– Britanny Singh, the new Miss India Guyana

By Tamica Garnett
Photos: Samuel Maughn

Brittany Singh was just six years old when she entered her first pageant – Little Miss Herstelling Nursery – and won, and ignited her dream to one day win at the national level and represent Guyana on the big stage.

Fast forward thirteen years later and she is about to live that fantasy. She is set to represent Guyana at the Miss India World Wide Pageant next month in New Jersey after winning the local crown three Sundays ago.

Singh is scheduled to travel to the US later this week ahead of her participation at the October 3 international pageant where she will be vying with over 20 other beauties from across the globe for the revered Miss India World Wide title.

With just 13 days of preparation, Singh along with two other young ladies – Tahirih Boodhoo and Abigail Mohabir – contended for the local crown, and when all the dust settled, a surprised and tearful Singh was crowned the winner.

“I was beyond surprised but I knew with all my hard work and praying I would have been successful. I remembered back stage I was saying to myself that the only thing missing from my outfit is the crown!”

The former Business School Valedictorian dedicated her win to her late mother, who had always wanted to be there to see her win a national pageant, always believing that her Brittany could.

“Throughout the years she was alive and even now after her death all I ever want to do is to make her proud.

“When my mother was alive, she always encouraged to model and dance. She supported me in my every wish and desire.”

Singh was just twelve years old when she lost mom. She was able to pull through thanks to a great support system of mother figures who all helped to craft her into the beautiful young lady she is today.

“After she died I was battling depression, constantly, I was fighting within myself to be happy. There’s no one that could replace my mother; however I have a beautiful and loving stepmom, whom is practically my best friend. I also have many mother figures in my life – my primary school teacher, who proudly calls me her daughter and accepts me as her own; my godmother who is very supportive in the things I embarked on; and I can’t forget all my amazing aunts. I believe all their support has made me into the young woman I am today.”

And what a gorgeous, adventurous young lady she is, one who does not back down from challenges, or shy away from criticism. In fact, these are traits that did her well following her Miss India Guyana win as many were not pleased that she was awarded the win. Some even personally reached out to harass her. But she was not to be daunted, taking it all in stride, believing it to be all a part of the pageant life.
“I believe in every competition there will be some drama, demeaning comments and gossips; but everyone had their own favourites.

I do believe that I deserved the crown! Besides, the score sheets were opened to the public and I saw for myself how and why I was crowned, where I fell down, which areas I need to work on,” Singh explained.

Following Singh’s crowning many believed that she was not the most competent of the delegates based on Coronation day. However the Miss India Guyana Organization reminded that the pageant was looking for the most all-rounded delegate, and pointed out that the contestants were being judged based on their preliminary activities as well.

In the interest of fairness, the organization posted the score sheet for the pageant online, but this still did not deter persons from also harassing executives of the organization.

Most of the spectators particularly based their opinions on how the girls performed during the final question segment of the pageant. But the Organization further explained that if persons really looked at the question, Ms. Singh actually had the answer closest to what the judges were looking for, despite the fact that Boodhoo, had a more extensive answer.

“The question was asking for what they can carry to the international stage not what they would ask the patrons to do when they come to Guyana. As a panel, the judges sat down at the beginning and decided upon the question and the answer we were looking for. Ms Boodhoo’s was articulate, since she is seasoned, but she didn’t directly answer the question. Nonetheless, she still scored more point than Brittany in that segment,” said franchise holder, Uma Bux.

The final question at the centre of the controversy read: “My heritage, my home: As an Indian woman, how would you showcase this on the International stage?”

Singh, who stumbled through the question at first, said she would do this through dancing, and would do whatever else she could to showcase Guyana’s culture, it’s beauty and natural resources.

She said she could do this because “I know my heritage. I know my home.”

In the end Singh scored 931 points, while Boodhoo had 899, and Mohabir finished with 714 points, after being judged in six categories. Boodhoo had missed out on crucial points in the preliminary judging after she had missed one of the activities, despite knowing it was important to attend.

A confident Singh however said it’s all water under the bridge and despite the controversy, she remains friends with the other two contestants and she is now focused on ensuring she puts her best foot out there when she steps on that stage to represent Guyana.

She is currently under around the clock training, seven days a week, which was necessary given the short preparation time.

Her preparation includes fitness training with Genesis Fitness, Pageantry training with Derek Moore, Public Speech training with NCN’s Paul Moore, makeup training with Tenisha Garnett and Talent Training with Euphoria dance group founder James Lomonga and the Kathak dancer Kenrick Cheeks.

As she heads to the international stage, she hopes to be a beacon to other young women out there who may think that they can’t for whatever reason. She implores them to reach for the stars

“Nothing is impossible; you can dream and it can come true. Just be true to yourself, believe and work hard, always be genuine. Nothing is impossible once you put your mind to it.
“With the amazing support of the Miss India Guyana Organization, my friends, and family I will get through this and come out shining!”