On a recent Tuesday night, seven men sat in a South Burlington living room. Seated on couches and chairs, they drank hot tea in the cool summer air. They each reported how much money they had brought in, and who had donated to their cause.
They鈥檝e been meeting like this for weeks now; strategizing, fundraising and doing everything in their power to help Kiran Gajmer win .
It鈥檚 the Nepali version of The Voice 鈥� the singing-competition reality show that鈥檚 kind of like American Idol. Gajmer is a contestant.
鈥淗e started singing when he was four-years-old,鈥� said Rohit Sharma. 鈥淸That was] the first time that I saw him on the stage, singing little, like, nursery rhymes and something like that.鈥�
Rohit and Kiran lived in the same Bhutanese refugee camp in Nepal. Roughly ten years ago, they both resettled in the United States 鈥� Kiran in St. Louis, Miss., and Rohit in Vermont.
Now, Rohit owns Ronak Jewelry in Essex Junction. There鈥檚 a jar on the counter there, containing a five dollar bill, a couple of ones, and some loose change. It鈥檚 got a poster taped to it that reads 鈥淰T鈥檚 support to Kiran.鈥�
鈥淲e have written there that if you want to vote for him, like, you can donate here,鈥� Rohit said.
Unlike the American version of The Voice, The Voice of Nepal is a franchise show. Viewers vote on who they want to keep in 鈥� and they can also purchase additional votes.
Someone gets eliminated from the competition every week. But Kiran has made it to the final round.
鈥淗e is in the top four, now that we are contributing little, little, little money,鈥� Rohit said.
鈥淭hese people are all, like, regular people, with small jobs ... but 鈥� very big inspiration to support.鈥�Hemant Ghising
Which is why all those people were in that South Burlington living room.
You might recognize some of their faces, if you live in Chittenden County 鈥� from a shop, or a hotel or a local school. They鈥檙e leaders of the Nepali-speaking Bhutanese American community in Vermont. Hemant Ghising is one of them.
鈥淭hese people are all, like, regular people, with small jobs that we have, and you know, but 鈥� very big energy 鈥� very big inspirations to support,鈥� Hemant said. 鈥淪o we contributed some money.鈥�
They mobilized a few weeks ago, when it looked like 24-year-old Kiran might get eliminated. They couldn鈥檛 let that happen.
Around a picnic table in a park in Burlington, they hatched a plan.
鈥淔or more than two decades, we have identity crisis, being stateless for 20 years or more 鈥� and this is the first ever time 鈥� the greatest time 鈥� that we have, that somebody's talking about us in the world stage,鈥� said Hemant.
Two weeks later, Hemant says they鈥檇 raised around $3,000.
Some $250 came from the jar in Rohit鈥檚 jewelry shop. Another $250 came from co-workers at Hotel Vermont, where one organizer is manager of housekeeping staff. Westport Hospitality, which owns Hotel Vermont, donated $1,000 to the cause.
鈥淲e need to have someone like Kiran Gajmir, who is the finalist in The Voice of Nepal, Edition 2021, Season Three,鈥� Hemant said. 鈥淸He has] a better chance to be [seen] as a role model for our younger generations. They have never seen any of their real idols from the community.鈥�
Rohit said the competition is about more than Kiran for Bhutanese-Nepali Vermonters.
鈥淭his is our, you know, legacy,鈥� he said. 鈥淟ike, it's our culture and who we are. We want to present us to the world. Like, you know, we are not junk people. But we want to show the world that we can do it.鈥�
Rohit is planning to watch the finals on Saturday morning. He鈥檚 going to close his jewelry shop for a few hours and watch it on the big TV with his family. And if Kiran wins?
鈥淥h my god, that would be, like, the greatest win of my life. I love him and I want ... that trophy to come to [the] United States. And we, community, will be like, you know, we'll [be blessed] with a lot of blessing.鈥�
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