Pageant Diaries

A year ago I had done a cover story – ‘Diva Diaries’ for our sister publication, which explored Miss Nepal 2010 – the controversies, the rumors, the contestants and the three winners – Sadiccha Shrestha, Sahana Vajracharya, and Sanyukta Timsina. They were beautiful and intelligent and were very much on their way to overnight fame. Over the year we have all watched them grow as confident individuals , have seen them grounded than they were at the competition and simply turn into exquisite ladies who represented their country at the international pageants that they participated in. Now, the three beauties have now handed over their crowns to Malina Joshi -Miss Nepal World 2011, Anupama Aura Gurung-Miss Nepal Earth 2011 and Sarina Maskey-Miss Nepal International 2011. While we bed farewell to Miss Nepal 2011 winners as they leave for their respective international pageants, one thing lingers on in our minds. How do our beauties prepare themselves for such a mighty event? How do they prepare for the ups and downs of representing a country in an international arena with little support from their home country?

“Going into Miss World all I wanted was to gain experience and memories,” shares Sadiccha. “The experience was out of this world for me which made me compare our national pageant with the international one.”

Sahana had slightly different expectations, “I had no such hope when I went for Miss Earth,” she says. “Infact I didn’t even practice for the talent round as I thought it wouldn’t really matter which I later regretted since there were only 15 girls participating in the talent round and I thought I had a shot at it.” For the Miss International pageant, Sanyukta didn’t know what to expect as it was the first time Nepal was participating in the competition. “I had no idea of what happens in international pageants and on top of that I was the first ever national delegate to this pageant so I didn’t know what to expect. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy and I had to give all that I had got to this competition. I obviously wanted to win, but then again, a lot of effort from all spheres goes into winning an international pageant,” Sanyukta opines.

Surely a lot of effort from all sides goes into winning an international pageant. The organizers, the trainers, the attitude of the participants themselves and of course support from the general public and the government is a must.

“We try to support the beauties in every possible way. Basically we fund for the air fare, prepare them for the international pageants through grooming and training sessions and help them with their wardrobe,” says Gopal Kakshyapati, Chairman of The Hidden Treasure, official organizer of Miss Nepal since 1994.

“Complains are a part of what we do. When we send them for training we do not make a big news about it but one should know we do everything on our own. We have no support from the government side,” he continues. “In 2008, when there was a lot of opposition from the pressure groups we had requested the government for security but in response they sent us a letter saying that they cannot provide us any because of which we had to cancel the event that year. Also Miss Nepal participants who leave for international pageants are not even given a VIP pass at the International Airport.”

Fortunately the girls are thankful for whatever support they get from the organizers. “I believe The Hidden Treasures is doing all they can in their capacity,” says Sahana. “The organizers do all they can to support us but they obviously cannot be financially supportive as other nations because frankly we just cannot compare ourselves to other countries,” Sanyukta aptly says. She also believes that it just does not depend on the organizers but the country as a whole. “Whether we like it or not, the whole concept of beauty pageants hasn’t yet sunk in in the minds of the Nepali people in general, let alone the government.”

The Perception
Very often than not the Nepali people have a habit of looking at the negatives rather than the positives. When Sahana Vajracharya recently took part in Miss Asia Pacific and managed to be on the Top 15, everyone back home did not rejoice at the fact that our country did reach that far, rather the question on everyone’s mind was – how come she could take part in two international pageants? How come no other girl was given preference? Is Hidden Treasure bias to her and so on and so forth. But what no one knew was that the organizers of Miss Asia Pacific had sent Sahana an invitation to participate in the competition. “People would not stop speculating. But the truth is they sent me an invitation to participate,” she shares. But it wasn’t Hidden Treasure that sponsored her trip. “After weeks of trying to get approval from the board, they finally decided to be my National Director, meaning they would be in communication with the Miss Asia Pacific team from my behalf as a guardian and nothing else.” Infact Sahana had to pay for her whole trip – from the travel costs to wardrobe, make-up and the trainings.

Sahana believes that going into an international pageant the second time around helped her focus on what was important. “Whether we like it or not ‘beauty’ is very important in the international pageants. Unlike in Nepal where the beauty queens are judged mostly on their intellect and how well they can answer a question, in the international arena, it is more about how you look and present yourself,” she says. Another bittersweet experience for the beauty was the fact that nobody actually knew that she was participating in Miss Asia Pacific. “After I was announced in the Top 15, girls congratulated me. Sadly no one actually would have known about it in Nepal had I not posted in on my Facebook. I thought, after all the effort and dedication I put up to represent my country, what’s the use when you have no appreciation back in Nepal.

The Importance of International Pageants
It’s a very well known fact that any international event paves way for better economic prospect for any nation. Gopal Kakshyapati says, “Perhaps our government should realize that events like Miss World bring in a lot of business opportunities to a country. When Miss World was held in Sanya China for 5 consecutive years, Sanya gained immense popularity because of which tourist flow increased in the island.” But here in Nepal the organizers face uncountable number of problems even to organize the yearly event. From lack of sponsors to not being able to provide a proper training and technical difficulties, it’s an uphill task just to put up the event. The most discouraging aspect is the fact that there are protests every year regarding the event. “The safety of the girls is always on our minds every year and because of the protests we cannot even conduct the event in a grand manner,” shares Kakshyapati.
A lot of endorsement opportunities also arise out of these pageants. “I don’t know whether people genuinely are not interested in international pageants or that they do not know the benefits of it because only after Sushmita Sen and Aishwarya Rai won their titles, did cosmetics giants like L’Oreal and Revlon started investing in India. It is a business afterall,” says Sahana.

Making it Better
Changing people’s perception is one thing, but how about improving the things that we already have? When I asked the former Miss Nepals of what they think Hidden Treasure can do to make the pageant better, Sadiccha said, “ The only suggestion I have is to hold the Miss Nepal pageant earlier so that we have ample time to train and prepare for the international pageants.” While Sahana believes that the government’s support is what’s needed, Sanyukta thinks that Nepal as a whole should be supportive of the pageants. “At the end of the day we are representing Nepal. No matter how hard the participants or Hidden Treasure tries, it just doesn’t work out without the unanimous support from the whole country,” she says.

But with all said and done we cannot deny the fact that Miss Nepal has come a long way since its inception in 1994 and Kakshyapati agrees. “Even with the hurdles I am very optimistic regarding the future of Miss Nepal. We have been lobbying with the government and women’s activists and have been trying to make them see the bigger picture. Hopefully in the years to come it will get bigger and better.”

Future Plans
While all three girls plan to be involved with Miss Nepal pageant in the future, they all are now focusing on their personal goals as well. Sadiccha continues to focus on her studies and so does Sanyukta. But as the Goodwill Ambassador for NTY 2011 Sadiccha is currently working on few projects regarding the campaign and Sanyukta has her personal projects as well. Sahana however plans to make a mark in the television industry in Nepal. Currently working at Kantipur Television, she wants to open her own television channel as soon as she can.

Here is wishing the beauties the very best for their future.