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Aussie beauties in saris
Sydney, November 06
Young Australian women of Indian origin took over the ramp bedecked in saris on November 3 in Sydney, for The Miss India-Australia contest (MIA).

Aussie beauties in saris
Sydney, November 06
Young Australian women of Indian origin took over the ramp bedecked in saris on November 3 in Sydney, for The Miss India-Australia contest (MIA).

Of the ‘beauty with brains’ variety of pageants, this probably comes close — the winner, 22-year-old Kiara, a to-be journalist, won the judges over with her smile and a  monologue about world peace in the talent round.

The event had a distinct NRI flavour to it — few girls were taller than 5 feet and no vital statistics were made public. Though the formal western round had some plunging necklines, there was no swim-suit round. Instead, the contestants sashayed down the ramp in traditional Indian garb, many of them a little uncomfortable handling their sari’s pallu.

The highlight of the show was the talent round that included a tap-dance, a dramatic scene from Macbeth, Kohli and Punjabi folk dances, Indian classical dances, and the usual dose of Bollywood.

“The contest is a celebration of the dual culture that contributes to modern, multicultural Australia. It is a platform for Indian-origin girls to show off their talents in Australia,” says organiser, Raj Suri (actor Sanjay Suri’s brother), a Sydney-based photographer.

The 15 contestants were in professional programs  or qualified in fields ranging. from law to engineering, accountancy, stock brokerage, filmmaking and even forensic pathology. In fact, few have plans of entering into the fashion or film industry.

The MIA is usually a ticket to the glamour world as the finalist participates in the annual Miss India Worldwide contest. Miss India-Australia 2004, Vimala Raman has bagged modelling assignments with Bhima Jewellery in India. She debuted as an actress in Mamooty’s POI, and just signed her second film with veteran Tamil director, K Balachander. Previous winners of this contest  have been Aarti Chabria, who played the lead in Awara Paagal Deewana, Ruby Bhatia and Kamal Sidhu.

However, this year, the contest was just an opportunity to make friends. After the crowning, the girls broke into a choreographed dance of celebration. Mid-way through, they spontaneously broke away from the carefully designed line-up, to hug each other — until all of them were in a single cohesive huddle. A message of friendship that all beauty pageants should aspire to convey.