Floodwaters may have ruined 26-year-old Nazia Ali’s clothes and jeweleries, but it did not deter the Ba beauty as she beat 11 other contestants for the Miss India Fiji crown last Saturday night.
Ali had to borrow her outfit and jeweleries from her friends for the competition, which was moved to Suva’s Kshatriya Hall from Lautoka due to the flood.
At the pageant talent competition, Ali performed a drama as a Girmitya woman brought in to work in Fiji’s sugar cane plantations.
Now she is preparing to represent Fiji in the upcoming Miss India Worldwide competition to be held in South Africa next month.
“For the next pageant I’m approaching some local designers to create contemporary Fiji attire that will resemble Indian look. I would like to promote the Fijian aspects of this country as well since it is the blend of the races that makes us unique,” she said.
She added that she wants to promote gender equality in Fiji.
Ali is a part-time fashion designer by profession and is currently working on a fashion show for this Saturday.
“At the moment I am finding it a bit difficult to cope with the recent damages to my home in Ba, my work and preparing myself for the pageant. But my friends and family have been very supportive and have always been there for me with words of encouragement,” she said.
Miss India Fiji pageant organizer, Ranjit Raju says Ali would leave a week prior to the annual event in Durban on February 14.
“She (Ali) will reach Durban a week earlier to gain trainings and have a tour of the place. This will be an exciting opportunity of a lifetime since Nazia will be representing Fiji in the Miss India Worldwide Pageant, which will have contestants from all over the world,” said Raju.
The Fiji event was supposed to have 14 contestants but due to travel difficulties from the flood-hit Western Division, two of the contestants, Priyashna Singh and Shaleshma Malini Singh, could not participate.
The first runner-up for the title was won by Avinta Madhukansh of Hayward, USA and the second runner up winner was Sheetal Deo of Suva.
The 14 contestants for the pageant included Alvin Lata (Suva), Avinta Madhukansh (Hayward, USA), Namrata Nikita Devi (Navua), Nandni Chand (Suva), Naziah Ali (Ba), Priyashna Singh (Nadi), Retasha Nandini Nunnink (Savusavu), Rimita Mishra (San Jose, USA), Ronshal Prasad (Suva), Shaleshma Malini Singh (Lautoka), Sheetal Deo (Suva), Shivanjani Mani Naidu (Nasinu), Sweta Nand (Christchurch, NZ), and Veena Vikashni Chandra (Labasa).
The Miss India Worldwide pageant is produced by the India Festival Committee and is known as "the glamorous Indian function in the world". Contestants from over 25 countries participate in this event.
Fijilive
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