Dear Editor,
The recently concluded Miss Guyana Sari Pageant, 2008, held on Saturday, October 25, 2008 at the National Park was an embarrassment. My first question to the Diwali Committee members is why was alcohol allowed and sold in the park? The contestants and the general public were made to understand that no alcohol consumption would have been allowed in the park on the night of the pageant!
Secondly, what were the criteria for the selection of judges? And why weren’t the judges introduced to the contestants? Probably right after the introduction of the contestants would have been a good time to introduce the judges. I can understand that a lawyer was selected to judge the pageant. However, the only thing he should have been focusing on was public speaking. This was something which was not done to satisfaction, because one of the contestants was seen using her hands to express herself, and during public speaking no gesture should be used! Also, another contestant had a long pause in her introduction, so long in fact that she could not remember her sponsor and had to look down at her sash, while a successful contestant apologized to the audience in her introduction.
At least one person who has wide experience in sari pageants should have been selected as a judge. A good example is Mr Parmanand Sukhu − he judged a number of pageants before − or even any past queen would have been good.
Thirdly, the training the contestants received was inadequate. No proper steps were taught. We were not introduced to any pose; we had to create our own poses. Past judges of sari pageants, contestants and queens of sari display should know that the recently concluded pageant was an embarrassment in terms of sari display, since full usage of the stage was not made, no steps were executed (we all know that the three steps − turn pose, turn pose − is the appropriate way to model a sari) and no proper or new poses were shown on the stage.
I did three big poses (the peacock, butterfly and the fish pose) while about two to three other contestants did only the peacock pose. I honestly thought with those poses I was eligible to be in the runner-up list. One contestant was caught on tape using her sari on the wrong side, while once she looked at her sari and made the pose (the diya pose). Another contestant was caught backing the crowd for a long period.
Finally, in the final question segment, if you listened carefully, most of the answers were wrong. However, the contestants were brave and continued to speak. The questions were quite simple; however we were all nervous on stage and one contestant could be seen bouncing from one foot to another during this segment. We, the contestants, were advised to submit a biography and were told the final question would be based on that biography. On the night of the pageant it was revealed to the general public and the contestants that a sealed envelope containing the questions had been handed over to the MCs. However, we never witnessed this. Also, the questions asked that night were the same questions asked the contestants the night before the pageant. We did not focus much on these questions, since we had been told that the final question would be based on our background.
Also a major concern is why the judges took so long to come up with the final result. A simple calculator could have been used to tally the final scores and choose the queen and runners-up. This could have been done within 20-`30 minutes or less. Thankfully, I have a tape and all my comments can be verified. I would be very happy if the judges or any member of the Miss Guyana Sari Pageant Committee could respond to my letter and also make available the score sheets and the criteria for judging.
Yours faithfully,
V Rooplall
Contestant #2
Editor’s note
We will send a copy of this letter to Chairman of the Miss Guyana Sari Pageant Committee, Mr Pradeep Samtani, for any comments he might wish to make.
