Suzana Thapa Shrish has dabbled in many things. With a degree in political science, she has worked as a policy researcher. Accompanied with her camera, she has travelled throughout Nepal, capturing previously untold stories. And Shrish is no stranger to crafting stories on paper. She breathed life into her collected stories through meticulous portraits and scripts. The culmination of her experiences, blending curiosity, awareness, artistic vision, and creativity, propelled her ‘Gurkha Women’ exhibition into the spotlight, earning widespread acclaim.

The exhibition, which provided a platform for the untold and overlooked stories of Gurkha women, was showcased at the Nepali Literature Festival 2024. It was also the topic of discussion in a session titled, ‘Lahureni ka Katha-Byatha’.

Shrish’s artistic pursuits had humble beginnings—her drawing abilities were, at best, subpar throughout the entirety of high school. “My friends still tease me about my lack of coordination with the pencil. They say, ‘Remember back then? Look how far you’ve come.’”

She spent her younger years appreciating art but she did not think she would do anything serious in the sphere. She pursued liberal arts and sciences at The White House College, majoring in political science. Driven by a deep interest in international politics, she soon found herself working as a policy researcher, and she often envisioned herself pulling apart the nitty-gritty of politics and diplomacy in the future.

As many ingenious ideas do, for Shrish, the thought of organising an art exhibition came to her seemingly out of nowhere. Having accompanied her father on his own research and subsequent work on Gurkha, she began pitching her own ideas for an exhibition depicting Gurkha history and stories. During her father’s extensive research, they collected many photos, and Shrish, who loves studying and refining archival photos, was excited at the prospect of showcasing them through an exhibition. This first exhibit focused mainly on the stories of Gurkha bajes (grandfathers).

After that, things only went uphill for Shrish, whose curiosity led her to study Gurkha history. Amid her research, perusing books and papers on Gurkha history, Shrish uncovered a concerning gap regarding Gurkha women’s presence or, rather, the lack thereof. She observed an unmistakable and unjustifiable pattern where Gurkha women had scant representation in discussions about their struggles. Gurkha history consistently took the spotlight with only men at its forefront. “It is deeply worrisome when you can’t balance the genders in what is 200 years of history,” says Shrish. This realisation struck her in 2018, between life and her full-time job, it was only in 2020 that she began her research on Gurkha women without looking back.

Shrish packed up her bags, carried her camera, and began her travels with her cousins. She started off her fieldwork by interviewing Gurkha women aged 70 and above, and listening to their stories. She travelled to Butwal, Mangalapur, Kunjalapur, Palpa and Nawalparasi for her research in 2020. Unfortunately, due to the onset of Covid and the budget constraints of travel, her fieldwork had to be temporarily halted.

During this time, Shrish also took on the role of an art director for a film titled ‘A Road to a Village’. She travelled to Bhojpur for production work on the film. Though her research on Gurkha Women had paused momentarily, she enjoyed working on the film.

In 2022, Shrish resumed her research and was back in the field with her camera, and research materials. This time around, Shrish travelled to Dharan, Pokhara, Baglung, Gurkha, Varse and Butwal. The road to fully realise her research outcome wasn’t straightforward—often, it was very difficult to make people understand the purpose of her research. “When we try to initiate new things, there is this fear among people that it will somehow hurt or disadvantage them. That was the case with my research as well. It took patience and building a rapport with the community,” says Shrish. By the end of her research, she had built an indelible connection with the community, and the like-minded people she journeyed with.

The ‘Gurkha Women: An Echo in the Story’ exhibition was held at the Nepal Art Council from November 24 to 29, drawing an explorative and appreciative audience of writers, artists, journalists and politicians. Subsequently, Shrish’s team met with the Nepal Literature Festival Team, and it was decided that her exhibition would be featured alongside other literary works at the festival.

This year, the Nepal Literature Festival went a step further than previous years in terms of artistic showcases. The event had two exhibitions, one of Durga Baral with Vatsyayan and his Barbs, as well as art workshops, interactive stalls with books and reading sessions, food and charity events. Here, the ‘Gurkha Women’ exhibition garnered further audience, with Shrish realising that Pokhara is as much an art hub as Kathmandu.

In the coming two years, Shrish plans to take a step back from her involvement in the arts. Valuing rest as an essential aspect of artistic growth, she, along with her team, is wrapping up her work in Pokhara and will be putting her artistic endeavours on hold for the near future.

Shrish is not without some outline of plans, though. Although she has a penchant for black and white, dark, and midnight colours, she desires to experiment with a more vibrant palette. Her future aspirations include painting and bringing a burst of colour to her canvases.

It will be intriguing to see the results, hopefully within the next four years.