Stunner Dhanwanttie Amisha Tajeshwar wowed the judges and audience, defeated four other contestants in a stiff competition and was crowned Miss Guyana Divya Jyoti Association Sari Queen 2019 in the wee hours of Sunday morning two weeks ago at the National Stadium.
The new queen in a sit down with The Scene, shared about her pageant experience and what she foresees for herself in the near future.
“I was not all about winning the crown, but was just there for the experience,” she said. “But winning the crown was a bonus. Even now it’s still an amazing feeling. That was one of the most beautiful nights of my life. That night when I went home, I got no sleep at all. I was too excited. Messages and calls kept coming in. My father going live on Facebook would have contributed to this. I remember showing up at work and how excited my colleagues were, and I was allowed to wear my crown and sash the day before Diwali.”
The Sari pageant was perfect for 19-year-old Amisha who always had an eye for glamour along with a deep love for her Indian culture. The teen let on that back in secondary school she had done cultural wear displays in celebration of the Hindu holidays.
She revealed that she had learned about the pageant from a close friend and was excited about the opportunity although her parents did not see eye to eye with her. Amisha is an office clerk at Edward B Beharry and Company, and a student at Cacique Accounting College. Her parents thought the activity might be more than she could handle, but her mind was already made up and knowing that their daughter was hell-bent on participating, they instead decided to be her strongest support.
Among her supporters were Miguel’s Beauty Creation, Blend with AJ and Serenity Beauty, Davina Persaud, Shivanie Latchman, Malisha Latchman, Vickash Lilliah, her uncles Jairam Ramjeawan and Renaldo Balkarran, her brothers Trevor and Navindra, her cousin Amrita, Savika Sewpersaud, Christopher Motilall, her mentors Ashmini Mandata-Lalta and Darshanie Dhanbeer and her parents Navita and Muneshwar.
“One aspect of my tradition that I want to share with everyone is to always consider your parents earthly gods and never underestimate their effort in your upbringing,” Amisha said. “I respect my parents to the highest extent. Every morning after prayers, I’d touch both of their feet to seek their blessings. Thanks to Ma Lakshmi for giving me courage and thanks to everyone who supported me on this journey to make it a success.”
She said her parents have always been supportive of her, even when she paraded in her mother’s high heels and dresses when she was five. In fact, her fascination with fashion began with seeing her mother’s fancy dresses and heels. By the time she reached her teens, Amisha was in front of her television soaking in the Miss World and the Miss Universe pageants. While pageantry inspired her, she had other inspirations in her life like her mother, television personality and former Mrs India Guyana 2018 Shivanie Latchman, and Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez.
As a child, the Sari queen was shy. As the only girl, she usually let her two brothers do the talking for her. This pageant, the young woman said, helped her to become more confident, improve on her public speaking abilities and gave her a platform to share on a social issue that is important to her. In addition, Amisha said she built a sisterhood with the other girls and noted that each of them had different attributes that made her always excited to see them every rehearsal. Of the four girls, she confided that she had grown closest to Truvanie Persaud, who was also a contestant at this year’s Miss India Guyana. She recounted one of her most memorable experiences with the girls. “We did our rehearsals at Everest Cricket Club and on one rehearsal day Everest had their fun day which included a horror house. So, we all decided we wanted to go into the horror house, and it was really, really dark in there. Truvanie was really scared and couldn’t get past the entrance but she stood there watching us and every scare we got, she screamed for us. I had my hair open and while passing one of the skeletons it got hooked by a skeleton’s hand. I didn’t scream. Truvanie did all my screaming…,” Amisha cracked up as she shared.
The five girls competed in four categories – Introduction, Talent, Sari Display and Intelli-gence. Segment. For the talent segment, Amisha noted that she did a dance. She had never danced before, though she was fascinated by the art form, and needed a talent. Having decided that it would be a dance, every night for almost a month, after getting home until midnight, she put on YouTube and rehearsed with every bit of energy that coursed through her body. Her mother who sat nearby as she spoke agreed that her daughter did her very best. She did not win the talent award, but this segment was her most favourite. Amisha said the outfit she wore was designed and sewn by her mother.
Her most challenging segment, she said, was the Sari Display, explaining that this particular required the contestants to walk slowly in tune to the music while they were displaying their saris. She felt it took more effort from her to slow it down a bit.
Asked whether she saw herself finishing as queen the teen admitted at the beginning she did, but as the evening wore on, she was too engrossed in executing the segments as best as she could and just having fun so that she forgot what her end goal was. Nonetheless, it seemed to work for her. When it was announced that she was the queen, Amisha said she was not shocked because she knew she had given it her all and was satisfied with how it all turned out.
This is the first pageant for the Guyana Divya Jyoti Association.
The other contestants received awards. Special prizes went to Madhurie Raishma Ramgolam for Best Talent and Miss Congeniality, Nikito Lochan for Miss Photogenic, Sarah Madramootoo for Miss Best Sari, Truvanie Persaud for Best Smile and People’s Choice and Amisha for Miss Best Hair. Madhurie, Nikito, Sarah and Truvanie finished first, second, third and fourth runners-up respectively.
The queen, first and second runners-up were sashed by Mrs India Worldwide Guyana 2018 Shivanie Latchman. They were also presented with an all-expenses-paid trip to Aruwai H2O Resort, compliments of Guyana Diwali Sari Queen 2011 Tanaina Samaroo.
The affair, though, was bitter-sweet for the queen who said she wished both her grandmothers were there. “If I could I’d beg God to bring both of them back because one of them saw this vision of me participating in pageantry and though she didn’t tell me this, I learnt of it from another relative. My other grandmother took part in pageantry…, she danced and did her own makeup. From time to time, I would miss them, and I know that had they been here they would have been proud.
“I intend on using my reign to exhibit my tradition especially since the [sole focus] on my pageant was on saris and the Indian culture. I want to make more persons aware of the beautiful garment, the [decency and class] that comes with wearing it. Currently I’m using my Facebook page as a communication network in sharing getting this over. So far, the feedback has been great; there haven’t been any negative comments as yet and I see this idea thriving.”
Contemplating what she wants to achieve in the near future, the teen posited that she sees herself becoming a professional in her accounting profession and also participating in the Miss India Guyana pageant. She hopes to be a contestant in 2021.
“I would want people to remember me as someone inspirational and say, ‘hey she made a difference in my life and I want to make her my muse,’” she said.
This Cancer beauty spends her free time listening to music, surfing online and hanging with friends. Her favourite food is anything with chicken.
