Though time has passed since the Nepali Creators Night by SOAS Nepali Society on 18th January, I felt the urge to write and record it here. A lot of what we share and post on social media can be difficult to find through a Google search and sometimes disappears after a short period. The Nepali Creators Night had speakers Masna X, Samir Gurung also known as Sexy Shishi, Shanti Rai and Subi Gurung. The event was split in two halves and consisted of a panel discussion moderated by Tina Gurung and Swarnim Maden. The two moderators also happen to be part of SOAS Nepali Society.
The panel discussion unpacked themes such as success, societal pressure and education among many. Dance student Subi Gurung touched on the struggles to follow ones own interest and the challenges in convincing family members about her interest to study dance at university. Similarly, Instagram beauty blogger Masna X shared her unconventional journey from dropping out of university to finding her feet on the world of social media.
Making her passion a profession, editor Shanti Rai spoke about the importance of building experience from an early age. Rai highlighted the challenging journey that she faced after graduating and concluded by urging the young adults in the room to be persistent and hungry. Founder of Parcha and dancer Samir Gurung spoke about success and its varying definitions. Having pulled off the first ever large scale Nepali concert, Nepathya at the Wembley Arena, Gurung talked about how the event was a success in bringing people together and radiating joy. He also shared on how certain Parcha events are an outright financial success but the many art and culture focused events are promoted and organised to solely cultivate Nepali arts in the UK. I definitely think the success of these events are in encouraging more young Nepalese to think deeply about their roots and creative expression.
While the event stretched beyond necessary and felt repetitive at parts, the Nepali Creators Talk by SOAS Nepali Society was engaging and relevant to the needs of the many attendees that evening. The questions poured in many and the event proved to be a good time and space to extend network among the attendees. There was a special performance by Juan Du at the event.
I hope the society continue such talk events in the future.
Thanks to Pratish Gurung for the photos.
