Back after her fifteen days’ stay in London as a participant representing Nepal for the Miss World 2011, Malina says she has learnt a lot and can’t wait to train the New Miss Nepal contestants.[break]
Currently doing her MBA, she strives to be an entrepreneur and provide jobs for the youth in the country so that “they can stay back.”
Malina, who was selected among the finalists for the “Beauty with a Purpose” contest, believes nothing is impossible and claims to have fallen in love with Nepal all over again after her trip to London. She shares with us her experiences.
Upon reaching London
The first feeling was that I was physically exhausted. However, the excitement to represent Nepal was great. We had a brief introduction at the arrival lounge itself. Girls from all over the world were there and we were going to stay together for 15 days like a family in and around majestic London.
The feeling was overwhelming but my mind was always on the crown. This time, the pattern of Miss World was different. We had to earn points through the pre-final rounds. The contestants would be ranked accordingly. I knew I had to prove myself right from the first day.
The preliminary rounds
There were quite a few of them. We had the Talent Round, the Beach Beauty, the Top Model, and the Sports Awards. All these were tough in terms of the activities we had to perform and even tougher for me because the ladies from other countries were very much into sports and modeling. Also, while in the talent round there was a huge miscommunication that left me devastated.
Actually, I was all set to perform a Nepali traditional dance piece but at the middle of my performance, the judges told me that the Talent Round did not permit traditional dances. I lost a lot of marks right there. The judges, however, liked my dance so much that I was asked to perform at the finale.
Sports
While at Miss World, I realized how behind we are in sports activities. I did go to the gym while in Nepal but not as often. Sports had never been of much importance to me, but the ladies there were amazing. They ran like the wind and swam like fish. I was stunned and regretful for not preparing myself for sports.
It’s a good thing that schools these days are paying more attention to extracurricular activities. Our coming generation will definitely not lag behind like me. It’s a very uncomfortable feeling to see other participants perform tremendously well and make you realize you will never reach there.
It’s definitely tough
It’s not only the physical activities that are tough, the whole session is tough. Believe me, there are moments when you wish to just fly back home and cry your heart out. You realize how lovely our culture is right from the moment you reach a foreign land.
You can stay gloomy and quiet in a corner all day and nobody will bother to come and talk to you. Also, while at Miss Nepal, we girls were never so obsessed with the crown and everyone had friendly relations. But it’s different there. Maybe it should be like that because we were there to compete, after all.
I have great friends
I must confess that I made quite a few friends at the pageant but my friends back home are incomparable. It’s always great to have friends you can cry with. Although, while at the competition, we weren’t allowed to use any kind of social media, I got a few opportunities to talk to my friends back in Nepal.
Talking to them worked like a therapy for me. During the final days, I lost hope many times and it was then that my friends boosted my confidence in such ways that I accepted everything with a smile. Even the ghumto I wore at the dance belongs to my friend who got married a few months ago.
On stage
Other ladies might differ, but I wasn’t all nervous during the finale. We had practiced on that very stage for many days which left me quite confident. Also the format of the show was quite similar to Miss Nepal, with the song singing part and the walk.
If there was one thing that was making me slightly conscious, it was the fact that there were a few Nepali people in the audience and I didn’t want to falter and disappoint them. My small piece of dance on the stage was my way to show my love for my country. When all the ladies stood in a Namaste position while I danced, I felt like the whole world was saluting my country.
Back home
There’s no place like home, and I’m thankful to have been born in Nepal. I would like to tell all the ladies wanting to be a Miss Nepal someday that all you need is to have faith in yourself. There are girls who are 5’3”in height. And it’s okay to not perfectly use a knife and fork or be perfectly dressed all the time. At Miss World, these aren’t the judging criteria.
(Malina’s current Facebook status reads: Nepal, not less than London, only the buildings are taller, the streets are wider and yes lot of trees after every blocks ... you might see problems in our country but instead i see opportunities in it ... Nepal is very small geographically compared to other developed nations of the world .. so it is easier to bring development in Nepal .. its not that difficult .. trust me on this ... only a power and tolerance to bring and accept change is more than enough ...)
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