I attended the press conference of Ms Susmita Maskey, who will attempt to become the first woman from the Newar community to scale the world’s highest peak – Mount Everest in May, 2005. The most confusing thing in the conference, which started 45 minutes late than scheduled (we utilized the time to crack jokes), was the absence of Moni Mulepati, another girl who was earlier the member of the team. Even the brochure distributed in the program was printed with her photos and names (later covered up by other photos).
The expedition, named Peace Everest Expedition 2005, now have three members – Susmita, team leader Ramesh Man Dangol and Sonam Dangol, latter two will not attempt to scale Mt. Everest but rather will help Susmita to do so. What we thought, without discussing with any person associated with the expedition, was that Mona probably pulled out of the expedition for that specific reason. After all, she also wants to become the first Newari girl to scale.
“I is easier to say I will scale the Mt. Everest, but is very difficult to do,” Susmita rightly said just after one of my friends had whispered to me that it would be impossible for her to reach the top. “Why?” I asked. “Because the Sherpa community would never help her do so.” Maybe. The Sherpas of different districts fight for records, why would they let girl from Newar community coming into the record book so far only filled by names of four Sherpa women and foreigners.
We didn’t stay long in the press conference primarily because it started late and the speakers were talking long unnecessarily. It was more of a ‘make sponsor happy conference’ than the press conference. I am always amazed why people think doing all this in front of press would make sponsors happy – maybe because seeing that on newspapers and television makes them happy.
And, the thing I hate most as a journalist is waiting for the start of the conference. Apart of a very few, I have never seen press conference starting in time. 40 minutes after the scheduled time, the organizers were still putting up banners, and when we inquired about the start, they always answered ‘just in a few minutes’. And this is not new for the Nepali journalists.
In some of sports related press conference, we have threatened to boycott the conference if that does not start by 30 minutes of scheduled time. But that is possible because all the sports journalists from major media are united under Nepal Sports Journalists Forum. Why shouldn’t journalists be united to pressure organizers to start conference in time?
I was writing about Susmita. I met her first in a program about rock-climbing competition more than a year ago. Someone told me she is training hard to climb Mt. Everest. I looked at her and wondered if she would succeed. I have nearly forgotten her but when she reappeared in the program, I felt like I knew her. And I was all but praising her enthusiasm to reach the peak. I wish her for success and believe the Sherpas will help her because she is a Nepali.
Photo: Bikash Rauniyar/The Kathmandu Post
