Organized by Nepalese Fashion Home, the competition this year saw 36 contestants all eager to walk the stage and present their answers to the jury to show their capabilities.[break]
“We Newars have a very rich culture but haven’t been successful in showing that to the world. The objective of organizing Miss Newa and Miss Little Newa is to showcase Newar culture and talents to everyone,” Chairperson of Nepalese Fashion Home Hema Manandhar shared the vision leading to organizing these pageants every year.
The contestants went through a three-week training period where they were engaged in various confidence-building activities, a professional photo session, and classes in Nepal Bhasha, the language of the Newar Nation.
The grand finale consisted of an introduction and a question-answer round followed by an attire round where the contestants donned dresses designed according to their personal choices. The Top 15 were selected and again the jury placed questions to the contestants to filter it down to the Top Seven.
The deciding question, “Is it right or wrong for children to be given cell phones?” was placed in front of the seven contestants, the answer to which had to be given in writing.
The nine-member jury made up of personalities from the Newar community then declared the Top Three.
Sashmita Prajapati was crowned Miss Little Newa 2012 while Lumana Maharjan took away the title of the First Runner-up followed by Anisha Khadgi as the Second Runner-up for Miss Little Newa 2012.
The winners took away cash prizes worth Rs. 10,000, Rs. 7,000 and Rs. 5,000 respectively. Awards for other categories, such as Miss Charming, Miss Photogenic, Miss Best Nepal Bhasha, and Best Attire were also given away.
“We had satisfactory number participants this time. Unlike previous years, no one in particular stood out as “the best” or “sure winners” during the training and the final event. But I’m happy about the winners,” Manandhar commented.
Nepalese Fashion Home organizes pageants such as Miss Newa, Kid Queen Nepal, Master Star, and is now set to introduce a new pageant for teenage girls – Miss Princess Nepal.
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