It is my great Pleasure to inaugurate, "he Beauty of Nepal Flora" by the very Talented ande the Only botanical illustrator in Nepal Mrs. Neera Joshi Pradhan with H.E. Ambassador Nicola Pollitt at the Siddhartha Art Gallery this evening.

You may be wondering why I am speaking first. It is only because I am eager to introduce H. E. Nicola, who has been here for already a year in Kathmandu. Due to COVID-19 , our Nepal Britain Society has not been able to welcome her in grand manner and conduct any programmes. Now with vaccinations on the way and with covid-19 protocols we are finally able to meet her and also to enjoy this art exhibition, and meeting friends this evening.

H.E. Nicola is the first lady British Ambassador in over two hudred years and is the 40th British Ambassador to Nepal which is making history for both Britain and Nepal.

The Nepal Britain Society Celebrated the 200 years of Nepal Britain Relations in 2016 with plenty of programs with talk programs at exhibitions, a Shakespeare play 'A Midsummer's Night Dream, a musical evening and plantation program at the Botanical Garden in Godawari by President Bidya Devi Bhandari with Plants from the Royal Botanic Gardens of Edinburgh in Scotland supervised by Dr. Mark Watson from Edinburgh and his team and distinguished Regius Keeper Simon Milne MBE was also present with Late Ambassador Richard Morris. Since this exhibition is about botanical art and the exquisite flowers and Nepalese plants that Neeraji depicts, I would like to share with you my visit to the Royal Botanical Gardens in Edinburgh. Besides visiting the fabulous gardens with our family, Dr. Mark Watson , chief of Flora & Fauna, who was our friend and guide and who is a great friend of Nepal. We were also very privileged to see the archives and library and filing system of flowers, plants & flora at the main library which was a rare treat for us.

Neera Joshi herself has exhibited in Scotland and in 2015, at the Kathmandu Contemporary Art Center in Patan Museum. She took Part with British artists from the Royal Botanical Gardens in Edinburgh where their Beautiful drawings and art work were their Beautiful drawings and art works were displayed. In 2016 , she also displayed her works for 200 year relations in Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh.

The highlight of the two hundred years of Britain Nepal Relations was of course the Royal visit of Prince Harry, Prince Henry of Wales, which sealed the goodwill and friendship of our two countries and especially after the 2015 earthquake which was a very big national disaster for Nepal .

Great Britain has always been our great friend and ally and has contributed millions of pounds in aid for the development and poverty alleviation of Nepal. Besides exhibiting in Britain and many other countries which are mentioned in the catalog which I have personally sponsored. Neera will also be participating in the Florence Biennale in Italy, the first time that a Nepalese artist has been invited to Participate which is very exciting for the Nepalese artists could follow after her shining example.

In September the Nepal Britain Society is Planning to put on 'As you like it. by William Shakespeare at the Shuilpee Theater and the actors are the New Shakespeare Wallah's promoted by our very own Nepal Britain Society . We hope that all of you will be able to attend and enjoy this wonderful drama directed by Mrs. Greta Rana (MBE), our devoted Board member of the Nepal Britain socity. She is also a writer and has published many novels. She is Present amongst us today.

I Would like to wish Neera Joshi Pradhan a great success for her beautiful exhibition today and thank Mrs. Sangeeta Thapa for curating and organizing as always, a wonderful show at her gallery .

I would like to thanks Amit Agrawal of greenline for sponsoring and providing the wine & Sanjiv Pandey NBS member for helping with the exhibition.

Finally, I would like to thanks H. E. Nicola Pollitt, British Ambassador, for accepting our invitation and graciously opening the exhibition this evening.

Pande is the president of Nepal Britain Society. Excerpts of her statement delivered at inaguratal ceremony of Art Exhibition of Neera Joshi Pradhan at Siddhartha Art Gallery.