The Prayer Flag

My name is Anju Moktan. I have spent about ten years with the WPC family. Last year I was reintegrated from the safe home and now am living with my friends in an apartment. Currently, I’m in Grade 12 and this upcoming April I have a final exam to complete my +2 Program. I am super excited about graduation and all the opportunities that will be available. I love painting and during my free time, I am busy exploring new colors to add to my art pieces.
In this painting, I am trying to portray the reality of my childhood short story. This is my small village named Sarikhet, where I grew up and spent my childhood. I have countless remarkable memories there that I will never forget. The most important and unforgettable memory is that my family was from a Buddhist background and I was Buddhist as well. In the Buddhist home of Nepal, everybody used to keep a prayer flag in their yard because the Buddhist people believe that the prayer flag represents peace and prosperity and that should be in everyone's home to promote everyday joy.
When I was young, I used to play with the prayer flag waving in the air in our home and would accidentally destroy it. Because I was so young, I did not know about the value of that flag and how it should be cared for. I want to represent this in my painting and want to say that the prayer flag is valuable and we need to promote those traditions to maintain peace in our lives and carry on our unique Nepali traditions. You can clearly visualize the image of my memories in the painting containing different houses, green hills, and mountains which all have deep meaning in them. The most remarkable of them all is the prayer flag in the yards of the houses. I love to share that this painting demonstrates the importance of promoting prayer flags that symbolize the peace in us all.

Thank You!

Artist: Anju Moktan
Age: 20
Size: 28/36 inches