Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful… Dreams (of Miss Nepal Contestants)

By Dinesh Wagle on August 10th, 2005 in Wagle Street Journal

What does it mean to be a Miss Nepal?

Who Will Be a Miss Nepal?: Contestants of Miss Nepal 2005 are visiting to different places including Bal Mandir, an orphan center, in Kathmandu. They went there on Monday, Aug 8 and collected information regarding the functioning of the center. All pics by Wagle.

It would be a hasty conclusion to say that beauty and IT have wonderfully coupled into the soul named Chandra Gurung (extreme left in the pic above). But this 21-year-old girl is determined to pass through the ‘standards’ of both of these virtues. That is exactly why the student of IT (bachelor 3rd year) in Kantipur City College is participating in the country’s most prestigious beauty pageant aiming to become the Miss Nepal 2005.

“I plan to pursue the career of an IT professional,” said the Pokhareli beauty carefully caressing an orphan in Bal Mandir, Naxal yesterday. She was there along with her 17 competitor friends to attain knowledge about the functioning of the organization. “[To be in this race of beauty] is to gain new experience for me.”

As Chandra was explaining this to me, Pooja Shah was showing her affection to orphan children by hugging one and putting another to her lap, just like a mother. “I am participating in this competition is to feel something new,” 20-year-old student of Public Youth Campus, a bit sentimental as she was caressing and hugging the child, said while looking toward this scribe. “New things, new friends, new experience and new knowledge.”

Declared second runner-up in the Miss Tourism International three months ago, Pooja has some experiences about the friendships and rivalries among the contestants. “In the beginning, there is no rivalry at all,” said the girl looking at the kid with a smiling face. “But because we are all human, the thought of competition comes when the final hour of judgement nears.”

Chandra Gurung (right) and Pooja Shah are among the 18 contestants of Miss Nepal 2005. Here in this pic, they are seen playing with orphans of Nepal Bal Mandir. For now, they all have one common dream: to be crown the Miss Nepal. Pooja says it is an opportunity to make new friends. Rivlary comes only at the time of announcement, she said.

Now the contestants of Miss Nepal 2005 are going through various training sessions and, as part of that, they have been visiting to different places like this orphan center. When I saw them being briefed by the officials at the center, all girls, decorated in tight jeans and black T-shirt with ‘Dabur Vatika Miss Nepal’ printed in white font on the back were attentively listening the lecture. Many of them asked questions.

Chandra and Pooja are among those hundreds of girls who, in the last 11 years, have participated in the Miss Nepal contest with vigorous sincerity and dedication. The same dream is floating in the eyes of these 18 girls that was seen floated last year in the heart of Payal Shakya. Malvika Subba experienced the same dream, and ultimately became successful to be crowned as Miss Nepal, in 2002.

“You go through a kind of fear and pressure,” Malvika shared her ‘pre-crown’ experience with this scribe in a telephone interview. “And this is an opportunity where you learn things that you wouldnâ��t have learned so easily otherwise.”

The pageant that was started in 1994 will saw its eleventh edition in September 10. [No competition was organized in 2001.]

As it happens every year, criticism of the competition from so called feminists, especially with those from leftist background, has gained momentum. Nepal sees many beauty contests in a year but no other such pageants command the prestige, criticism and debate than that of Miss Nepal competition. Khagendra Shangraula, a celebrated leftist columnist and anti-beauty pageant activist blasted the Miss Nepal concept in his recent piece that appeared in Nepal Magazine this week. He compared the judging of aesthetic values in the competition with that of a clean and beautiful toilet.

Organizers of the event are determined to make it a success. “Itâ��s a huge challenge to organize the Miss Nepal competition,” said Srijana Joshi, a filmmaker who is coordinating the event for the first time this year. “Nothing is negative as such. But some people always look for negative aspect. We are trying to improve the quality of the competition.”

Organizers received 94 applications from different districts of Nepal. Many of them were rejected because they didnâ��t meet the newly set criteria. “She should be a +2 graduate with the age between 19-25,” Srijana said. “And she should be taller than 5 feet 4 inches.”

