INVITATION TO ZOOM PUBLIC MEETING THIS SUNDAY by Staff Reporter
White is beautiful is ingrained in every Western mind-set, but of late, comedian Vir Das has introduced us to “once you go brown, the other colours let you down.” The browns are a varied people, counting Hispanics, Arabs and Indians among them. Each culture is famed for the beauty of its people. Hispanic women are at the forefront of contemporary international beauty standards while Indians are often left on the wayside. Yet, India is a nation of nations, filled with so much ethnic variety, culture and aesthetics that beauty slips into nuances of all that is India and the Indian Diaspora.
Miss Universe 2021 Harnaaz Sandhu made India proud when she captured the crown on Dec 12th 2021. She is the 3rd entrant from India to win the title. Social media was rife with criticism of the host, Steve Harvey, whose cultural insensitivity to Ms Sandhu did nothing to diminish the young actress and Master’s degree student’s elegance and decorum. We must question the conduct of these pageants. Are Indian women singled out for disrespect? How often are Indo-Caribbean women selected to represent their respective countries at international beauty pageants? What are their experiences before, during and after the pageants? How do Indian women in the Diaspora feel about pageants?
Please join us for another ICC ZOOM Public Meeting THIS SUNDAY, February 6, 2022 at (1.00 p.m. Belize), (2.00 p.m. New York/Eastern time), (3.00 p.m. Trinidad/Atlantic time), (3.00 p.m. Guyana), (4.00 p.m. Suriname), (7.00 p.m. England), (9.00 p.m. South Africa), (Mon 12.10 a.m. India, ND), (Mon 7.00 a.m. Fiji).
TOPIC: Indians in International Beauty Pageants in the Diaspora: Trinidad, Guyana, Suriname, St. Vincent, Belize & South Africa
SPEAKERS:
- NEHA KARINA DAWAR (Trinidad and Tobago) – Creative Director and Fashion Designer who represents her Indian heritage in fine designs of Caribbean-Indian luxury styles
- ROSHINI BOODHOO PERSAUD (Guyana) – Miss India Worldwide Guyana 2011, Miss India Worldwide Miss Congeniality 2011, Peace Ambassador, Dancer, Dance Choreographer
- VARSHA RAMRATAN (Suriname) – Miss India Suriname 2011, 3rd place Winner Miss India Worldwide Pageant 2012; Hall of Fame Awardee by The Miss India Worldwide Organization
- CHERYL GAIL RODRIGUEZ (St. Vincent) – Producer of the MISS SVG (St. Vincent and the Grenadines) and MISS CARIVAL beauty pageants for 20 years
- JANINE GILHARRY (Belize) – Miss India Belize 2013, Contestant in Miss India-World-Wide beauty pageant in Malaysia 2013, Fashion designer and owner of House of Gilharry
- KERISHNIE NAIKER (South Africa) – Only Indian Miss South Africa 1997, Top 5 in Miss World and Top 10 in Miss Universe 1998. Pharmacist and International Speaker
Followed by Q+A
Join Zoom Meeting by clicking on or touching this link
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88002279024
Meeting ID: 880 0227 9024
No Passcode Needed
Live-streamed on the Facebook page of the Indo-Caribbean Cultural Centre
https://www.facebook.com/indocaribbeanculturalcentre
Hosted by www.indocaribbeanpublications.com,
WhatsApp +1 868 756 4961 or +1 868 381 0386
dmahabir@gmail.com, indocaribbeanstaff@kumarmahabir
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is a full-time anthropologist at the University of Guyana (UG) and Fellow of The Eccles Centre for American Studies, British Library (2022-23). He is a former Assistant Professor at the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT). He obtained his Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Florida (UF). As a doctoral student, he won a Florida Caribbean Institute Award, an A. Curtis Wilgus Grant, and an Organization of American States (OAS) Fellowship.
Mahabir received a National Award (Hummingbird Silver Medal) for his contribution to education in his country in 2011. He was among 50 recipients who received a Distinguished Alumni Award from the UWI Alumni Association.
Mahabir is the author of 12 books to date.