a Falling Mould,
as discovered and taught at the Mechanics' Institution,
Liverpool, by John Jones, Staircase Builder, containing seven
plates, with full instructions for working them, fol. boards 6 0
Hydraulics.
Practical Hydraulics: a Series of Rules and Tables for the use
of Engineers, etc., etc., by Thomas Box, fourth edition,
numerous plates, post 8vo, cloth 5 0
Iron.
Iron as a material of Construction, forming a Handbook for
the use of Students in Engineering, by William Pole, C.E.,
F.R.S., cuts, post 8vo, cloth 6 0
Iron and Steel.
The Journal of the Iron and Steel Institute, edited by Jno.
Jones, F.G.S., and David Forbes, F.R.S., published half-
yearly, 8vo, each Part 7 6
Indian Engineering.
India and Indian Engineering, three Lectures delivered at
the Royal Engineer Institute, Chatham, in July, 1872, by
Julius George Medley, Lieut.-Col. R.E., Assoc. Inst. C.E.,
Fellow of the Calcutta University, Principal Thomason Civil
Engineering College, Roorkee, crown 8vo, cloth 3 0
Link-Motion.
Link-Motion and Expansion-Gear practically considered, by
N. P. Burgh, Engineer, illustrated with 90 plates and 229
wood engravings, small 4to, handsomely half-bound in
morocco £2 2 0
Mechanical Engineering.
The Mechanician and Constructor for Engineers, comprising
Forging, Planing, Lining, Slotting, Shaping, Turning, Screw
Cutting, etc., by Cameron Knight, illustrated by 96 4to
 plates, containing 1147 illustrations, and 397 pages of
letterpress, 4to, cloth £2 10 0
Or, half-bound French morocco 2 12 6
Mechanics.
The Essential Elements of Practical Mechanics, based on the
principle of work, designed for Engineering Students, by
Oliver Byrne, formerly Professor of Mathematics, College for
Civil Engineers, second edition, illustrated by numerous
wood engravings, post 8vo, cloth 7 6
Mechanics.
The Principles of Mechanics and their Application to Prime
Movers, Naval Architecture, Iron Bridges, Water Supply,
etc., by W. J. Millar, C.E., Secretary to the Institution of
Engineers and Shipbuilders, Scotland, crown 8vo, cloth 4 6
Metric Weights and Measures.
Scales for the Ready Comparison of British and Metric
Weights and Measures, by A. L. Newdigate, M.A., in neat
cloth case 5 0
Military Terms.
A Handy Dictionary of Military Terms, by Major W. W.
Knollys, F.R.G.S., 93rd Sutherland Highlanders, Garrison
Instructor, Home District, etc., 18mo, cloth 2 0
Mill Gearing.
A Practical Treatise on Mill Gearing, Wheels, Shafts, Riggers,
etc., for the use of Engineers, by Thomas Box, post 8vo,
cloth, with 8 plates 5 0
Millwright's Guide.
The Practical Millwright's and Engineer's Ready Reckoner, or
Tables for finding the diameter and power of cog-wheels,
diameter, weight, and power of shafts, diameter and
strength of bolts, etc., by Thomas Dixon, fourth edition,
12mo, cloth 3 0
Mine Engineering.
A Practical Treatise on Coal Mining, by George G. André,
Mining Civil Engineer, F.G.S., Assoc. Inst. C.E., numerous
 plates, 2 vols., royal 4to, cloth £3 12 0
Mining.
Records of Mining and Metallurgy; or, Facts and Memoranda
for the use of the Mine Agent and Smelter, by J. Arthur
Phillips and John Darlington, in crown 8vo, cloth, illustrated
with wood engravings 4 0
Narrow Gauge Railways.
Narrow Gauge Railways, by C. E. Spooner, C.E., F.G.S.,
illustrated with 25 folding plates, 8vo, cloth 12 6
Contents:
Copy of paper read at the "Inventors' Institute" on Narrow Gauge Railways
—the Festiniog Railway—Experiment on the Festiniog Railway—Captain Tyler's
Report—The Railways of the Future—Advantages gained by Narrow Gauge
Railways—Railway Gauges—Narrow Gauge Rolling Stock—Battle of the
Gauges—Indian Railway Gauges and Rolling Stock, etc.
Pyrology.
Pyrology, or Fire Chemistry; a Science interesting to the
general Philosopher, and an art of infinite importance to the
Chemist, Mineralogist, Metallurgist, Geologist, Agriculturist,
Engineer (Mining, Civil, and Military), etc., etc., by William
Alexander Ross, lately a Major in the Royal Artillery, with
plates and woodcuts, crown 4to, cloth £1 16 0
"A work which we have no hesitation in pronouncing original and valuable.
The author is not a chemist trained in the orthodox school outside which there
is no salvation: for cooked results and unproved theories he shows very little
respect. We can strongly recommend this book to Analysts, Assayers,
Mineralogists, and to all persons interested in Mining and Metallurgy."—
