While many would expect a
Miss Nepal to be a celebrity too swamped with appointments to sit down for a long conversation and too diplomatic to give candid responses, Miss Nepal 2014 Subin Limbu turned out to be relaxed, frank and open.
The 23-year-old native of Dharan is articulate, grounded and refreshingly genuine. Even when she speaks about her goals to work for the betterment of the education sector, there is little of the pre-rehearsed beauty pageant answer tone in her voice. She sounds like she means it.
“Participating in Miss Nepal was something that had been on my mind ever since I came to Kathmandu,” says Subin, who came here in 2009 to go to college. “But, it wasn’t until this year that I felt completely ready.”
However, this is not the first time that Subin has won a crown. In 2010, she was named the first runner up in Miss Mongol, a competition that she believes helped her while preparing for Miss Nepal. “During both the pageants, I enjoyed the training sessions the most as that is when
the transition takes place,” she added.
Last month, Subin was appointed Young Conservation Ambassador by World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Nepal. She will be involved with the WWF’s Education Conservation program which works to create awareness on protection of flora and fauna and sustainable development. She will also be engaged in The Generation Green, an ambitious, five-year campaign that mentors Nepali youth.
“Since young people make up a very large part of Nepal’s population, they have a major role to play in conservation,” says Subin. As part of The Generation Green project, 50 well-known mentors are assigned to different youth groups who can join the campaign after pledging to support the values of the green initiative.
“All of us have heard about global warming, globalisation and environment deterioration, I now want to see the impact first hand and disseminate that knowledge to the youth,” she says.
Subin is currently busy with preparations for the Miss World pageant to be held in London on 14 December. The contest requires every contestant to select a project for its ‘beauty with a purpose’ segment. Former Miss Nepal Ishani Shrestha had won in the same category for her dental health camp project in rural Nepal.
When asked what her project is and if she thinks she can bring the international title home, Subin doesn’t want to reveal it. “You will know once the announcement is made,” she says coyly, “but it is related to education.”