Waldorf resident crowned Miss Nepal USA By Sara K. Taylor, Wednesday, December 7, 9:32 AM Sujita Basnet does not consider herself a pageant girl, and never has. But when the opportunity to compete for the inaugural title of Miss Nepal USA come about, the George Washington University freshman and biomedical engineering major decided to give it a go.       inShare (Gretchen Phillips/Maryland Independent) - Sujita Basnet, 18, and sister Nisha, 6, in traditional Nepalese garments.   “I was looking for a platform to represent my country,” said Basnet, a 2011 North Point High School graduate who spent her early childhood — from ages 1 to 5 — living with her grandparents in Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital, while her mother completed her studies in the United States. Miss Nepal USA is a position that calls for the title holder to celebrate Nepal’s culture and arts while inspiring pride among Nepalese people living in the United States. Auditions around the country attracted 27 young women between ages 18 and 27, none of whom, Basnet said, had much beauty pageant experience. The 27 women who made the finals after auditions spent a week in the summer in New York City training for the pageant, but it wasn’t a cutthroat situation, Basnet said. “I think there is a misconception about pageants,” she said. “It’s not all about hair and makeup. There were no drama queens. It was pretty laid-back. After a week of training, we were sisters.” The first runner-up was Tilasmi Bista of California. Nabina Basnet of Texas, who is not related to Sujita Basnet, was the second runner-up. The pageant was open to women who were born to Nepalese parents, in Nepal or the United States. The contestants were focused on representing a country that is in their hearts, Basnet said. The pageant’s motto was “Empowering youths, promoting Nepal.” Dilli Bhatta, a media law attorney in New York and a contest judge, said the intelligence and compassion in Basnet’s answers pushed her to the top. “I, as a judge, thought her answers were appealing,” Bhatta said. “She seems to have a connection to the people and the community.” The title of Miss Nepal USA is given to a woman who will celebrate the arts and culture of Nepal with intelligence, talent and beauty, organizers said. The event was inspired by the goal of cultivating a sense of connectedness in Nepali natives and Nepali Americans who have created a home away from home in this country. There is a unique culture in the south Asian country, high in the Himalayan mountains, Basnet said. “Not a lot of people know about it. It’s a small country in between big China and big India,” she said. “But there are more than 100 ethnic groups, 90 different dialects. It has the tallest point in the world, Mount Everest,” and lowlands. As of July, Nepal’s population stood at 29,391,883, according to a CIA Web site, the World Factbook, which collects data from countries around the world. Basnet’s mother, Reena Karki, came to the United States to attend college, but the family tries to get to Nepal every couple of years to visit family members. Basnet’s mother; little sister, Nisha, 6; and grandmother, Savitri, continue to live in Waldorf, where Basnet has lived since seventh grade. The family — grandfather Madhav died in 2007 — speaks Nepali at home, immersing the girls in the culture.   But they also are thoroughly Americanized, with iPhones and Nisha’s Hannah Montana stickers on display around the house. “You have to find a balance,” Basnet said.     inShare (Gretchen Phillips/Maryland Independent) - Sujita Basnet, 18, and sister Nisha, 6, in traditional Nepalese garments.   As a Nepali girl, Sujita couldn’t go to prom with a boy, even if he was just a friend. Her mother would have understood, but culturally it is something that is frowned upon. Dating is just not done in her culture. But Basnet said it wasn’t that big a deal; she and her friends still went to prom in a big group. She was a cheerleader for North Point and took over preparing Thanksgiving dinner for her family during the recent holiday break. When she heads to Nepal at the end of the month as Miss Nepal USA, she will visit organizations set up to help educate women and children, and perhaps be able to launch a Washington area youth organization for Nepali children. “I have already begun the process of getting the Nepali youth group started,” Basnet said in an e-mail. “The first thing I did was get in contact with some Nepali youth that reside in the District, Maryland and Virginia area and ask them what they thought about the idea and what they are interested in doing as a group. This week we are going to have a conference where all of us will finalize all our ideas.” She said the Nepali community is close-knit in the states. Basnet, a Hindu, said if she doesn’t meet friends and contacts at Pashupati Buddha Temple in Lanham — a general Hindu temple that is the only Nepali temple in the District area, Basnet said — she’s probably related to them. Her family is proud of her accomplishments. “She is really disciplined,” Karki said. “And she’s really dedicated to being able to give back to Nepal.” Savitri praised her granddaughter’s work ethic. “Whatever she wants to do, she does it, that one,” she said. Basnet plans to keep studying. Although she thought of becoming a doctor, she was turned off by the years of school it would have required. Instead, she became interested in the growing biomedical field, focusing on the field of prosthetics and other medical devices. She also will fulfill her duties as Miss Nepal USA, and it is possible she will introduce bits of the Nepali culture to her friends and others in the states. “Nepal is such a beautiful country,” Savitri said. “Once people go there, you go again and again.”