Every girl wants to look beautiful and graceful. Mina Gurung is a beautician, who helps to fulfill this feminine dream. She is one of the most senior and skilled beautician of Pokhara. She takes her work as an art rather than duty and helps other to learn this art also. She provides her service through her parlor “Hong Beauty Parlour” which is situated in Mahendra Pool. Apart from the general beautician therapy, she also provides trainings to the interested students.
She was born to Mr. Krishna Gurung and Mrs. Dhan Kumari Gurung. She did her schooling from Amarsingh Boarding School. She was married to Mr. Chatra Bahadur Gururng in 2034 B.S. at a tender age of fifteen. She then moved to Hong Kong with her husband.
Like many others, she had an aim to become independent, successful and of course earn fame and money. Her first job was in a kinder garden, Hong Kong. There she also hosted a radio program in BFBS for about six years. She had a dream to become a beautician from her childhood, so to fulfill her dream, she thought of taking beautician training in her leisure time. With the help and support of her husband, she took beautician training classes. After finishing her training, she even opened a parlor in Hong Kong in the year 1988 AD. She ran this parlor till 1990 AD. Then, to excel her art in feminine beauty, she went to Singapore and Brunei to take advance level of beautician training. The training and experience brought confidence on her and through which she achieved the position that the most women dreams.
After this, in the year 1991, she returned to Nepal to open her own beauty parlor. In the beginning, she opened a parlour in her own house and later she moved the parlor to Mahendra pool and named it as “Hong Kong Herbal Beauty Institute”. The scope of parlor was increased from the beautician service to beautician training. Currently, this parlor is an hot spot for the ladies in the town and is running tremendously. The institute has even trained around 4000 – 4500 personals in different level of beautician course. She has even launched branches in Kathmandu as well as in other parts of Pokhara.
She is a successful entrepreneur and it wouldn’t be wrong to call her an all rounder, as she is engaged in various activities. Apart from her basic work, she hosts a program in Radio Annapurna and is actively working for various social organizations. She thinks beautician training is a vocational training which will immediately make people skillful which will teach them to fish financially. Recently, to uplift the homosexual people, the marginalized group of society, she arranged a three months beautician training for them. The cost of this project was financed from the portion of her profit. She is aware of her social responsibility, so she has made a cash reserve from donating seven percent of her profit, to help the poor and disabled women.
To make the voice of beautician heard and to bring every beautician under the same umbrella, she planned to make a National Beautician Union. Thus, in 2051 B.S., she organized a National Beautician Union with the help of other beautician all over Nepal. She is the chairman of this union today. According to her, National Beautician Union should mostly focus to establish educational sector relating to beauty. It should give emphasis to find solution regarding the health as well as beauty related queries. The job of beautician is tough and only the person who knows to appreciate it as an art would excel in this field thus one should be qualified to take this profession as a carrier. To make the beautician more qualified and internationally competent, candidate who have appeared plus two should only be permitted to take this as their profession. They should first get their qualification certificate from the organization like CTEVT and other similar organization to open their own business.
Apart from this, she is engaged in various organization like; She is the treasurer of Tamu Sansar community, managing director of Kaski Sandesh newspaper, secretary of the Gorkha Community Paschimanchal sector, member of the Lion’s club, etc.
Here is an excerpt of her interview
When did you enter in this profession and whom do you take your inspiration as?
I started this profession from 1991 and I got my inspiration from my husband Mr. Chatra Bahadur Gurung.
At that time our Society was also very conservative and ladies weren’t given much freedom as they have now. How was the response of the society and the people when you started this parlour?
During that time also women were very conscious about their beauty as they are now. The only difference is that, at that time women used to come to the parlour, get their makeup done and go out with their face covered. As the society was conservative, we didn’t get good response orally from them and we had to face hurdles while working.
As a wife of an army officer, you could have just stayed home. But you preferred to work and now you have a well-established business of your own. How would you explain this?
Well when I started my parlour, there were altogether three to four other parlours. As a wife of an army officer, I never had the feeling to remain idle. I always felt that I should do something of my own and my husband also gave me a full support. When I was in Honkong, it was my husband who persuaded me to take this as the profession. Due to my capability and my husband’s support, I am able to reach this height.
How would you define beauty as?
Beauty doesn’t only mean our outer appearance but it is a mixture of inner and outer looks.
How do take Politics as?
In our country the Politician have totally ruined the word called politics, they have taken it in a different aspect. If the present scenario is a politics, then I would define it as a dirty game and one should never get engaged in it.
If you were appointed as the prime minister of our country, which criteria would you give your first preference?
I am a responsible citizen and I think that I am fully capable to be the prime minister of our country. If I was appointed as the prime minister then I would emphasis to make a rule, where women would be given equal rights and freedom and there wouldn’t be any gender difference.
Who is your favorite politician and why?
I haven’t met much politician and among the few I like Rabindra Adhikari, as he is well cultured. I like his thought of reuniting and trying to make a new beginning of our country.
Would you like to share your happy and sad moments?
I was really sad at the demise of my beloved Kanchi Aama and the happiest moment was in the year 2051, we all beauticians had a grand gathering, I really enjoined a lot at that time.
As you are a busy person, how do you manage your routine?
Well my daily routine goes like this - I get up at 5 am in the morning, get fresh and do some praying (puja). After that for at least one hour, I do some Yoga. Then I take my breakfast and water my plants. I am quite a homely person, so I like to do my household works myself. After all my household works are finished I leave for parlour. I then give briefing classes to my staffs. If there are any meetings then I go to attend them and return back to parlour. I have to deal with various customers in the parlour and satisfy their request. Then I take classes of the new trainee. And in the evening, after my work is done, I return home and get freshed. I watch some news channels in the evening. After that I go through some religious books, as it gives relief from the daily work schedule. I always take some time to make a list of things that I have done in that particular day. Then I have my dinner and go to bed.
How do you define life as?
I think the true color of life is in a free society, where you can work without any obstacle or restriction and create a more developed society.
More Pictures:
Interviewed by Bhupal Gurung, pokharacity.com
No comments:
Post a Comment