Judging The Miss Personality Round – Miss Nepal 2012

April 30 2012

“Be Curious, Not Judgmental” once said a wise man. And breathing and feeling the energy exuded in the wise statement I entered the hall where Miss Nepal contestants for 2012 were ready on their tables to be “judged” and yes I was curious to get to know them all.

It was the Miss Personality judging round for the new batch of girls, which one of them informed that this year it would be called “miss confident” for some marketing purposes.

“But well, I am still here to see for myself the girl with the best personality”, I replied her with a smile.

First things first, I felt honored to have been called as one of the judges for Miss Nepal’s miss personality round. “We couldn’t have thought of a better person than you after having won Miss Personality there in your Miss Tourism pageant,” said Shuvarna Chhetri or Suvarna sir as we all call him. “Oh how sweet of you sir, thankyou,” I giggled.

Well, to talk a little about Suvarna sir, he really is the Daddy of the pageant, you know. Suvarna sir will always be there during the training sessions to judging rounds and co-ordinating all the events on the finale. If Rachana Mam (Rachana Sharma) as one paper quoted, is the GURU AMA of Miss Nepal Suvarna sir definitely is the GOD FATHER for the girls LOL. And oh how the contestants love him for his ever patient and humble demeanor.

2012 CONTESTANTS in a glimpse

Anyhoo, going straight to the point, this batch of Miss Nepal is pretty interesting. They’re quite diverse and just so gorgeous and I may get some flak for saying this, but yes a huge leap of improvement from last year’s batch.

I mean last year, one could count in their hands the possible names of the top 3 winners, that is probably not gonna happen this time though. Because this year, the girls hail from studying backgrounds such as medicine, architecture, more than half the girls are really tall like super-tall, they’re very beautiful – feature wise (because I didn’t hang out with them long enough to see if they possessed beautiful souls too lol) and most of them were well-versed.

Foto courtesy: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Missosology-Nepal/251740618234148

Miss Nepal – The whole truth

After having observed several years of Miss Nepal pageants and being a part of it myself, I have come to learn a lot about how Miss Nepal actually works.

First there is the open call for application, then the selection process, then the grooming process (where most girls transform btw) and then the grand finale – where anything can happen. ANYTHING.

One might have their guesses placed on a certain strong contender to win the title but it all really comes down to those 3 hours of grand finale. After a girl reaches the top 10 with her performance in the preliminary round it is the day of the grand finale where an underdog may shine and a leading contestant might fail.

So, I don’t have any predictions at this point of time. Although I do have a few names in my mind that I think would make good Miss Nepals I am open to anyone of the 16 contestants winning it. Because that is the beauty (or is it?) of Miss Nepal pageants, that those who shine on the 3-hour finale will be the winner.

Are Miss Nepal pageants fair? I can tell you with assurance that Yes Hidden Treasure tries their level best to make it a fair one. But you see the 11 judges on the judging panel are no gods. Nepal is a tiny nation, Kathmandu being tinier. And if the girl hails from a strong family background or has business-ties of some kind with the judges who are mostly the “influential” people of the city then Yes! Selected contestants “may” succeed in pulling some strings to their favor.

But that is true of any beauty pageants in the world and that is the whole truth we have live by. And sometimes it is sheer “luck” that determines a winner.

While winning a crown is the ultimate glory, I can say with much experience that it is the journey, the experience of it all that ultimately matters. Miss Nepals surprisingly bodes well not just for the winners but for all who participate in it if they can make it work in their favor.

Well, to give you a familiar example. LOOK AT ME. I came out of my 2010 Miss Nepal rounds without a title but never was there a moment where I thought I was a loser. I always thanked for the experiences Miss Nepal gave me and I always believed that there are so many achievements I am yet to conquer and because I believed it so much, the universe gave me exactly what I was looking for. More successes, more experiences, more joy.

So if there are any contestants reading this right now or any girls out there who wishes to be a part of a contest as big as Miss Nepal I suggest you go right ahead without giving it a second thought. Because as I said earlier its not about winning, it never is. Its about the experience. Win your fears, win people’s hearts, win your self-respect- there is so much to win and nothing to lose.

