Family
The Koirala family is a Nepali political family which was key to the organization and development of Nepali Congress and politics of Nepal since first democratic movement. Three members of the family Matrika Prasad Koirala (1912–1997), Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala (1914–1982) and Girija Prasad koirala (1922–1974)have been Prime Minister of Nepal. The contribution of the first two in the institutionalization of nationalism in Nepal has also been highly acknowledged. Many members of the family have joined other political parties as well.
Marriage
Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala was married to Sushila Koirala. Sushila was born in 1923. They married in 1936. She went to the Banaras Hindu University for higher studies. A trained Bharatnatyam and Kathak dancer, she made use of her dancing skills to earn money for the family during difficult times. A quote of Koirala from his autobiography (pages 23 and 24) describes Shushila as follows:
(Photo Source: commons.wikimedia.org)
“I went to Calcutta to see Shushila. She was young and slim. She hadn’t studied much, but was very fair. She once survived kalazar. When I saw her, I felt a lot of regret. I had already seen her, therefore, couldn’t say no [to the marriage offer].”
“However, this changed later. Sushila soon grew to be the popular member of our family. She grew beautiful so much so that my friends used to tell me she was very beautiful. I was so proud of her that I even placed a bet with fellow prisoners in the Hazaribag jail, claiming that my wife was the most beautiful lady in the world. My friends couldn’t agree upon another name.”
That “beautiful lady” died after a quarter century of Koirala’s death in 1982.