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Why are there so few women leaders in Nepal, in any field you can name? And what can we do to develop leadership skills in women?

These were some of the questions OWN IT Nepal, a one-day women leadership summit on March 31, explored. The event, held on the occasion of International Women’s Month, and organized by Women LEAD Nepal, took place in Bougainvilla Banquets, Tripureshwor, and saw more than 250 youths come together to celebrate and normalize women’s leadership. The event was organized with an aim to bridge the gap between female leaders and the young women who admire them.

The event was separated into four different sessions: the mainstage panel, the breakout sessions, the workshops and the office-hour sessions. Apart from the mainstage panel, all the other three experimental sessions were curated in a fashion where young women could learn essential leadership skills from accomplished young female leaders of Nepali society. The mainstage panel saw discussions between ‘Women in Public Service and Politics’ with Shanta Manavi (Former Livestock and Poultry Development Minister), Ranju Darshana (Former mayoral candidate for Kathmandu) and Srijana Tiwari (Undersecretary, Ministry of General Administration). Another one was among ‘Women Trailblazers’ with Maya Gurung (Seven Summits), Priya Adhikari (Helicopter Pilot), and Saraswati Adhikari (Circus Kathmandu). Likewise, the third one, ‘Leading Feminist Change’, featured Durga Sob (Founding President of the Feminist Dalit Organization), Dhruba Ghimire (General Secretary of Rural Women’s Action Network), and Laxmi Tamang (Vice President of Women’s Rehabilitation Center).

The mainstage panel was open to everyone attending the event, and smaller experimental sessions were facilitated by women leaders of their respective fields. In organizing this event, OWN IT Nepal created a platform for young women to get inspired, and interact with the women in leadership roles in government and civil society.

Two Australian kids of around 10 are trying to figure out the real name of the items in front: round, steamed balls of flour filled with chicken mince, and three-inch cylindrical pieces of flour filled with pork mince. The first kid says, “They are called dumplings.” “I’m not so sure because these [pointing to the cylindrical piec­es] are called gyoza,” replies the second kind. “But I heard them say ‘momo’ when we bought it,” says the first one. They are unsure but they both relish the taste and I watch them finish two plates quick. I walk to them and ask if they like what they just had. They smile, lick their lips and say they did. I then tell them the story of “momo”, the Nepali version of an item pop­ularly known around the world as dumplings.

A Greek man in his seventies is on a disability scooter. He buys three plates of momo, takeaway, hangs them on his scooter and is on his way out. I smile and ask him if he will finish all three. He says he’ll have one plate and save the other two for his grandkids who are visit­ing the next day.

I tell him, “But this place will be selling momo tomorrow too.” He smiles and says, “I know. I was here yesterday for my dinner, and today because of the foul weather, the event almost got cancelled. So I’m not taking any chances. Who knows with the unpredictable weather of Melbourne?”

A much-travelled Spanish couple in front of me have just ordered two plates of jhol momo (momo dipped in savoury soup), and they want extra chilli sauce on the side. I am intrigued. They tell me, “Momo is the only dumpling in the world served with savoury chilli. Most dumplings we have had around the world come with salty sauces. Thank god for the momo.”

A young Nepali girl shares her enthusiasm with me. “I arrived in Melbourne from Nepal three weeks ago to start my studies. I was abso­lutely homesick. Thanks to these momo, taas (fried mutton served with puffed rice) and chhoila (spicily marinated grilled meat), I can recon­nect with my land and my people.”

These are scenes from the just-concluded Momo Festival orga­nized by Solangture, which was held on March 24-26 at the Coburg Velodrome in Melbourne, Australia. These four stories are illustrative of the smiles spread by the Momo-Fest on the faces of more than 20,000 people who attended.

The Momo-fest was not only a gathering of Nepalis enjoying their favourite foods. It was also a pan­orama of Melbournians and visiting tourists, from Australia and abroad, connecting with Nepal, reigniting their gastronomic delights with Nepali cuisine. Added to this was an opportunity to enjoy soulful Nepali classical and folk music, played by Kutumba, and a platform for Nepali businesses to promote their products and services in Australia and beyond.

Raju Shakya, Creative Director of Solangture, describes the Momo Festival as a vehicle for promoting Nepal, its culinary delights and the overall message of peace and har­mony that Nepal embodies.

