Seventeen-year-old Devi Ramcharitar sat behind the wheel of the car she won as the Miss Guyana Sari queen and pinched herself to ensure she was not dreaming.
The Scene caught up with the teenager almost a week after she was crowned queen and she related that she was still somewhat shocked over the fact that she had won.
It is not a case of her not been confident, but the Great Diamond, New Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara, resident said because she was the youngest in the pool of 11 contestants she knew she had an uphill task before her.
However, it was a task she felt she was up to and she showed what sort of stuff she was made of when she took to the National Park stage last Saturday night, dazzling the judges with not only her beauty, but her brilliance.
On Thursday, she received the first prize of a silver Mitsubishi Lancer car and it finally registered that she was really the sari queen.
The teenager said when she heard the name of the first runner-up announced and she realised that she had won she was shocked. “It was a shock, I did not expect it. Now that I am the queen I feel on top of the world, it is very exciting, and all the publicity and attention, it is great,” she gushed during the telephone interview.
After being named the queen, Devi said, she turned and faced the rest of the contestants, “with my hands over my mouth and I said ‘Oh my God, is this for real or am I dreaming.’”
Dreaming she was not and while she does not know exactly which of her performances during the pageant would have nailed the crown for her, she said she put on an all-round performance and that may have been responsible for her winning the crown.
But she was quick to add that it was not easy as the other contestants proved to be more than worthy competitors.
Devi, who only she completed her secondary schooling at the Richard Ishmael Secondary School this year, said being the youngest meant that she worked very hard since she knew she had a lot of catching up to do as the older girls would have had more experience. “But being the youngest contestant I was not treated any different from the other girls. I had to do the same amount of training as them I did everything. I worked very hard,” Devi said.
She told The Scene that many nights she left the National Park way past 9 pm and she got up early in the mornings to work on her speech and other aspects of the pageant. “I would then go back to sleep at around 1 pm and then I am back up to go back to the National Park… My hard work finally paid off.”
Controversy
The sari pageant was Devi’s second, but she stated that the first was community-based and she had not won but rather copped the first runner-up place. “But the sari pageant was my first big pageant and I am happy that I won.”
Asked why she entered the pageant, Devi was straight up: “To be honest I entered the pageant because of the first prize, I wanted to win the car so I entered. While I was shocked when I heard I won I was confident from day one and I wanted the car.”
And while she did not have the same amount of crowd support like some of the other contestants, Devi said her support base was very strong and whenever she wanted a confidence boost they were there to give it to her.
She always wanted to be part of a pageant but never wanted to be a participant in one where she had to wear bathing suits or where she had to expose her body so when she heard of the sari pageant she jumped at the opportunity.
Because the pageant was one where the contestants were well covered and there was nothing “lewd” on stage, Davi said she still could not understand the controversy in the lead up to the staging of the pageant.
Many prominent Hindus and Hindu organisations had criticized the National Diwali Committee for staging such a pageant during the celebration of the Hindu religious activity.
However, Devi said the committee never wanted to cause any confusion hence it changed the name of the pageant from the Miss Diwali pageant to the Miss Sari pageant as was called for by a number of Hindu organisations.
“We changed the name because we never wanted anyone to be unhappy, it was a friendly pageant there was nothing lewd on stage or anything. We were all well covered and we wore saris…”
And while some had argued that the pageant was all about exploiting young girls Devi strongly disagrees, “It was nothing about exploitation it was good clean fun.”
Dancer
The youngest of six children, Devi revealed to The Scene that she had never been camera-shy, as just about a month ago, she was not only a television producer but also a television host of a local music programme.
She said while the crowd at the National Park was large she has performed before larger crowds at the same venue as she has been a professional dancer for a number of years.
“The crowd was not good, good, because you know people were supporting different people so there were some who were not that good but I did not have a problem because I have performed before worse crowds.”
The teenager, who recently graduated with a diploma in Micro Computer studies, is still undecided about what she wants to be. She said that for the next year she is just going to enjoy her reign and fulfil all her obligations as a queen.
The Guyana Timbers Products sponsored young woman said she would also be working on getting her licence since she already knows to drive.
To those young women thinking about entering the pageant next year, Devi said go for it as the experience and rewards are great. “The committee will support you all the way and I will be there to support you,” she said.
And as for Devi, she has become a bit of a celebrity in her neighbourhood and she is enjoying every moment. (samantha_alleyne2000@yahoo.com)
