From Goddess to Mortal

“This true life story does that rare service of inspiring the reader with its courage, honesty, and heart.” Trishna Gurung in ECS.

Scott Berry is a very well-known name to me. I came across his book A Stranger in Tibet when I was working on the life and works of Ekai Kawaguchi in Tokyo in 1997-1998. I was very impressed by his narrative style and his ability to combine humanism with the wisdom of culture. Berry has precisely done that in this book From Goddess to Mortal. In this book, he has very effectively presented the personal narrative of an ex-Kumari. Reading this book is like traveling into the realms of very loving, genuine and thrilling experience of a living goddess. This book is a bridge that links the world of innocence with the world of experience. It also shows a unique and rare combination of innocence and power as reflected through the narratives of Rashmila Shakya as told to Scott Berry.

Prof. Abhi Subedi is a playwright and researcher. He is the author of Ekai Kawaguchi: The Trespassing Insider and scores of other books.

“From Goddess to Mortal proves that a lot of the more spectacular stories we hear about Kumaris are wrong.” Mallika Aryal in The Nepali Times

The Authors: Rashmila Shakya was Royal Kumari from 1984-91, Having graduated with a Bachelor of Information degree, she presently works for a private company as a software developer.

Scott Berry is the author of A Stranger in Tibet, Japanese Agent in Tibet (With Hisao Kimura) and The Rising Sun in the Land of the Snows.