Chandigarh, September26, 2024:In a remarkable achievement –a city based resident Sharmita Banerjee Bhinder (51) has won the title of first runner-up in the Empress category at ‘The WorldIsland Tourism and Cultural Ambassador Pageant 2024’, held in Mauritiusrecently.
The pageant aimed to promote business tourism and cultural exchange,while highlighting women's roles in leadership and community contributions. The title of’ Best Philanthropist’ was also bagged by Sharmita. Sharmita with her achievements has proved that age is no barrier if a woman decides to follow her passion in life. Thepageant was organised by Nari First India team led by Aikta Tyagi, Anshu Buddhiraja, Dr Rita Gangwani and Namrata in collaboration with Women ofWonders, Mauritius led by Yasheena Raghoonundan Naooji and Davina Mungur, atIndira Gandhi Centre for Indian Culture, in Mauritius. Itis imperative to mention that Sharmita is a stroke survivor, has a special child and even lost her husband during COVID in another country. “All thiscould not crush my spirits and I thought of following my dreams as this is what my husband also wanted as he supported me in all my end eavours. I therefore asa tribute to my late husband decided to take part in the pageant. A womanshould follow her dreams despite the challenges she faces.” “Iwas shortlisted for the pageant’s finals from among 70 women,” said Sharmita. “My personal battles and the loss of loved ones, have deepened my commitment toadv ocating for children with special needs through my NGO, EmPOWER,” addedBhinder. Inthe grand finale the first round was the national gown round with culturalrepresentations. Sharmita said, “I wore a maroon red sharara with handembroidery, gota-patti and cutwork. I also wore a bagh-chadar. It was a blendof both modern and traditional north Indian styles. I am happy that I was ableto showcase the rich heritage of Indian wear at the pageant.” Theother rounds Sharmita informed were - a designer sponsored round and the finalround was that of ‘your own choice western gown’. “Earlier,during the pageant I wore a swimsuit with a sarong and the ruffle aroundme. The colour was green and black, the theme was aimed at making people awareof dangers over exploiting mother nature, polluting it and engaging indeforestation.” Sharmitaalso took part in a talent round in which she recited a poem - ‘Aaj bhi maitumse bahut saari baatein kar leti hoon’ written by her. “Thepoem manifested out of the deep bond I share with my husband despite hispassing. The audience became quite emotional after listening to my poem,” saidSharmita. Sheshared that throughout the event, contestants were engaged in workshopsaddressing gender violence, visiting significant cultural sites including GangaTalao, Aprawasi Ghat - where Bhojpuri is surprisingly one of the main languagesand many more. Thechief guest was Maneesh Gobin, Minister of Foreign Affairs, RegionalIntegration and Foreign Trade, Mauritius. The special guests were Lady JoyceBacha, a well-known socialite & philanthropist of Mauritius and PrakashRamdhu, Director, Mrs. Mauritius World Pageant. The judges were Vikram Jaitoon,Vandana Rai Gungabisoon , Nishta Bissendary, Dr Rita Gangwani and Vishal Fowdar.The pageant director was Cedric Vincent.
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