NayanTara Gurung Kakshapati lives in Kathmandu, Nepal and works at the intersections of visual storytelling, research, pedagogy, and collective action. In 2007, she co-founded photo.circle, an independent artist-led platform that facilitates learning, exhibition making, publishing and a variety of other trans-disciplinary collaborative projects for Nepali visual practitioners. In 2011, she co-founded Nepal Picture Library, a digital archiving initiative that works towards diversifying Nepali socio-cultural and political history. NayanTara Gurung Kakshapati is also the co-founder and festival director of Photo Kathmandu, an international festival that takes place in Kathmandu every two years.
Nepal –
BEING NEPALI in the New Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal
Tharu. Chhetri. Danuwar. Gurung. Lohar. Newar. The Nepali people belong to 102 ethnicities, castes and other groups and speak 92 living languages. Amidst sweeping political changes, it has become very important to define oneself along ethnic lines, to show where loyalties lie.
There has been injustice tied to differences. The fight for rights and recognition is genuine and important. But how can the people of Nepal safeguard themselves from short-sighted, power-hungry identity politics? Will drawing federal state lines along ethnicity really ensure better livelihoods and brighter prospects for future generations?
What will it mean to be Nepali in the new Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal? With these portraits, I attempt to highlight the diversity of the Nepali people by concentrating on each individual’s unique facial features. I strip each individual bare of all stereotyped ethnic identifiers, such as clothing and jewellery. By making the portraits as uniform as possible, I attempt to find similarities amidst differences.
Emaho caught up with photographer Nayantara Gurung Kakshapati, co-founder of Photo.Circle
Manik : How did photography become your chosen profession?
NGK: I was always a visual person, this I realised when I was really young. Images have always made lasting impressions on me. I was trained in the social sciences and eventually photography became the medium I could best engage with social issues and life in general.
Manik : Your work focuses solely on Nepal. What made you return home after studying abroad?
NGK: While in high school, I used to volunteer for an NGO that worked in reproductive health acrossNepal. I got the opportunity to travel across the country and see how things worked, or did not work. Experiencing that when I was young really helped to shape my world-view. When I left for college to theUS, I always knew I wanted to come back home and work inNepal. Being away helped me see a bigger picture. Since being back, I haven’t had the time to step away – there is so much happening here inNepal – so many stories to tell, so much work to be done.
