India's first Miss World, & Virat Kohli's tattoos | #154
also, the B E S T cat video of all time 👉👉
Hello mitron,
Beauty pageants - the epitome of gender equality and progress! India, like many other countries, has a long-standing love affair with beauty pageants. From Miss India to Miss Universe, these events have been hailed as the ultimate celebration of beauty and grace. Because clearly, a woman's worth is determined by how well she can walk in heels and dazzle in a gown. /s
This week we talk about a few interesting moments in India’s tryst with beauty contests.
Things we learnt this week 🤓
Reita Faria was the first Indian woman to win the Miss World competition, back in 1966. Her selection to the Miss World competition was via the Miss Bombay contest. The organizers of the Miss Bombay competition realised late that there would be a swimsuit round in the Miss World contest. Since they couldn’t organise one - they improvised and asked the contestants to lift their sarees to their knees 🤯 Reita Faria came 2nd in the Miss Bombay contest and interestingly wore a swimsuit for the first time in her life in the Miss World contest. Not only did she win the overall crown, she also won the best swimsuit award. Look how Faria we’ve come.
After winning the Miss World title, you would expect the Indian government to felicitate Reita Faria. But instead, there were fears that her passport would be impounded. The winner of Miss World has to serve as the ambassador for the Miss World foundation for an entire year - a key detail that Reita missed while signing the contract. After her victory, she was sent on a whirlwind trip across the globe including one to Vietnam with comedian Bob Hope. The Indian government was supporting the Communist government in North Vietnam and photos of Faria’s skit with Hope and signing caps of American soldiers were met with disapproval. The Miss World Foundation was afraid that Reita wouldn't be allowed to leave India if she went back. They refused her permission to go to India for a planned short visit. Every story has a silver lining - Reita stayed back in London and completed her medical degree from King’s College. What a Queen 👑
To paraphrase Ravi Shastri, the 1994 Miss India contest went down to the wire. The two finalists were - Aishwarya Rai, established model and favourite for the crown, and Sushmita Sen. It led to the first ever tie breaker in a Miss India contest. Each contestant was asked one question
Aishwarya Rai - "Would you prefer a husband like Ridge Forrester from The Bold & Beautiful or Mason Capwell from Santa Barbara?"
Sushmita Sen - “What do you know about the textile heritage of your country? How old has it been and what do you prefer to wear personally?”
Whatever the result, the questions were atrocious 🤦🏾♂️
In the end, Miss India was the winner
From IWTK, with love 💌
Here’s a cat video that we made. Beware, it is a rare cat video that could make you cry.
What do your tattoos mean, Virat Kohli? India Wants to Know.
Only In India 🇮🇳
Apparently, renting a house is now more competitive than getting into Harvard.
Case in point: a man submitted a persuasive SOP to justify why he should be granted tenancy, only to be denied because of his high school grades.
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❤️ IWTK