WITH intense charisma and onstage versatility, 19-year-old marketing student Alana Seebarran on Saturday night stole the judge’s nod to win the 2011, Miss India Guyana Worldwide Pageant 2012. Alana snatched the crown from eight other dazzling contenders.
The new queen, who described the characteristics of an empowered woman as compassion, strength and vulnerability, was crowned the new Miss Guyana India Worldwide just after midnight Saturday.
For winning the title, Alana will represent Guyana at the Miss India Worldwide pageant in Suriname next February. It is the only international beauty pageant that brings together women of Indian origin from across the world.
Her other prizes include a one-week stay in India’s film capital, Mumbai, where she will get the opportunity to appear in a TV serial.
Alana is no stranger to the stage. A stunning dancer, her face is a staple at productions of the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha, especially the immensely popular Naya Zamana.
She is currently pursuing a degree in marketing at York University in Toronto, where she is an active participant of the university’s South Asian Alliance dance troupe.
The competition was put on by the entertainment group Apsara and was staged at the poolside of the Princess Hotel.
From the time the competition began, Alana emerged as the top contender. Those who followed closely behind her were Katherina Roshan (a regrettable miss for the crown), the talented Artie Deodat, and the unsuspecting Hashana Komal. Tahirih Boodhoo was the other contestant to round out the final five.
Katherina simply ignored the microphone, completed her strides on stage and disappeared backstage, leaving the audience to wonder just what happened.
From then on, it didn’t seem that Katherina, who is studying Oriental medicine, could regain her composure on stage, even after being named among the finalists. She struggled through her response to the question when she was asked to identify three attributes that could be used to describe an empowered woman.
In a less than confident and eloquent fashion, she proffered that an empowered woman would be someone who is educated and displays loyalty and love. She had to settle for the last place among the finalists.
Coming in the 4th position was marketing clerk Artie Deodat. She displayed her love of modelling with confident strides on the catwalk and a talent piece that could not prevent the judges from awarding her the Best Talent Prize.
The third position went to Hashana, who threatened to derail the competition when she won a flurry of the special prizes – Best Gown, Best Smile, and Miss Photogenic. Even Hashana seemed overwhelmed by the votes that came her way.
In second place was Tahirih, who came close to being crowned by her sister, Roshini Boodhoo, who was ending her eight-month reign.
Tahirih proved to be a consistent contestant throughout the competition, but in the end lost out to the eventual winner.
Alana becomes the fourth Miss Guyana India Worldwide to be crowned by Apsara.