Hamro Yatra

Our guest for the 18th episode is award winning filmmaker Asmita Shrish.

Growing up in Nepal, Asmita spent the early years of her childhood travelling around remote areas of Nepal with her family and getting homeschooled in the grounds on Mustang. She completed her undergraduate degree in Computer Engineering, Masters in Visual Arts & Animation and after some self exploration and introspection, discovered her passion for filmmaking.  You can tell from her documentaries and films that she is passionate about storytelling that anchors real issues and personal narratives which are so relatable.

In this episode, we go over Asmita’s journey from Mustang to her career today as a filmmaker. She walks us through the process and stories behind her work which I found absolutely fascinating. The path to your passion is not always linear and Asmita is a perfect example. Even though it took her a while to find her calling, she is a trailblazer in her field now with the goal of breaking social constructs. If you are an aspiring filmmaker and are looking for guidance or mentorship, you can reach out to Asmita directly on Instagram here.

As always, if you enjoy these conversations, please share with your friends and family. Remember to follow our instagram page @hamro.yatra for updates, subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and leave us a 5-star review if you're feeling generous.

For our 17th episode, we are joined by musician Sajjan Raj Vaidya.

Born in Kathmandu, Nepal, Sajjan grew up in a supportive household where his interest in music was inspired and nurtured. This has helped Sajjan into the musician you know today, however what might fascinate you is that along with his passion for music, Sajjan has also been diligently applying himself in fields other than music. He’s had a career in finance working at the likes of JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, KPMG etc and is now pivoting into the field of software engineering.

In this episode we talk about the hard work that goes behind his songs that have captivated thousands. Blurring the lines between the so called conventional and unconventional fields, Sajjan shows us that you can pursue both and excel in them - it doesn’t have to be one or the other.

As always, if you enjoy these conversations, please share with your friends and family. Remember to follow our instagram page @hamro.yatra for updates, subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and leave us a 5-star review if you're feeling generous. You can also message us on Instagram or email at [email protected] for feedback or if you'd like to suggest any guests with inspiring stories ✨

Our guest for today is the fiercely independent and resilient Durga Gurung.

Having known her all my life, I was certainly excited to talk about her journey but this episode ended up being more than just our regular catchups. It was eye opening and I’m even more proud to call her my cousin. Born in Hong Kong, Durga finished high school in the States. She then took it upon herself to forge a path to graduate with a science degree with the goal of self- reliance. She is realistic, highly motivated by her goals and not afraid to work hard. Her journey has taken her to London where she is currently based working as a dental hygienist. She is also one of the co-founders of AFNO, a charity organisation to help Nepali elderly communities here in London.

In this episode we explore Durga’s journey to financial independence, the highs and the lows. We talk about discovering & acknowledging things in your life that are gratifying and in turn redefining the conventional idea of success.

As always, if you enjoy these conversations, please share with your friends and family. Remember to follow our instagram page @hamro.yatra for updates, subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and leave us a 5-star review if you're feeling generous.

I’m excited to present to you our guest for today - journalist, mountaineer, motivational speaker, comedienne, social activist Shailee Basnet.

Shailee started her career as a journalist fresh out of college and very soon found a way to satiate her hunger for adventure. Shailee along with 9 other women successfully climbed Mt Everest, the world’s highest mountain just at the age of 25. And this was just the beginning! Shailee then co-founded Seven Summits Women Team who have then gone to successfully climb the highest summits in the remaining six continents of the world.

She is passionate about quality education, women’s empowerment and doesn’t leave any stones unturned to give back to the community. Shailee is also the first Nepali to perform at Gotham Comedy Club. I could go on and on about her accomplishments and the list would still fall short of covering this powerhouse of a woman.

In this episode, we explore what drives Shailee to take life by the horns, deep dive into the idea of success and the importance of play. Her journey is absolutely astounding and I hope it encourages you to find your own Everest and conquer it.

If you'd like to follow her journey and help the Seven Summits Women Team, you can visit their websites:

http://sevensummitswomen.org/

https://www.shaileebasnet.com/

As always, if you enjoy these conversations, please share with your friends and family. Remember to follow our instagram page @hamro.yatra for updates, subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and leave us a 5-star review if you're feeling generous.

Today we have with us Nirvana Bhandary, a globe trotter, feminist writer & activist.

If you follow her on instagram or have read her work, you will know that she is unabashedly herself. Founder of Sister Orator & FProjectNepal, Nirvana is passionate about women’s empowerment. She uses her voice in inspiring and encouraging nonconformity in taboo topics such as sex, desire & nudity.

In this episode we explore Nirvana’s love of travel & the impact it has had on her life so far. We talk about the role of journaling in her writing, how she got started with her projects & her journey with being comfortable with her truest self.

As always, if you enjoy these conversations, please share with your friends and family. Remember to follow our instagram page @hamro.yatra for updates, subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and leave us a 5-star review if you're feeling generous.