Chemical News, August 6th, 1875.
Railway Engineering.
Manual of Railway Engineering, for the Field and the Office,
by Charles P. Cotton, C.E., second edition, revised and
enlarged, post 8vo, cloth 7 6
Rennie, Sir John.
The Autobiography of Sir John Rennie, Past-President of the
Institution of Civil Engineers, F.R.S., etc., etc., edited by his
son, C. G. C. Rennie, with portrait, 8vo, cloth 12 6
Reservoirs.
On the Construction of Catch-water Reservoirs in Mountain
Districts for the supply of Towns, or for other purposes, by
C. H. Beloe, Author of 'The Handbook of the Liverpool
Water-works,' plates, 8vo, cloth 5 0
Retaining Walls.
Surcharged and different Forms of Retaining Walls, by J. S.
Tate, cuts, 8vo, sewed 2 0
Ropemaking.
A Treatise on Ropemaking as practised in public and private
Rope-yards, with a description of the manufacture, rules,
tables of weights, etc., adapted to the Trade, Shipping,
Mining, Railways, Builders, etc., by R. Chapman, formerly
foreman to Messrs. Huddart and Co., Limehouse, and late
Master Ropemaker to H.M. Dockyard, Deptford, second
edition, 12mo, cloth 3 0
Sanitary Engineering.
A Series of Lectures given before the School of Engineering,
Chatham. Division I. Air. Division II. Water. Division III. The
Dwelling. Division IV. The Town and Village. Division V. The
Disposal of Sewage. Copiously illustrated. By J. Bailey
Denton, C.E., F.G.S., Honorary Member of the Agricultural
Societies of Norway, Sweden, and Hanover, and author of
the 'Farm Homesteads of England,' 'Storage of Water,' etc.,
etc., royal 8vo, cloth 21 0
Sanitary Engineering.
Proceedings of the Association of Municipal and Sanitary
Engineers and Surveyors, Vol. I., 1873-4, edited by Lewis
Angell, Mem. Inst. C.E., F.R.I.B.A., etc., etc., 8vo, cloth 10 6
Sewage.
A Handbook of Sewage Utilization, by Ulick Ralph Burke,
Esq., Barrister-at-Law, crown 8vo, cloth 3 6
This work treats: I. Of the evils of the present system of Sewage
Treatment, the Pollution of Water, and the Waste of Manure. II. Remedies,
Privy, and Ash-pit; Eureka System; Milan, Goul, and Moule's Systems. III.
Treatment of Sewage by Chemical means; Experiments with Lime; Lime and
Chloride of Iron; Sulphate of Ammonia; Holden's Process; Sulphate of
Alumina; Persalts of Iron; Blyth, Lenk, Phosphate, A.B.C., Scott, and Hille
Processes; Filtration. IV. Irrigation. With an Appendix, including the Law
relating to Sewage Utilization.
Sewage.
The Sewage Question; on the Treatment and Utilization of
Sewage, the Preparation of Land for Irrigation, and for
Intermittent Downward Filtration, by J. Bailey Denton, Mem.
Inst. C.E., F.G.S., 8vo, sewed 2 0
Silver Mines.
Vazeeri Rupi, the Silver Country of the Vazeers, in Kulu: its
Beauties, Antiquities, and Silver Mines, including a Trip over
the lower Himalayah Range and Glaciers, by J. Calvert,
F.G.S., Mem. Inst. C.E., illustrated with a map and coloured
plates, 8vo, cloth 16 0
Slide Valve.
The Slide-Valve practically considered, by N. P. Burgh,
Engineer, fifth edition, containing 88 illustrations and 121
pages of letterpress, crown 8vo, cloth 5 0
Slide Valve. Designing Valve-gearing.
A Treatise on a Practical Method of Designing Slide Valve
Gearing by Simple Geometrical Construction, based upon
the principles enunciated in Euclid's Elements, and
comprising the various forms of Plain Slide Valve and
Expansion Gearing; together with Stephenson's, Gooch's,
and Allan's Link-Motions, as applied either to reversing or to
variable expansion combinations, by Edward J. Cowling
Welch, Memb. Inst. Mechanical Engineers, crown 8vo, cloth 6 0
The system described in this work enables any draughtsman or foreman to
"get out" in a few minutes, and with the greatest precision, all the details of a
Slide Valve Gear, without recourse to models or other similar appliances.
Steam Boilers.
Practical Treatise on Steam Boilers and Boiler Making, by N.
P. Burgh, Mem. Inst. Mec. Eng., illustrated by 1163 wood
engravings and 50 large folding plates of working drawings,
royal 4to, half-morocco £3 13 6
Steam Engine.
 Modern Marine Engineering applied to Paddle and Screw
Propulsion; consisting of 36 plates, 259 wood engravings,
and 403 pages of descriptive matter, the whole being an
exposition of the present practice of the following firms:
Messrs. J. Penn and Sons; Maudslay, Sons, and Field; James
