Supported and appreciated by his sister for his talents in arts, Kalidas says that to succeed in literature, music, or any other form of art a person requires his own sincerity and labor and that a teacher can only guide him with instructions.

Kalidas still reveres his arts teacher Chaturatna Udash, though banished from the country, for the great sacrifices and skill in arts.

He was a faculty at Durbar High school from 1954 when he along with Chandra Bahadur Shrestha and Jeevratna were appointed by Prime Minister Padma Samsher to convert the Judha Arts School, where he had studied for six years, into a technical school. Kalidas had completed his Bachelors from the J.J. School of Arts in Mumbai.

From 1960 he started to organize art exhibitions. He was invited to Rana palaces to decorate, carve statues, design windows and doors, and to paint the curtains of theaters.

After the demise of his father, he was left the responsibility to run his house. To do so, he started selling his art works and later he established an art gallery at his home. His works were sold for prices between 200 and 250. His creativity led him to paint Nanglo(big plates woven with bamboo slits). They were soon famous to such an extent that he received a contract to paint a hundred thousand such Nanglo paintings. But under condition, that it wouldn't be possible to collect hundred thousand Nanglos and even if he did so, he wouldn't be able to paint them all under the given time of a year, he had to give up the contract.

Shrestha points out that, during the history of Nepali arts, there was a time when arts were almost lost but then during the Malla era, the kings highlighted sculptor crafting. Since then statues and sculptures have prospered in great extent. So underlining its importance in our history, he had proposed His Majesty the King Mahendra to open a College of Fine Arts. With very strenuous efforts, he able to establish the college in 1967; but the Bachelors level was only provided since 1973. And he himself had to run around the hours as the principal of the college. But until the present day, the college still has not been able to provide classes for Masters in Arts.

Presently, he lives at Nardevi's Deu Netpayo; he has seven children and presently with the aid of his wife he is still continuing with arts. He uses watercolor, oil painting and sketches as his medium of arts and can also illustrate his talents in terra cotta sculptures. He has also published educational books on paintings.

He is satisfied that the most of the good artists found in our country nowadays have graduated from his College of Fine Arts, where he had endeavored so much to run it properly. He is presently the chairman of the Nepal Arts Society and suggests that he would prefer some hints that reflect the country's impression in every painting a Nepali creates.