A vivacious artist who left school at a young age to shouder household responsibilitis, Surja worked in the basement of her house as an apprentice to her stone carver father for 15 years before setting out on her own. As a result, today, in her 30s, she remains the first female stone-carver n nepal widley praisd for her brilliant, life-like creations and decorated with awards, among the others, from the king of Nepal.

 

She says that she starts with a slab of stone, which she then divides into seven parts to make sure that the body proportions come out right. She then chips at it for months with a hammer to bring out the desired patterns, shapes and smoothness. She says that each of her stone srulpture takes anywhere from two months to half a year of full time commitment to be ready for shipping.