Living life through art

If you live in Kathmandu and have been to Bhimsengola, you have probably seen murals on the wall. You also may have wondered what it meant and who is behind it?

Laxman Shrestha, a street artist of Nepalgunj, had an interest in art since his childhood. However his parents didn’t want him to do art and he had to stop. After that he spent 12 years of his life as an accountant.

One day Shrestha when he was drinking tea with his friends, one of his friends showed a picture posted in National daily.

As soon as he saw the picture, he wanted to paint it.

After he made it, he knew he did not want the painting to just sit at his room and thought of hanging it in a cafe.

Then in 2012 he decided to take his chance and start a career as an artist.

That is when he decided to come to Kathmandu and join Lalit kala.

But due to some financial problems Shrestha had to drop out from the college in the second semester.

However, when one door closes other one tends to open if you work hard.

And as Shrestha was interested in street art from the very beginning, he started his career in one.

Explaining the reason why street art, Shrestha says, “I want to give my messages to the public; I started doing paintings on the wall.”

“And as my hard work paid off, I was selected in the international platform for Asian arts Bangladesh in 2016 and 2018,” adds Shrestha.

From awareness programs to writing slogans and talking about the issues happening in our country, Shrestha has done it all. He has also spoken through his paintings about three issues circling around the Nepali government however all of them were erased.

The journey that he took was not an easy one as Shrestha faced a lot of problems.

“I needed money to not only live but to buy materials and it was hard. And then there were physical and mental pressure from the family and society, but that did not stop me from pursuing my dream," he says.

As for the future he has a target of finishing 101 murals in 2022, which he started in 2018 in Bhimsengola. And now out of 101 murals, he has finished 30 to 40 of them. "I'm doing this for my own experience, to present myself in front of the audience but not for money. And now my parents are supportive and happy with what I’m doing,” Shrestha adds.