[1][2] Bista is considered the Father of Nepali anthropology, and has published popular books such as Fatalism and Development and People of Nepal.

[1][4] He graduated from Patan High School, after which he attended Tri Chandra College.

While working as a government headmaster in a girls' high school in Patan, Bista became a research assistant to Professor Christoph Furer-Haimendorf of London University who was conducting field research in the area of Solukhumbu.

[6] In January 1995, Bista mysteriously disappeared from Jumla District, being last seen boarding a bus to Chisapani[7] or Dhangadhi.

[8] Castaway Man, a documentary surrounding Bista's disappearance was released in 2015.