Watt and Co.; J. and G. Rennie; R. Napier and Sons; J. and
W. Dudgeon; Ravenhill and Hodgson; Humphreys and
Tennant; Mr J. F. Spencer; and Messrs. Forester and Co. By
N. P. Burgh, Engineer, 4to, cloth £2 5 0
Steam Engine.
Modern Compound Engines, being a Supplement to Modern
Marine Engineering, by N. P. Burgh, Mem. Inst. Mech. Eng.,
numerous large plates of working drawings, 4to, cloth 18 0
The following Firms have contributed Working Drawings of their best and
most modern examples of Engines fitted in the Royal and Mercantile Navies:
Messrs. Maudslay, Rennie, Watt, Dudgeon, Humphreys, Ravenhill, Jackson,
Perkins, Napier, Elder, Laird, Day, Allibon.
Steam Engine.
Practical Treatise on the Condensation of Steam; contained
in 262 pages of letterpress, and illustrated with 212
engravings, by N. P. Burgh, Engineer, super royal 8vo, cloth £1 5 0
Steam Engine.
Practical Illustrations of Land and Marine Engines, showing
in detail the modern improvements of High and Low
Pressure, Surface Condensation and Superheating, together
with Land and Marine Boilers, by N. P. Burgh, Engineer, 20
plates in double elephant, folio, cloth £2 2 0
Steam Engine.
A Pocket-Book of Practical Rules for the Proportions of
Modern Engines and Boilers for Land and Marine purposes,
by N. P. Burgh, fifth edition, revised, with Appendix, royal
32mo, roan 4 6
Details of High-Pressure Engine, Beam Engine, Condensing, Marine Screw
Engines, Oscillating Engines, Valves, etc., Land and Marine Boilers,
Proportions of Engines produced by the rules, Proportions of Boilers, etc.
Steep Gradients on Railways.
 A Treatise on the Improved Method for overcoming Steep
Gradients on Railways, whereby an ordinary locomotive
capable of hauling a given load up a gradient 1 in 80, can
take the same up 1 in 8, by Henry Handyside, 8vo, sewed 1 0
Strength of Beams.
On the Strength of Beams, Columns, and Arches,
considered with a view to deriving methods of ascertaining
the practical strength of any given section of Beam,
Column, or Arch, in Cast Iron, Wrought Iron, or Steel, by B.
Baker, numerous cuts, crown 8vo, cloth 9 0
Strength of Beams.
New Formulas for the Loads and Deflections of Solid Beams
and Girders, by William Donaldson, M.A., Assoc. Inst. C.E.,
8vo, cloth 4 6
Sugar.
The Practical Sugar Planter; a complete account of the
cultivation and manufacture of the sugar-cane, according to
the latest and most improved processes, describing and
comparing the different systems pursued in the East and
West Indies, and the Straits of Malacca, and the relative
expenses and advantages attendant upon each, being the
result of sixteen years' experience of a sugar-planter in
those countries, by Leonard Wray, Esq., with numerous
illustrations, 8vo, cloth 10 6
Short Logarithms.
Short Logarithmic and other Tables, intended to facilitate
Practical Calculations, and for solving Arithmetical Problems
in class, 8vo, sewed 1 0
Ditto, cloth 1 6
Sulphuric Acid.
The Chemistry of Sulphuric Acid Manufacture, by Henry
Arthur Smith, cuts, crown 8vo, cloth 4 6
Surveying.
The Principles and Practice of Engineering, Trigonometrical,
Subterraneous, and Marine Surveying, by Charles Bourne,
 C.E., third edition, numerous plates and woodcuts, 8vo,
cloth 5 0
Surveying.
A Practical Treatise on the Science of Land and Engineering
Surveying, Levelling, Estimating Quantities, etc., with a
general description of the several Instruments required for
Surveying, Levelling, Plotting, etc., by H. S. Merrett, 41 fine
plates, with illustrations and tables, royal 8vo, cloth, 2nd
edition 12 6
Table of Logarithms.
Table of Logarithms of the Natural Numbers, from 1 to
108,000, by Charles Babbage, Esq., M.A., Stereotyped
edition, royal 8vo, cloth 7 6
Tables of Squares and Cubes.
Barlow's Tables of Squares, Cubes, Square Roots, Cube
Roots, Reciprocals of all Integer Numbers up to 10,000,
post 8vo, cloth 6 0
Teeth of Wheels.
Camus (M.) Treatise on the Teeth of Wheels, demonstrating
the best forms which can be given to them for the purposes
of Machinery, such as Mill-work and Clock-work, and the art
of finding their numbers, translated from the French, third
edition, carefully revised and enlarged, with details of the
present practice of Millwrights, Engine Makers, and other
Machinists, by Isaac Hawkins, illustrated by 18 plates, 8vo,
cloth 5 0
Telegraphy.