He explains that Solangture aims to connect cultures and assist in multicultural integration in Aus­tralia and beyond. “What better way to spread love and harmony than through the vehicle of food?” Raju asks.

A key issue that was also a stand-out was the management of rub­bish. Considering that the festival was organised over 7,000 sq meters of land with over 20,000 people attending, there was fear of how the rubbish would be managed. But the organizers left the space perfectly clean after the event. Sol­angture needs to be congratulated on this front.

The Momo Festival was also col­lecting donations for the MIT Foun­dation, a charity registered in Aus­tralia with the aim of helping rebuild schools and health institutions in Nepal, especially those devastated by the earthquake in 2015. Solang­ture collected AUD 10,700 in dona­tions during this momo-fest and added another AUD 1,300 from its own coffers for a total of AUD 12,000 for the cause.

This highlights the ‘giving’ nature of Melbourne residents and the role Nepali cuisine can play to bring different cultures together. Hip hip Hurray. Hip Hip Momo .

By Ashish Sitoula, Melbourne

Twin sisters Mayanka and Mahi­ka Rana are both tennis prod­igies. At 17, they have already notched up many achievements, both personally and for the country. They are top seeded tennis players in the Doubles, Juniors and Women categories and are geared to rep­resent Nepal in professional tennis tournaments around the world. Now with around two dozen titles between them, the two started play­ing tennis at seven. “Our family has been the biggest inspiration,” says Mayanka. Their father, Manoj SJB Rana, is a ranked player in the International Tennis Federation Seniors category and their mother, Jyoti Rana, is the president of the All Nepal Tennis Federation, the official lawn tennis body of the country. “We started as a hobby but then we began playing in tournaments and winning, which motivated us to be professionals,” Mayanka adds.

Tennis is still an elite sport in Nepal today. Learning, practicing and playing tennis is a big expense, which makes the sport quite exclu­sive. As such, compared to other sports, tennis attracts fewer players.

“To overcome this problem, we have started the Junior Tennis Initiative program to train children at minimum cost,” Jyoti says. “This seems to be bearing fruit as we now have children starting tennis at a very young age. Of them, we can select a few with strong potential for further training.”

But many young potential national play­ers have quit tennis to give more time to their studies or have gone abroad for further studies. “Players also quit because it is difficult sport to rise up,” Mahika says, “You need to win a lot of games to reach the top. The players who have reached the top find it difficult to lose and move down the rankings.”

The Ranas sisters, howev­er, seem to be determined to con­tinue playing tennis professionally for the country. The two, who study A levels at the British School, prac­tice every day after school. With internation­al tennis stars Serena Williams and Roger Federer as inspirations for Mahika and Maynka respectively, the duo wants to make it big in international tennis events. When asked where they see them­selves 10 years down the line, they reply in unison, “Playing at the WTA [Women’s Tennis Association, the main body responsible for inter­national women’s tennis] tourna­ments. And if we get better, maybe we’ll be playing in the Grand Slams too.”

Playing together in the doubles format and against each other in the singles category, the Rana sisters have participated in many nation­al and international tournaments, including the 2014 Asian Games held in South Korea. They are once again representing Nepal in the 2018 Asian Games, slated to be held in Indo­nesia from August 18 to September 2. Currently, the Rana sisters are representing Nepal at the Raipur ITF Juniors and playing directly in the Main Draw without having to play the qualifiers because they have received international ranking.

“I am going to the US to play col­lege tennis,” Mayanka says, “I have been selected in a program at Saint Leo University, Florida where I will be studying business as well as hon­ing my tennis skills.” Mahika wants to follow suit and is working on her college application, and hopes to get into the same university. But are they leaving the country for good, like many others? “No,” they reply in unison again, “we are going there because they have better resources and many competitive tournaments.

“We might stay there and represent Nepal in international tour­naments and come back whenever we are required to,” they say. Their next target? The SAF Games that Nepal is hosting in 2019.

BHAKTAPUR: The photos of Kathmandu valley and its sur­roundings taken during 1950s by renowned Swiss geologist Dr Toni Hagen is being exhib­ited in Bhaktapur. His daugh­ter, Katryn Hagen, inaugurated the exhibition in Ganchhe of Bhaktapur Municipality.

Conservationist Rabindra Puri informed that the 50 photographs taken by Toni Hagen would be exhibited till April 1, adding that the exhibit was being organized to encourage people to conserve heritage. RSS