Louisa Kamal: Writer & Photographer

29/08/2025

It's still the Monsoon season here in Nepal, with 4 or 5 more weeks before the blue skies of Autumn start. But these gorgeous grasses herald the cooler, crisp days to come and gladden my heart!

20/08/2025

A few days ago Krishna Ashtami--the birthday of the Hindu god Krishna--was celebrated in Nepal. It is the custom for small boys to dress up as Krishna on this day in yellow outfits, usually incorporating a peacock feather--one of the god's symbols--in the headdress. I captured this image of one such Little Krishna.... doesn't he look cute?

15/08/2025

You know you are a dog person when, after spending hours trying to get the best possible pictures of a cultural event, your personal favourite image of the day is this: 2 dogs in the courtyard of a bahal, paw on paw, proving that the comfort that a touch brings is not limited to humans. What a joy!

10/08/2025

The Monsoon is my least favourite time of year in Nepal....and it is a long one: from early/mid June through to early October. As long as I am at home, it's quite pleasant to watch the rain clouds approach from one side of the Kathmandu Valley or over the ridge of the Shivapuri massif behind us, then feel the gentle coolness as the rain starts to fall. But when it doesn't rain for several days? That's when the heat and, more especially, the humidity start to build up, making everything that much more tiring and 'difficult'. Roll on October!

07/08/2025

After far too long a gap, I am starting to upload my accumulation of articles on Medium. Do read if you have time!

Anyone with the slightest interest in Tibetan/Vajrayana Buddhism will sooner or later come across the name of Padmasambhava or Guru…

03/08/2025

Application submitted today for this one-month writers-in-residence programme in Hong Kong next March. It's a long shot, but I did my best to compile a persuasive set of documents. Wish me luck!

02/08/2025

It's been a while since I went anywhere in the Kathmandu Valley with the aim of taking photos. I was therefore glad when yesterday dawned cloudy but dry so we were able to go as planned to Patan to witness a Newari Buddhist celebration known as Panch Daan. I realised how much I have missed using my camera so vowed to actively look for another opportunity soon.... shouldn't be too difficult with the big festival season of Nepal approaching soon!

29/07/2025

Inevitably I get asked what is my religion....I assume that is because people are confused to see me paying respects in a Buddhist gomba or a Hindu Mandir. After all, I am Western so I must be Christian, right? Actually, wrong. I dislike putting labels in religion or myself. The best answer I can give is to quote the words of HH the Dalai Lama: "My religion is kindness!" 🙏🙏🙏

27/07/2025

Once again I have to apologise for not posting anything for several weeks yet again. All I can do is to promise to try to do better. Finding time is difficult, for sure, but making time is always possible, I believe.

This is such a happy photo...it was taken at home a few days ago when I invited a some friends round for a belated birthday celebration, having done nothing to mark the occasion since returning to Nepal in early June. It was a really enjoyable afternoon, with good company, sparkling wine and a delicious cake...a milestone in life which I will always treasure!

04/07/2025

Yesterday I was delighted to enter into a formal collaboration with Café Imago not only for the stocking and sale of my books, but hopefully extending to discussion groups and the launch of my third book there (next year!). For those of you who have not yet discovered Cafe Imago, it is an oasis of peace and gentility tucked away behind the I-Care Centre in Naxal: definitely my favourite place in town for coffee and carrot cake! Long may our collaboration thrive!

08/06/2025

Late on Friday afternoon I arrived back home after almost 2 months of travelling in the UK. It's a strange feeling being 'home', but having just left a 'home' behind me: the place where I was born, grew up, and was educated. And don't I also have 'homes', intangible and otherwise, in both Thailand and Japan, two other countries where I lived for considerable spans of time? Perhaps 'home' is simply a place where we have put down roots, where we have left our imprint and which has also imprinted itself upon us in various ways. How would you define 'home'?

31/05/2025

It's strange how, after having lived abroad for 40 years and feeling comfortable wearing a range of ethnic garb, including kimono, yukata, lehenga, kurta surawol, I come back to the UK and feel very English in this exquisite Laura Ashley sweater which seems to encapsulate all the joys of a meadow in Spring!