There is a saying ‘a smooth sea does not make skillful sailors’. This means that life would become boring, unprogressive and unproductive without difficulties. And I feel lucky to be going through rough sea to make myself a skillful sailor in the future. 

I belong to middle-class family and my parents could not afford to choose an expensive college for my higher education after my SLC. With the pressure to select a low costing higher education course, I finally chose Lalit Kala Campus. And today I am happy that I chose to study Fine Arts and that my education has given me possibilities for a better future. 

However, there are a very few platforms and opportunities in any field in Nepal. And the art field is no different. My art journey began from Lalit kala Campus and I spent five years of my life studying Fine Arts. Having studied in a government institution, I faced fewer facilities, inadequate infrastructures, and old courses coupled with strikes at the college.

It may sound like I was in a mess and wasting my five years in the college. But it is not so. I agree that I was deprived from the so-called quality education and I had to struggle for opportunities as compared to the students who study in private institutions.

But the best lesson I got from my five years education is -- struggle for surviving. So the system molded me into a person that is able to overcome challenges to achieve my goals and made me stronger. 

During the course of my struggle in the art field, I got a chance to represent my country as one of the team members selected for ‘Kula Kula Bazaar’, an international art exchange event hosted by Asian Culture Center (ACC), Gwangju, Korea in 2016.

When I reached the Incheon Airport in Korea, I was surprised with its beauty and proper infrastructure. Everybody there strictly followed the rules, while everything was systematic and in order.

Moreover, when I reached ACC the huge area including various department of art being facilitated by modern equipment surprised me very much and I was very pleased to experience that I didn’t got it in Nepal. During my one month stay at Korea I was in slight difficulty while communicating to the Korean artists who would not speak English. Other than that I got good hospitality and warm welcome in Korea. 

Along with my team we built seven feet tall sculpture of Lord Ganesh using the unwanted cardboard boxes for the project where everyone appreciated our work. The sculpture symbolically represented the capitalism as the sculpture was built with cardboard boxes used to package branded items. It became the center of attraction at the exhibition and this made 
me realize that being a Nepali we can also make a difference.

And looking at the works of 130 artists from the 130 countries I found that Nepali artists can also compete with international artists though Nepali art students have to face many obstacles regarding infrastructures and quality course. This exposure helped me to learn new things from the new place as well as made me feel proud about myself that we Nepali can also deliver quality though having various hurdles while gaining knowledge in a team. 

Moreover, I found the Korean people polite and warm. And this visit surely changed my mindset and the way I look world.