Journal of the Society of Telegraph Engineers, including
original Communications on Telegraphy and Electrical
Science, edited by Major Frank Bolton and G. E. Preece,
Parts I. to XII., demy 8vo, sewed, with wood engravings,
each 5 0
To be continued quarterly.
Torpedo Warfare.
A Treatise on Coast Defence; based on the experience
gained by Officers of the Corps of Engineers of the Army of
 the Confederate States, and compiled from Official Reports
of Officers of the Navy of the United States, made during
the North American War from 1861 to 1865, by Von
Scheliha, Lieutenant-Colonel and Chief Engineer of the
Department of the Gulf of Mexico, of the Army of the late
Confederate States of America; with numerous fine plates,
imperial 8vo, cloth, top edge gilt 15 0
Trevithick.
The Life of Richard Trevithick (Inventor of the High-pressure
Steam-engine), with an account of his Inventions, by
Francis Trevithick, C.E., 2 vols., medium 8vo, cloth,
illustrated by a steel portrait, lithographs, and numerous
beautiful wood engravings, including many accurate
illustrations of Cornwall, its Mines, and Mining Machinery,
reduced to 12 6
Turbine.
A Practical Treatise on the Construction of Horizontal and
Vertical Waterwheels, with 11 plates, specially designed for
the use of operative mechanics, by William Cullen,
Millwright and Engineer, second edition, revised and
enlarged, small 4to, cloth 12 6
Turning.
The Practice of Hand-turning in Wood, Ivory, Shell, etc.,
with Instructions for Turning such work in Metal as may be
required in the Practice of Turning in Wood, Ivory, etc., also
an Appendix on Ornamental Turning, by Francis Campin,
second edition, with wood engravings, crown 8vo, cloth (a
book for beginners) 6 0
Valve-Gears.
Treatise on Valve-Gears, with special consideration of the
Link-Motions of Locomotive Engines, by Dr. Gustav Zeuner,
third edition, revised and enlarged, translated from the
German, with the special permission of the author, by Moritz
Müller, plates, 8vo, cloth 12 6
Ventilation.
Health and Comfort in House Building, or Ventilation with
Warm Air by Self-Acting Suction Power, with Review of the
mode of Calculating the Draught in Hot-Air Flues, and with
 some actual Experiments, by J. Drysdale, M.D., and J. W.
Hayward, M.D., second edition, with Supplement, demy
8vo, with plates, cloth 7 6
The Supplement separate 0 6
Weight of Iron.
Tabulated Weights of Angle, T, Bulb, and Flat Iron, for the
use of Naval Architects and Shipbuilders, by Charles H.
Jordan, M.I.N.A., 18mo, sewed, second edition 1 6
Wood-working Factories.
On the Arrangement, Care, and Operation of Wood-working
Factories and Machinery, forming a complete Operator's
Handbook, by J. Richards, Mechanical Engineer, woodcuts,
crown 8vo, cloth 5 0
Wood-working Machines.
A Treatise on the Construction and Operation of Wood-
working Machines, including a History of the Origin and
Progress and Manufacture of Wood-working Machinery, by
J. Richards, Mechanical Engineer, 25 folding plates, and
nearly 100 full-page illustrations of English, French, and
American Wood-working Machines in modern use, selected
from the designs of prominent Engineers, 4to, cloth £1 5 0
Workshop Receipts.
Workshop Receipts for the use of Manufacturers,
Mechanics, and Scientific Amateurs, by Ernest Spon, crown
8vo, cloth 5 0

Royal 8vo, cloth, 7s. 6d.

Spons' Engineers' and Contractors' Illustrated

Book of Prices of Machines, Tools, Ironwork, and Contractors' Material.
1876.

E. & F. N. SPON: LONDON AND NEW YORK.

Welcome to our website – the perfect destination for book lovers and
knowledge seekers. We believe that every book holds a new world,
offering opportunities for learning, discovery, and personal growth.
That’s why we are dedicated to bringing you a diverse collection of
books, ranging from classic literature and specialized publications to
self-development guides and children's books.

More than just a book-buying platform, we strive to be a bridge

connecting you with timeless cultural and intellectual values. With an
elegant, user-friendly interface and a smart search system, you can
quickly find the books that best suit your interests. Additionally,
our special promotions and home delivery services help you save time
and fully enjoy the joy of reading.

Join us on a journey of knowledge exploration, passion nurturing, and

personal growth every day!

ebookbell.com