Nepalese Student Association Brings Students Together Through Food and Tradition at Yomari Meet
The Nepalese Student Association organized its first event of the semester this weekend at the Baptist Student Union. They organized a Yomari meet, aiming to connect new Nepalese students to the existing diaspora and campus community.
The event was an open event to all, with more than 100 students expected to attend. The event featured games, music and food traditional to Nepalese people. It intended to create a welcoming space for newcomers to adjust to life at USM.
“Our goal is to introduce new Nepalese students to the existing community we have here at USM,” said Janit Rajkarnikar, the president of the NSA.
However, the highlight of the event was Yomari.
Yomari is a sweet delicacy made of khuwa, thickened milk, wrapped with rice flour and steamed. The traditional Nepalese dish has cultural significance among the Newari community in Nepal.
“We do these events every semester; like last semester, we did a Momo (dumplings) event,” said Rajkarnikar. “We felt this semester we could go even closer to home, so we designed the event around Yomari.”
He added that Yomari stands apart in an otherwise Indian-influenced Nepalese cuisine.
“A lot of the Nepalese food has Indian influence. Yomari, I feel, is uniquely Nepalese, so as a Newari, I thought it would be great to share that part of our culture,” he said.
Rajkarnikar noted that the most difficult part of these events is managing the food. He credits NSA members and volunteers for making the gathering possible.
“We are lucky to have a tight-knit community. People always show up to help,” he said. “I can’t even imagine doing these events without them.”
Because the event focused on socializing, the games were designed to be played in groups. Tables were set up for different activities, each led by a facilitator who explained the rules and organized participants. To encourage engagement, attendees were required to complete three games before being served food. The first three participants to play all the games received gift cards as prizes.
“We want people to actually play the games, so this time we have a rule: food will only be served after they complete three games,” Rajkarnikar said.
For the future, NSA is planning to expand beyond food-centered events. Rajkarnikar hinted at a future awareness event focused on elections.
“We want to move on from events that have food as the main attraction,” he said. “We’ll try different things in the future.”
Next, the NSA will organize a Holi celebration later this month.