Welcome and farewell speech for Modern Kanya students

                    

How do you envision a modern Kanya as?

Do we call a woman modern if she follows the modern dress code, works relentlessly in office, imitates man yet knows the difference between foundation and concealer or do we have a different definition for a modern Kanya?

Well we will discuss it later but I hope this question runs in your mind.

Almost 3 years back I finished my bachelors in social work. I studied journalism as my other option. In those 3 years I worked for many organizations including US embassy, Chinese Embassy, United Nations and Maaiti Nepal. I developed a network in the social work fraternity in such a way that I would never end up alone in whichever programs I attended. Yet I wasn't satisfied.  

I left a lucrative career and stayed jobless for a year started taking training, online courses, applying for scholarships and started my masters. That very hustle helped me to crack a scholarship in university of Washington which falls under top 20 universities of the world and that very hustle brought me to Nepal Television.

                  

For the BBS students out here, working a 9-4 job in a bank or financial institution is always easy because you have a set of do's and don’ts to follow but starting your own work needs guts.

For the BA students out here, jobs will only come after you if you are skilled enough for the employers to have no option except hiring you. But at other times you have to hunt for the job yourself. Take that internship that you had been thinking since long and prove yourself. It might not pay you for the first few months but will definitely help you in the long run. It’s always better to screw others money than your own.

Nepal television was also a result of risk. NTV has molded me in such a manner which wouldn’t have been possible if it would  be somewhere else.

                

Meeting people and enlarging my horizon of knowledge during reporting, understanding the gap between the government and the grass root level while preparing news, staying updated on international changes and getting a lovely audience to speak to, none of these would have been possible if not Nepal television.

Media has evolved a lot. The fascination for radios to magazines to televisions has now eventually shifted to digital media. Every profession is ever changing and you should work on yourself in such a manner that you become ready for the ever changing demands.

Every profession is tough but you should make sure it is worth it.

All that I have to say is don’t drape your mind with limitations if you want to be a modern Kanya for draping a Saari doesn’t make you old but draping your mind with limitation that you can't study a subject or you can't conquer your fear will definitely make you old.

Working relentlessly and juggling household chores simultaneously and realizing that you never loved yourself in the end of your life doesn’t make you a modern Kanya but understanding the delicate balance between your mental and physical health and then working for economic fulfillment does.

Not knowing the difference between foundation and concealer doesn’t make you less of a modern Kanya but starving yourself to death and trying to impress the world will definitely make you an unmodern kanya (well if that word exists)

Imitating a man will not make you a modern Kanya for we are not here to compete but complete.

If it’s a farewell for you I hope your hard work takes a shape, if it’s a beginning I hope you become intentional of how you spend your time but again not pressurize your mind with the cut throat competition.

I am sure we have better economists than Elinor Ostrom in this audience, I am confident that we have better anthropologists than Mary Doughlas in this very group of people, I am sure that we have better journalists than Oprah Winfrey and Martha Gellhorn. I am sure that we have Meg Whitman among us all we need to believe in our self and unleash the potential within us.

Thank you one and all.