An unlikely amateur photography duo of teacher and student, Fr Greg Sharkey and Alok Tuladhar, have been taking pictures for over 20 years and a selection of their work is on display at A Peaceful Nepal photo exhibition at the Godavari Alumni Association (GAA) in Thamel.

Alok is an IT specialist who owns nepmed, a medical transcription company that is outsourced work from hospitals abroad. Greg is the moderator of GAA and director of the Jesuit Research Centre besides being an anthropologist who specialises in Newari culture and Buddhism.

Their portraits and landscapes, mainly from eastern Nepal, bear testimony to the fact that the two take their hobby very seriously indeed.

Faces are my favourite though Nepal is so photogenic I enjoy taking pictures of landscapes too, explains Alok. Greg is also inspired by Nepali faces: Most of the people I photographed had their lives disrupted by the insurgency but it is Nepali resilience that keeps them smiling through such trying times.

The photographs are priced at a moderate Rs 300 for reprints and Rs 500 including frames. Money from the sale of pictures will go to the Habitat for Humanity program which will build houses for the homeless at minimum costs. Alok and Greg hope to raise enough money from their exhibition to further subsidise building costs. Greg also wants the exhibition to promote the GAA complex as a cultural and artistic haven for ex-Xaverians and Marians.

Says Alok: This exhibition is a chance for the Nepali people to communicate with fellow-Nepalis through their smiles. We are just the medium.

Aarti Basnyat