Sanjeev Upreti
Author. Theatre Actor and a Professor
The British Council library played a significant role in introducing me to the authors who were to steer the course of my life. I am a writer, theatre actor and professor of English literature because of that. I’ve have been teaching English Literature at Tribhuvan University for the last 25 years.
My dad is a medical practitioner and he wanted me to study medicine after completing my School Leaving Certificate (SLC) examinations. We were living in Jhapa at that time. After the SLC, I came to Kathmandu and joined biology class at Amrit Science Campus to direct my career towards medical studies. At that time the British Council was in Kantipath. The library was fabulous and it was close to Amrit Science Campus, so I used to drop in there often.
As time went on I was introduced to and read many novels: James Joyce, Thomas Hardy, Dickens, and P.G. Wodehouse to name a few. Soon I found myself bunking classes to spend more time at the British Council reading books. Slowly but surely, I found that I was more interested in literature than in biology or medicine. So from that perspective, I think the British Council had a profound influence on my life, especially during my formative years.
If not for the library perhaps my life would have taken a different turn. Maybe I wouldn’t have become a writer or a professor of English. The British Council Library made a huge impact on my life.