About me

Hello, I am Ratna Thapa.

I am passionate about writing and storytelling. I read a lot, write a lot. I write in Nepali, Hindi and English. My stories, essays, opinions and book reviews have been published from time to time in India, Nepal and the UK. I intend to share my writings with you through this platform, which shall include my memoirs, articles, opinions, blogs and pictures.

Some basic details about me are:

Early years:
I was born in West Bengal, India in 1957. I had elementary to higher secondary level schooling in West Bengal.

Initial jobs:
After matriculation, I found a job in Bhutan where I worked for seven years. Later, intermittently I also worked in India’s BRO projects in Sikkim and a small enterprise in Kalimpong.

Education and Training:
After jobs in India and Bhutan were over, I went to Kathmandu in July 1984, and joined Tribhuvan University. Achieved MA degrees in Economics and Public Administration, as well as a diploma in Journalism from Nepal Press Institute. I participated in a number of creative writing and communication courses, training and workshops in India, Thailand, Cambodia, UK, Norway and Nepal, including an intensive IT course in Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok.

Family:
Got married in November, 1981. Have a son who lives with his family in Los Angeles, and a daughter who lives with her family in England. Children studied in Kalimpong after finishing primary education in Nepal.

Career:
Joined Save the Children Norway’s office in Kathmandu in July 1984 and continued working at various positions until August, 2004, with major roles for IT & Communications, producing human interest stories, report writing and developing communications toolkit for marketing and fundraising in Norway.

Next stop – UK:
I left Nepal in September 2004 and joined BBC World Service, London, in 2005 as a News Translator and Presenter for BBC World Nepali Service. After my stint with BBC, I moved to numerous organisations in London – private, corporate and central government. At present I am working in UK Civil Service since 2017, living in London with my family. My permanent residence is in Lalitpur, Kathmandu.

Passion:
I love writing in both Nepali and English in free time. I am also highly proficient in Hindi and have working knowledge of Bangla (reading, writing, speaking).

The writing passion grew within me year after year. I have written many literary pieces, essays and articles that got published in UK, Nepal and India. Today I have earned a number of well known literary friends and fans who are actively writing in North Bengal, Sikkim, Assam, Kathmandu, Bhutan, Burma, Thailand, USA and the UK.

There are Memoirs and Anecdotes sections in this website, which will provide you glimpses of my life, experience and moments, (soon to be added).