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 World Island Tourism and Cultural Ambassador Pageant 2024’, held in Mauritius recently. 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.
The pageant was organised by Nari First India team led by Aikta Tyagi, Anshu Buddhiraja, Dr Rita Gangwani and Namrata in collaboration with Women of Wonders, Mauritius led by Yasheena Raghoonundan Naooji and Davina Mungur, at Indira Gandhi Centre for Indian Culture, in Mauritius.
It is imperative to mention that Sharmita is a stroke survivor, has a special child and even lost her husband during COVID in another country. “All this could 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 endeavours. I therefore as a tribute to my late husband decided to take part in the pageant. A woman should follow her dreams despite the challenges she faces.”
“I was 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 to advocating for children with special needs through my NGO, EmPOWER,” added Bhinder.
In the grand finale the first round was the national gown round with cultural representations. Sharmita said, “I wore a maroon red sharara with hand embroidery, gota-patti and cutwork. I also wore a bagh-chadar. It was a blend of both modern and traditional north Indian styles. I am happy that I was able to showcase the rich heritage of Indian wear at the pageant.”
The other rounds Sharmita informed were – a designer sponsored round and the final round was that of ‘your own choice western gown’.
“Earlier, during the pageant I wore a swimsuit with a sarong and the ruffle around me. The colour was green and black, the theme was aimed at making people aware of dangers over exploiting mother nature, polluting it and engaging in deforestation.”
Sharmita also took part in a talent round in which she recited a poem – ‘Aaj bhi mai tumse bahut saari baatein kar leti hoon’ written by her.
“The poem manifested out of the deep bond I share with my husband despite his passing. The audience became quite emotional after listening to my poem,” said Sharmita.
She shared that throughout the event, contestants were engaged in workshops addressing gender violence, visiting significant cultural sites including Ganga Talao, Aprawasi Ghat – where Bhojpuri is surprisingly one of the main languages and many more.
The chief guest was Maneesh Gobin, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and Foreign Trade, Mauritius. The special guests were Lady Joyce Bacha, a well-known socialite & philanthropist of Mauritius and Prakash Ramdhu, 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.
