Sushila Koirala (; 1923 – 13 July 2007) was a Nepalese classical dancer and

theater director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

. She was the spouse of B. P. Koirala, the first ever democratically elected

prime minister of Nepal The Prime Minister of Nepal ( ne, नेपालको प्रधानमन्त्री) is the head of government of Nepal. The Prime Minister is the head of the Council of Ministers of Nepal and the chief adviser to the President of N ...

. She was known for her contribution towards Nepali art, theatre, and girls’ empowerment; and for backstopping in democratic activities during the critical and raw era of social change and politics in

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

Personal life

Sushila Koirala was born in 1923 in Kapilvastu in

Lumbini Lumbinī ( ne, लुम्बिनी, IPA=ˈlumbini , "the lovely") is a Buddhist pilgrimage site in the Rupandehi District of Lumbini Province in Nepal. It is the place where, according to Buddhist tradition, Queen Mahamayadevi gave birth ...

. She married B. P. Koirala in 1936 and went to

Biratnagar Biratnagar () is a metropolitan city in Nepal, which serves as the capital of Province No. 1. With a population of 242,548 as per the 2011 census, it is the largest city in the province and also the headquarters of Morang district. As per the p ...

. She attended and completed school level education there in Biratngar. Later she studied at

Banaras Hindu University Banaras Hindu University (BHU) IAST: kāśī hindū viśvavidyālaya IPA: /kaːʃiː hɪnd̪uː ʋɪʃwəʋid̪jaːləj/), is a collegiate, central, and research university located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, and founded in 1916 ...

in Banaras in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. She also studied

Bharatnatyam Bharatanatyam () is a major form of Indian classical dance that originated in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the eight widely recognized Indian classical dance forms, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas, particularly of ...

and

Kathak Kathak ( hi, कथक; ur, کتھک) is one of the eight major forms of Indian classical dance. It is the classical dance from of Uttar Pradesh. The origin of Kathak is traditionally attributed to the traveling bards in ancient northern Ind ...

, major two forms of Indian classical dance there in India. Sushila Koirala was also trained in Manipuri dance. Her husband B. P. Koirala has described her as "young and slim" in his autobiography entitled

Atmabrittanta Bisheshwor Prasad Koirala's ''Atmabrittanta (Late Life Recollections)'' is the autobiography of a prominent political figure and the first democratically elected Prime Minister of Nepal. In the book, Koirala recounts his early life in India, th ...

, and has added that she survived kala-azar. Sushila Koirala died on 13 July 2007 in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Career

Sushila Koirala has always believed that art, dance and music are Universal languages that unite everything and everyone around. In 1959, her husband had become the Prime Minister but she was never comfortable with the trappings of power around her. Rather, she decided to open a dance institute in Biratnagar and established a dance centre at her home there. Which was possibly the first classical dance centre in Nepal. She would visit her husband in Kathmandu casually only during the necessity of her presence as the

first lady First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state fo ...

of the country. It is said that, once the then royal couple of Nepal asked her why she was not in Kathmandu acting as the hostess to her Prime Minister husband, and she responded saying she had to give time to her dance center in Biratnagar. When Sushila Koirala was in

Patna Patna ( ), historically known as Pataliputra, is the capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Patna had a population of 2.35 million, making it the 19th largest city in India. ...

during 1950s, she actively worked to establish a performing art institution there too. She and her friends like

Hari Uppal Hari Uppal (1926–2011) was an Indian classical dancer and the founder of a classical dance academy by name, Bhartiya Nritya Kala Mandir, known for his expertise in the dance forms of Kathakali and Manipuri. He was honored by the Governmen ...

collected donation fund by door to door campaign to establish

Bhartiya Nritya Kala Mandir The Bharatiya Nritya Kala Mandir (meaning ''Indian Dance Arts Temple'') is an arts and crafts museum and a multi-purpose cultural centre located in Patna, in the capital of Bihar, India. History The foundation stone for the institution of art ...

there in Patna. They laid the foundation stone for the building of the institution in 1950. The institution was later got fully established and opened in 1963 when Koirala was facing the consequences of political crisis in Nepal. Sushila Koirala made use of her dancing skills to earn money for the family during difficult times of her husband's imprisonment after 15 December 1960.

Legacy

Sushila Koirala was passionate about dancing and she always wanted to open an

art academy An art school is an educational institution with a primary focus on the visual arts, including fine art – especially illustration, painting, photography, sculpture, and graphic design. Art schools can offer elementary, secondary, post-seco ...

in Nepal. Koirala's granddaughter-in-law Yulia, opened Sushila Arts Academy named after her in

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

. Theatre group Aarohan Gurukul has named one of its theatre halls in

as ''Sushila Koirala Theater'' on her honour. She was the first ever

theatre director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

from the city. She had directed the play Ma by

Balkrishna Sama Balkrishna Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana or Bala Krishna Sama ( ne, :ne: बालकृष्ण सम, बालकृष्ण सम; 8 February 1903 - 20 June 1981) was a Nepalis, Nepalese dramatist. For his great contributions to Nepali litera ...

in the year 1951.

Honour and accolades

In 2007, Sushila Koirala was honoured with the Gangadevi Chaudhari Memorial Honor for "her contribution in women empowerment and awareness".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Koirala, Sushila 1923 births 2007 deaths People from Kapilvastu District S Banaras Hindu University alumni Spouses of prime ministers of Nepal 20th-century Nepalese dancers Nepalese dancers Nepalese theatre directors 21st-century Nepalese dancers Nepalese Hindus

Personal life

Career

Legacy

Honour and accolades

See also

References