Contestant’s Profile

That said. Let me just briefly give my evaluations on the girls I met that day. The biggest scorer for me when it comes to anyone’s personality and not just of the contestants that day is HONESTY.

And honesty is something you cant fake. But most of these girls went on with the Cliched Superflous and dishonest takes on “serving the nation” to all the blahs – but you know, we cant stop them. I mean years and again, that is what beauty pageant has taught many girls to be fake idealists and that is when I stopped the girls right away.

“You see, you and I are average humans and we are the same. When someone infront of you is faking to be someone else than him/herself wouldn’t you know”, I asked them. “So stop giving me the kind of answers which you assume that will score you bigger marks because its not gonna happen. Don’t be afraid to show your vulnerable side, don’t be afraid to be brutally honest. Because if you don’t, I will be brutally honest with you , I wont score you well. I am here to judge the best personality and not the best fake answer. So just be yourself”

And after having said this to almost all the contestants, that is when they started loosening up and being themselves except for few of course who went and on with their “beauty pageant-ish” – mannerisms. Well if that works for them with other judges I wish them all the luck.

Starting now with

Contestant number 1 Sonam Singh: Oh boy does she have the prettiest eyes. She is confident, knows what she is speaking and is open to correcting her faults if pointed. I liked her especially her background in medicine makes her an interesting Miss Nepal contestant.

Name: Sonam Singh
Age: 21
Height: 5’5″
Hometown: Sarlahi
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Contestant number 2 Nirmita Subedi: Oh she is a sweet gal, tall and well mannered. I wish she’d be more vocal about her opinions though. But one can definitely see the transformation and the joy of experiences Miss Nepal has brought about in her life and I wish her the best.

Contestant: 2
Name: Nirmita Subedi
Age: 19
Height: 5’6″
Hometown: Chitwan
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Contestant number 3 Shristi Shrestha: Having professionally modeled in the UK many have their eyes set on Shristi and she is quite the girl. Tall and pretty to look at. Shristi should work on strongly putting across her thoughts, with a soft voice and a lot of mix of English and nepali her answers could seem weak at times.

Contestant: 3
Name: Shristi Shrestha
Age: 23
Height: 5’9″
Hometown: Chitwan
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Contestant number 4 Nagma Shrestha: Also a strong contender for the title as claimed by the many participants themselves Nagma definitely has an experience in the media as  VJ for Image TV and has strong communicating skills. Although she seems confident she should curb her tendency to speak only as much as she is asked to. ( I have been guilty of talking too much too so I know lol )

Contestant: 4
Name: Nagma Shrestha
Age: 20
Height: 5’10″
Hometown: Kathmandu
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Contestant number 5:  Subekshya Khadka. Oh how I wish she would’ve first participated in Miss teen before coming to miss Nepal but that is what they said about Payal Shakya and Sadichha Shrestha. The two winners amazed judges and audience alike so hopefully it will work that way for Subekshya too. She is sweet and bubbly and I still see her as a teen beauty queen and perhaps a little too young to be a miss Nepal but all my luck to her to change the way I think :)

Contestant: 5
Name: Subeksya Khadka
Age: 19
Height: 5’6″
Hometown: Lalitpur
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Contestant number 6: Bandana Tandukar is another “beauty pageant” victim who knows the trades of the game and plays safe with prim and proper answers. She is sweet and intelligent and as soon as she was on the receiving end of my “ loosen up- be yourself” speech she quickly picked up the tempo.

Contestant: 6
Name: Bandana Tandukar
Age: 23
Height: 5’7″
Hometown: Lalitpur
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Contestant number 7: Heena Shrestha … mmm Heena is this petite sweet girls again who clearly always wanted to be a part of miss Nepal. I am happy for her to be living her dream but infront of the 5.9” and 5.11” contestants she could be scoring low on the physical beauty aspect. Ouch… beauty pageants – cruel as much as it is beautiful eh!

Contestant: 7
Name: Heena Shrestha
Age: 19
Height: 5’4″
Hometown: Jhapa
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Contestant number 8: Prasansa Rana is participating in Miss Nepal for the second time. After having only made it to the top 10 round last year this would be her second innings in the contest and I was amazed to see that kind of determination. Prasansa for me was one of the most genuine contestants out there, she spoke her mind and she was being herself and I didn’t even have to tell her to be one.

