That same beauty had impressed me during a brief visit to Nepal in 1968, when I worked at Boris Lissanevitch´s famous Royal Hotel. A vague urge had pulled me back to Nepal to illustrate her beauty. At that teashop on the Raj Path into Kathmandu, I knew what I wanted to do — draw the faces of Nepal´s people.
It was in 1975 that I travelled up the Raj Path in the local bus from Birgunj. During a stop at a teashop, I was struck by the beauty and variety of faces around me.
My materials were simple; plain paper and pencil. The first portrait was of a small, cheeky, Newar boy. In the process of capturing him on paper, he captured my heart. I became involved in his life. Today he is my adult Nepali son.
Drawing the faces of the many ethnic groups of Nepal meant travelling north, south, east, west, all over the country. Being a woman has been a definite advantage. Villagers are more forthcoming, and there is much laughter and interest as they watch a picture emerge. In one Tharu village, in Dang, some Western friends who lived there cautioned me that the people would be shy. In two years, they had never succeeded in photographing even a single villager.