For Shashanka Sekhar Dash of Bhubaneswar, Odisha, newspapers are far more than just daily news – they are a lifelong passion that has now earned him a Guinness World Record for the largest collection of newspapers (different titles). Verified on November 30, 2019, his astounding collection stands at 4,515 unique titles.

Dash’s fascination with newspapers began in childhood, inspired by his father, Shri Dolagobinda Dash, a retired headmaster who was the first daily newspaper customer in their area. “The newspaper is the mirror of society. A fresh daily newspaper today, is history tomorrow,” Shashanka reflects on the ideology that drew him to join a small newspaper as a sub-editor in 2000. It was there that his routine reading slowly germinated into a passion for collecting.

Among his treasured possessions is “The Samaja,” an Odia daily from Odisha state and one of India’s oldest publications (over 100 years old), which was among the first items in his collection. His pursuit then expanded to include newspapers in other Indian languages and, eventually, from across the globe.

Shashanka boasts some truly extraordinary items. He proudly speaks of “Deen Dalit,” a handwritten newspaper published from Dumka, Jharkhand, by a laundryman named Gouri Shankar Rajak. Another favorite is “Khabar Lahariya,” a Bundeli language newspaper from Chitrakoot, Uttar Pradesh, uniquely published by women and a recipient of the UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize in 2009.

Currently, his remarkable collection encompasses 4,515 different titles from 138 countries and 94 languages. While he has personally visited only Nepal to collect newspapers, the vast majority have been sourced through the kindness of friends, relatives, colleagues, and well-wishers worldwide.

For Shashanka Sekhar Dash, these newspapers are now “part and parcel” of his life, serving as “a co-traveller” in his journey through history and global narratives.