Contestant: 8
Name: Prasansa Rana
Age: 19
Height: 5’5″
Hometown: Kathmandu
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Contestant number 9: Neelam Chand. Before I went to meet the girls it was names like Shristi Shrestha or nagma shrestha came to forefront as they had already been in the media. But I was pleasantly surprised and delighted to meet miss chand. For starters, she is THEEEE gorgeous contestant in this batch just so effortlessly poised and beautiful. I wish her all the luck.

Contestant: 9
Name: Neelam Chand
Age: 24
Height: 5’5″
Hometown: Mahendranagar
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Contestant number 10: Dilacha GC. Oh this girl from Pokhara is a powerhouse of a speaker. She is so well versed in Nepali and the points she puts across are so strong, I loved her attitude to life, living and Miss Nepal in general. My heart goes out to this brave, confident chica from Pokhara.

Contestant: 10
Name: Dilasha GC
Age: 22
Height: 5’5″
Hometown: Pokhara
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Contestant number 11: Rashmita Maharjan has supposedly dropped out of the contest citing health reasons.

Contestant number 12: Anjali Pradhanang is one girl I met at Miss Teen pageant 2010 when I was hosting it. She is the type of girl who is quite an underdog but might surprise you with her sharp answers and timely intellect. In a few minutes of interactions I did manage to give her some pointers as to how to answer as in not be too sugarcoated but answer that should basically stand out, I hope she listens to me.

Contestant: 12
Name: Anjali Pradhanang
Age: 20
Height: 5’4″
Hometown: Butwal
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Contestant number 13: Pronika Sharma was sitting beside Sonam Singh during the judging round so in a way Sonam did overshadow her. I can only hope that she will however put on a fierce game on the finale and not let anybody else overpower her charisma this time. My luck to the sweet, petite contestant number 13.

Contestant: 13
Name: Pronika Sharma
Age: 21
Height: 5’4″
Hometown: Birgunj
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Contestant number 14 Akesha Bista: Is definitely one of the pretty looking girls in the batch and I liked the way she expressed herself. She seemed a little distracted when I was asking her questions perhaps because of the many people moving about in the hall at that time, but still, I believe that if this girl gives her 100% she really does have the potential to win it all. Only if she is determined to strive for excellence that is because other contestants are equally tough.

Contestant: 14
Name: Akesha Bista
Age: 19
Height: 5’8″
Hometown: Kathmandu
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Contestant number 15 Sabita Manandhar: Sabita is another “under the spell of miss nepal” sort of a girl, who has so much to say but tends to go a little direction less with what she is saying. I understand that she cannot express her happiness for all the experiences Miss Nepal is giving her and if she can only contain her excitement for it all, she makes up for a quality contestant.

Contestant: 15
Name: Sabita Manandhar
Age: 19
Height: 5’5″
Hometown: Kathmandu
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Contestant number 16 Alisha Kunwar: Alisha Kunwar also a Miss Teen pageant graduate is another girl on the forefront for her height, beauty and confidence. She has always been this polite and a sweet-natured girl and I wish her all the best.

Contestant: 16
Name: Alisha Kunwar
Age: 19
Height: 5’7″
Hometown: Kirtipur
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Contestant number 17 Indira Rai: Indira is a powerhouse of talent. She sang for me during our session and it was just beautiful. She is definitely in the contest for the experience and to learn as much as she can and I respect her for that and wish her the best.

Contestant: 17
Name: Indira Rai
Age: 22
Height: 5’5″
Hometown: Dharan
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Bottom Line: And well the bottom line is Miss Nepal pageants like any other pageants in the world is very unpredictable. So I wish all the luck and love to all those who are participating this year. As I always say, “agreeing to be a part of a competition, already makes one a winner”- regardless of who wears the crown, every girl out there is a winner in her own right.

Miss Nepal airs live on NTV , this MAY 6, 2012 from the premises of  Hotel Annapurna 8:30 PM onwards. I hope to give you a detailed account of the show in my next blogpost and tell you if in fact the standard of Miss Nepal has hiked up or come down. With time, tell-all-tales will be revealed.

Thanks for reading folks. Until later.

(Photo courtesy: thepnpmedia.com)