Shrinkhala Khatiwada
Miss Nepal 2018

My 2018 journey was life-changing. I was a different person back then. I have had many ups and downs at the beginning of the year. However, with the passing years, new experiences gradually started to unfold. This year earned me the first job after graduating from college. I further turned out calm and confident by participating in Vipassana Meditation. Miss Nepal and Miss World happened the same year which showered me with immense love and support from people across the country. I have learned valuable lessons of optimism and nurtured the ‘never-giving-up attitude’ throughout the journey. I am hoping my 2018 to conclude on a good note meeting up friends on the eve at the college convocation ceremony. 

I am expecting to welcome 2019 with plans to travel all across the country and hopefully promote tourism. As of now, my plans are yet to be organized so I initially hope to place them in order and make sure everything is on the right track. The awards that I have earned at Miss World have shouldered numerous responsibilities which I look forward to performing in a smooth and steady manner. 

Building health posts and catering to medical services for the villagers are short-term achievements. So, my early plan is to go back to Chepang village and work to ensure sustainable economic growth of the people. My priority for New Year will be centered on the projects that I have sought to effectively accomplish enjoying every work and responsibility that comes my way.

Keki Adhikari
Actor, and producer

For me, 2018 was fruitful in many ways. But my decision to produce the film was the biggest achievement of 2018. Earlier, the participation of females in movie production was hardly welcoming. However, I feel delighted to make my early move like a film producer. Initially, I thought I could easily do it. However, it was not as convenient as I had thought it to be. In the course of producing, I got to learn and hone different skills though I had about a decade of experience in the film industry. 

Not just in the film industry, women are gradually increasing their aptitude and proving their abilities in different fields. But, if we really want to bring the change, I think we should provide a feasible environment for both male and female. Likewise, females equally work in a movie so female actors should be paid equal to their co-actors. I hardly make any new year resolutions but rather focus on working whatever comes along. For now, I am producing my next film ‘Kanya Kumari’. The film is based on social issues and is scheduled to start its shooting from April.

Astha Tamang Maskey
Singer and songwriter

2018 has been a year of creation and learning for me. It involved a lot of writing, team building activities,  meetings with producers, videographers, songwriters and collaborators and exploring the indie music scene here in Toronto. Ending the year and looking back definitely has me indulging in nostalgia and missing Kathmandu. Musically, 2018 has been both challenging and inspiring. I released two English singles (More and Muse) and a Nepali single this year (Chodera Najau). 2019 is the year I will be completely focused on bringing my third Nepali album to my listeners. 

I’m also working on a short ‘#AamaChhori EP with my mother Susan Maskey, which I’m very excited to release. However, no concrete travel plans yet, but I’m definitely considering some tour dates which I’ll release the details of as soon as I can. In 2019, I hope to continue my pursuit of balance and fulfillment both in my music career as well as my personal life. I want to make sure I take good spiritual, emotional and physical care of myself and of those around me. What excites me truly more and more is a deep desire to work with young minds. I have spent so many years really learning and honing my craft and I would love to have the opportunity to share that knowledge with someone. As long as I continue to stay creative and focused on songwriting, I’m happy in 2019.

Buddhi Sagar
Author

Overall 2018 is the finest year so far in terms of household activities rather than creativity. I renovated my house—adding another storey, including my personal library. Actually building a library is my childhood dream and it was fulfilled in 2018. 

The year was also productive in term of creativity to some extent. I was part of the movie ‘Burma Jung’ as a scriptwriter which is a social drama based on the Maoist insurgency. 

Further, I completed one-third of my upcoming third novel. Besides that, I focused on fitness and lost some weight too. So, I look forward to fully focus on it and publish it in 2019. Unlike my previous two novels - ‘Karnali Blues’ and ‘Firfire’ - my new novel is based on city life. The character and storyline are also different and this time I’m targeting international readers. The highlight of the year was receiving the draft of the English version of ‘Karnali Blues’. And I look forward to 2019 to publish it. Thanks a lot to Michael Hutt for translating it which will be published by Speaking Tiger Publication House. It is also scheduled for translation into Korean in the near future. 

I’m also planning to lose some weight and I hope to completely quit smoking in 2019. I think traveling makes the mind fresh helping to experience various culture and lifestyle. So I’m planning to visit several places and Manasarovar tops my destination list.
 

 
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