The responsibility of the organizer, Hidden Treasure, is to select girls, make them capable for the crown of Miss Nepal, declare of the talented as Miss Nepal, and send her to the international forum. But no Miss Nepal has given a mention worthy presentation in the Miss World Competition, the ultimate destination of the process. Miss Nepals’ experience is such that training and grooming in national competition are insufficient to face a mega-event like Miss World. Payal Shakya could be an example. Last year, talking to this scribe within 24 hours of returning Nepal from participating in the Miss World in Sanya, China, she complained of lacking knowledge in many fields. “We lack even basic knowledge about the competition, about presentation and about everything,” she had said.

Organizers have their own version of the story. They don’t disagree with the views from Payal or any other Miss Nepal but blame that for limited amount of money spent in the competition. “We need a lot of money,” Srijana said. “But we can’t have desired number of cash. It is very difficult to find sponsors (Dabur Vatika, for instance). They donâ��t see profit.” Yes, business houses don’t see profit in sponsoring the event because the beauty industry is very small in Nepal.

And there is nothing much of responsibility the girl gets even after being crowned Miss Nepal. Other than occasionally volunteering and endorsing a few products, a Miss Nepal has nothing special to do. Forget about international exposure, she hardly travels the country. Yes, some have gained their bit of celebrity status but no one has been able to find a long-lasting career that they had promised to opt as soon as they were crowned.

So, what really does it mean to be a Miss Nepal? Malvika has her own answer. “It made be self-confident,” she said. “And [the whole process and the crown] taught me about life, about how one should live a life.” If such is the case, I think it will not be a haste to conclude that Miss Nepal has made some contribution in Nepali society.

25 Responses to “Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful….Dreams”

1. Blogbahini Says:
August 10th, 2005 at 6:34 am

OMG!! one of my friends is also participating?? Kudos to her!!
2. sisyphus sharma Says:
August 10th, 2005 at 10:29 am

wagle , with these blogs u prove to me that u r indeed a perfect fool!!no ambiguity whatsoever u occasionaly wish to create !!
3. Blogbahini Says:
August 10th, 2005 at 11:42 am

sisyphus, why are you so much after wagle? sautine aama ko chora jasto? 😛
4. nice Says:
August 10th, 2005 at 12:28 pm

Thank You Dinesh for these refreshing pictutres. Instead of wasting time on useless rallies you should take few photo shots of these beauties also. It refreshes our mind in our daily routine. No more boring politics please. More of these pix and stories should come.
5. Avipsha Says:
August 10th, 2005 at 1:12 pm

uuuhhhuuu!

seems next Sush n Aish (Nepali) are in the offing.

Thumps up, gals !

i know DinWag as a chap with catholic intrests and it really fascinates me that whatever he sees n feels becomes a blog.
6. Bishe Says:
August 10th, 2005 at 3:26 pm

Yet another assembly of sans-substance blah..blah..blah girls like Avipsha and Blogbahini. I would better read Kunsang Kaka in Nepal magazine.
7. arjun Says:
August 10th, 2005 at 3:49 pm

Thanks wagle jee, can i get more about these gals, looks great i mean you have any site for these teen nepal??

like to know more about ???
thanks
8. sisyphus sharma Says:
August 10th, 2005 at 8:07 pm

well, blobbahini i wonder simply how and why u r created!!

mahatma gandhi preaches in his magnum opus �hind sworaj� of celibacy during satyagraha.i do not dare to get that much further coz i haven�t read too much in sex and i do not have any inferences on that.

but this line must be an inspiration for all n sundry who are keener to advertise their faith in democracy : �the state of foreign rule in home must be a mourning to all the freedom fighers. �

something like this is wat i remember now . the point is whenever we believe in democracy n whenever there is absence of democracy n u r ruled by a bunch of people from the comprador and landlord class without ur consent n whenever u r mulling over satyagraha , then it is no different than the state that mahatma gandhi tells us as mourning state .

and how tragic and pathetic it is to talk of the size n height of mammeries of ur fren , blobbahini , or simply check how cool-legged is she to sell herself in the market during such defining but tragic times of our history !!

my point is simply that the fighters of democracy can avoid making such cheap gossip !!there are plenty of fools already doing this n benifitting !!wagle cud sacrifice a little .

well , my tone may be a little harsh or impolite . i accept that n i am simply sorry for that to wagle if he really bothers to mind it !that�s the way i am . i hope wagle wud take those words as ravings of his younger brother !!

by the way i regard myself as the foolest creature amidst all these agonies of existence.
9. funtastic Says:
August 10th, 2005 at 8:59 pm

