One man's vision

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By Monica Puri

Published:
28 May 2017

Duration:
8 min read

Words:
1448 words

Segment:
Business

In a country like ours, pageants like Miss Nepal might have been regarded by many as a crazy whim, but it was worth a try

Gopal Sunder Lal Kakshapati has always believed in helping women take on the world. Through The Hidden Treasure's events such as Miss Nepal, he hopes to develop women into more confident versions of themselves. Kakshapati regards Miss Nepal as a pageant that not only celebrates their beauty, but also provides them with the necessary personal development training and skills needed to succeed anywhere in the world. In this interview with VMAG's Monica Puri, Kakshapati shares his vision behind The Hidden Treasure and how he sees Miss Nepal as a platform for empowering women.

What was your vision behind The Hidden Treasure?
In the 80s and 90s, many girls/women would completely dismiss the idea of undergoing training to develop their personalities. In 1994, as  the Chair for Kathmandu Jaycees's silver jubilee celebration and to commemorate the event, I presented the idea of organising a pageant that would attract women who wanted to develop their personalities. It was an idea I had been mulling over for quite some time. In a country like ours, it might have been regarded by many as a crazy whim, since the event is usually associated with glamour, rather than as a platform for personality development. But it was worth a try.
The first Miss Nepal was organised in 1994 by Kathmandu Jaycees--the response was better than we had expected (the international tie-up we had then was with Miss Asia-Pacific). Up until 1997, Miss Nepal was organised by the Jaycees, but the particulars of the pageant didn't really seem to be aligned with their interests. So in order to continue hosting the event, I, along with some of the other board members, founded The Hidden Treasure Pvt Ltd in 1995. It was only in 1997 that The Hidden Treasure would organise the first Miss Nepal World (after we got affiliated with Miss World). But since the standard and quality of Miss Nepal was beginning to degrade, Kathmandu Jaycees proposed to bring together Miss Nepal and Miss Nepal World, and wanted solely us to handle the event. Miss Nepal pageants since then (1998) have been associated with The Hidden Treasure.

Tell us about the challenges of organising the first ever Miss Nepal.
It was more of an adventure than a challenge. Understanding how to make the event a possibility was a puzzle to us. We even flew to Mumbai to observe the events there and learn from them. We would collect as many videos of such events as we could and sit for hours watching them. I even remember carrying back many fashion magazines with me whenever I travelled. But with limited resources, no choreographers, fashion designers or service providers for that matter, we were in a fix. I then approached Rachana to choreograph the event. Shreejana Rana, now the owner of Hotel Annapurna, also managed a boutique then, thus making her our potential wardrobe expert. Things were gradually falling into place, but they were still anything but smooth. Calls for applications had been made, and we still had no sponsors--fortunately, we did get some a week prior to the show. And maybe because the concept was something that had never been done before, everyone from the media to the public were excited to be a part of it.

Developing talent.

The Hidden Treasure was established with these basic objectives--to give continuity to Miss Nepal, to improve and maintain its standard and quality, to provide personality development training opportunities to the youth and also to organise various other events. Our primary objective was and still is to take the Miss Nepal pageant to greater heights. Even with the limited resources we have, we still strive to create a high quality show. We are not focused on making profits--everything is spent on the event itself. I believe this is one of the reasons that has helped create a positive brand image for The Hidden Treasure and Miss Nepal in the public psyche.
When we kicked off Miss Nepal, the public initially focused only on its glamourous aspects. But the contestants were pleasantly surprised to be involved in activities that added to their personality. Due to this factor, many have sought our personality development training even though they are not a part of the event. We now have a set curriculum for anyone interested in our courses. These courses provide career guidance and other training on public speaking, etiquette and the little details that contribute towards building their confidence and personality and honing their talents.

What other events is The Hidden Treasure involved in?
From 2016 onward, we have started a yearly musical event to honour prominent figures in the Nepali music scene. By figures, I mean singers, lyricists and musicians. Usually, what happens is that the frontmen receive all the praise, but we want the audience to appreciate the underrated artists who are truly and equally crucial in creating a piece of music. An autobiography of the artist, which also includes musical notations, is also published.
Yadav Kharel was chosen for our first musical event, where we gathered singers, young and old, to sing 17 songs written by Kharel. I hope events and gestures like these will help keep their masterpieces timeless for future generations to remember and experience.

Miss Nepal's growing reach.

Today, there are at least 139 different pageants for different levels, professions, ethnic groups and so on being organised in the country. Many regional pageants such as Miss Purwanchal, Miss Pokhara and Miss Chitwan are affiliated to Miss Nepal, and their winners get direct entries as finalists of Miss Nepal. We encourage these events as they allow Miss Nepal to be a platform that is representative of different regions across Nepal. The influence of the event has expanded beyond Nepali borders. Mr and Miss Oceania (organised by NRNs for Australia, New Zealand and Fiji) is one such example, which is also affiliated to us.
There are many in society who view beauty pageants negatively. But there's so much people don't understand about the events. Every organiser tries to train their contestants in whatever capacity they can. I believe the kind of training the contestants get from the event will always add to their confidence and personality. Every contestant and every winner has worked hard to become successful in her own right while maintaining her dignity and discipline. In recent years, many contestants have bagged different titles in the international arena, which has also led to international recognition for us. If it weren't for our participants, I think the grandeur associated with Miss Nepal would have faded a long time ago.

What's next for Miss Nepal?

I don't think this is the kind of platform where one can expect something unique out of every season. But we're always looking to add more value to every new event that we organise. We're seeing a huge turnout of applicants from outside the valley, more than from Kathmandu. This year, we held auditions in seven different cities. We want to encourage girls from all walks of life to be a part of this gala. We want to let them know that the pageant is about more than just a crown--it's about empowering them as well.
And this year on, instead of the earlier three, four of the contestants will have the opportunity to participate in different international pageants.

http://mnsvmag.com/news/2017-05-28/one-mans-vision.html