Today’s guest is beauty influencer Masna Gurung or popularly known as MasnaX. Social media influencers have taken the world by storm, we see their content on a daily basis yet fail to understand the work that goes behind the content creation and the viability of it all. It’s an area that I personally am quite curious about and I’m glad Masna has been so candid about her world in this episode.

 

Growing up with her own insecurities and subjected to the disparity in beauty standards, Masna believes that beauty is how you feel about yourself and drives the importance of representation in beauty portrayed by media. She is very clear on what she represents and is not afraid to voice her opinions on her social media platform which has almost 200k followers.

 

In this episode we explore the great relationship she has with her dad, how she started a career out of instagram and the importance of being financially savvy. Only 24 years old, she is humble and wise, and admits is on her own journey to becoming more self aware. I wish her the absolute best and look forward to seeing her journey flourish. You can follow Masna on Instagram @masnax and YouTube here.

 

As always, if you enjoy these conversations, please share with your friends and family. Remember to follow our instagram page @hamro.yatra for updates, subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and leave us a 5-star review if you're feeling generous.

Moving to London at the age of 7 from Nepal, Sampada Gurung has been creating a name for herself through pottery.

With a degree in Illustration, Sampada has been able to combine her education with her love for ceramics to create quirky pottery pieces that sets her designs apart. She has also founded her own studio ‘The Slightly Curious’ where she runs pottery and drawing workshops to inspire and encourage others to be curious and creative.

She approaches life in a similar way to the craft of pottery - something to continually get better at. In this episode we go over all the happy accidents that have helped shape Sampada’s journey so far, including her recent stint on the Season 3 of the 'Great Pottery Throwdown'. You can follow her journey on Instagram @sampadagurung. 

As always, if you enjoy these conversations, please share with your friends and family. Remember to follow our instagram page @hamro.yatra for updates, subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and leave us a 5 Star review if you're feeling generous.

Today we have a really interesting guest for you - 6 times UK Latte Art Champion, writer, and business owner - Dhan Tamang.

Born in a village in Kavre, Dhan Tamang moved to Kathmandu for higher studies and very early on understood the value of hard work and perseverance. His journey took him to Kuwait where he worked over 14 hours a day, 6-7 days a week and instead of lamenting about it, you’ll find him grateful for this opportunity.

Dhan Tamang is incredible at setting goals for himself and reaching them - be it speaking fluently in English or winning latte art competitions or writing a book on coffee art. With all my guests, I try to research as much as I can but even with all my research, Dhan’s story had me on the edge and I left the conversation completely inspired - you will hear me wow alot!

In this episode, you will hear Dhan’s journey from Nepal to becoming the fourth in the World Latte Art Championship. He is passionate about sharing his knowledge, promoting Nepali coffee and grinding away. You can follow his journey on instagram @dhantamang1. You can find more information on his roastery here, cafes here and his book on coffee art here.

As always, if you enjoy these conversations, please share with your friends and family. Remember to follow our instagram page @hamro.yatra for updates, subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and leave us a 5 Star review if you're feeling generous. The screenshots you’ve been sharing with key insights on the episodes and tagging us @hamro.yatra on instagram truly make my day - so thank you and keep them coming!

Being chosen to design for Miss Nepal when she was just 17, Sanyukta has been using art to express herself from an early age. Her path to finding her purpose took her to attend Masters degree in London College of Fashion, and eventually the opening of her bridal boutique ‘Behuli’ on her own terms - being kind to people and the earth. The first Nepali fashion and sustainable bridal designer to have one of her sustainable couture creations preserved in the prestigious Fashion Museum in Bath, UK, you can certainly say Santukta’s bridal designs are well sought after.

In this episode, we go over Sanyukta’s journey of juggling being a teenager and a budding designer to making her mark in Nepali fashion industry, then leaving all the fame and recognition to start from scratch in London. She might be shy in nature but has the strongest willpower and the most positive mindset. A big believer of listening to one’s instincts, Sanyukta has found her idea of success in her family and purpose in fashion.

You can find more information on Sanyukta & her store here . 

Correction:  During the introduction, we mention that Sanyukta designed for Miss Nepal 1997, but it was actually for Miss Nepal 1998.

Currently living in the UK, GDiipa needs no introduction in the Nepali community. From amassing around 486k subscribers on Youtube in the last 10 years, GDiipa has also been busy creating her own empire. She launched ‘Pari Cosmetics’ in 2019 with her own line of makeup brushes, eye lashes, makeup bags and contact lenses.

 

In this episode, we talk about GDiipa’s inspirational journey to turn her dreams into reality. GDiipa is no stranger to adversities - from being fired at three different jobs, to her first product launch failing and even getting scammed multiple times, she has never stopped believing in herself and her vision. She is focused and determined to unlock her untapped potential and in the process inspires many to do the same. 

 

As always, if you enjoy these conversations, please share with your friends and family. Remember to follow our instagram page @hamro.yatra for updates, subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and leave us a 5 Star review if you're feeling generous.