Wagle Bro wants to cash-in on his internet fame and get himself a gal !! Wish you all the luck ‘cause you gonna need it bro !! 🙂
10. dame Says:
August 10th, 2005 at 9:26 pm

I think the height critiria for selection of nepalese gals r wrong……i don’t think its 5.11”, if this is the criteria i don’t think there r too many bueatiful nepalese with this height

UWB:We first reported the height as 5 ft 11 inches. That�s wrong. It�s 5 ft 4 inches.
11. Romeo Says:
August 10th, 2005 at 10:19 pm

Oh my god! there are still so many juliets how can I enjoy them all in a single life. oh god give me as much lifes as you can.
12. Acharya Says:
August 10th, 2005 at 11:17 pm

I think the height criteria is 4 ft 11 inches, and not 5’11 as mistakenly stated here. Good luck to all the candidates.

UWB:We first reported the height as 5 ft 11 inches. That’s wrong. It’s 5 ft 4 inches.
13. Udayan Baba Says:
August 11th, 2005 at 1:13 pm

Best wishes to all the candidates! , n’ Congratulations to Miss Chandra Gurung, coz’ I know she’s gonna win THE title. Rest of the gals, don’t you worry, there’s always the next time, may be Mrs. Nepal

-good luck, and have faith in yourself, you’ll win for sure,
14. k.lal Says:
August 11th, 2005 at 3:03 pm

Really, Nepali gals are so cute, beautiful and sexy. My dream for marriage was only Nepali gal but could not success due to parential interference. Even though as on today I like nepaleese gals and culture also.
15. eye-of-a-beholder Says:
August 11th, 2005 at 7:03 pm

Blogbahini, can u tell us who is the maiden that happened to be ur pal?
Just a query.
16. Blogbahini Says:
August 11th, 2005 at 11:42 pm

why eye-of-a-beholder? she’s the most beautiful girl in the pictures above 😀

sisyphus, no comments…
17. phulmaya Says:
August 12th, 2005 at 9:01 pm

well, phulmaya is neither beauty nor has ‘brain’. so she knows that she will never be crowned (btw she hates this thing called crown). nevertheless she syas let the gals show what they have (and if they have) and let the men (she thinks such thing matters more to men than boys!) admire if they wish (she well knows what such admiration to many means though). who cares?
18. keti-aasakta: psychicig@yahoo.com Says:
August 12th, 2005 at 9:48 pm

“who cares?” that’s right. I really regret that my mom didn’t go for Miss Beauty Contest while young. Sorry! She was too busy with rearing me, washing my dad’s and mine clothes on weekends, running home and office then and now, boiling hot water while we were sick…blah blah blah.
As a result what?…An educated but still a worthless man like myself who spends his day and night throwing voluptuous eyes over these beauty contestants. But all of sudden I realise one thing she is still the most beautiful lady on earth as ever.
19. keti-aasakt Says:
August 13th, 2005 at 4:25 am

Let me see if you also want to moderate this one.
Here is what I have to say: the beauty pageant contest should go on.
More beauty contests means announcement of more powerful ladies that will help build up a good nation like a prosperous would-be Nepal.
20. ANKUR Says:
August 16th, 2005 at 3:20 pm

some hot, some cold
21. sachitra Says:
August 23rd, 2005 at 2:58 pm

hi didi haru…..
i m very shocked u all r so great u are perfect in everything. do your best. may god bless you all.
byee…..

bahini
sachitra
22. jadiboss Says:
August 24th, 2005 at 6:55 pm

Whatever Srijana jee said that is serious issue for organizers.good analysis.
23. Ritima suwal Says:
August 24th, 2005 at 6:59 pm

This kind of orgnize must be handled by someone who knows about sense of beuty.And Srijana Joshi is one of the vibrant personality who can do and she has plethoras of experience in this field.I was very empressed by her interview in JAN-AASTHA,she was bold and beutiful.She should change this kind of show.
24. call me Says:
August 25th, 2005 at 11:50 am

Yes,Whatever Jodibass and Rittima says.i agree,A kind of kunsang kaka and stupid communist wing always classic in thought.
Shrijana ji,keep it up
25. Chamgu Lama Says:
September 7th, 2005 at 10:46 am

these beautiful gals are doing a great job….