By Menka Soni
Northwest Asian Weekly
Beauty, elegance, grace, intellect, talent…
And there was plenty of perspiration and inspiration last week May 16-17 in Bellevue. The 2015 Ravishing Women show was home to the Miss/Mrs/Teen India WA pageantry, along with motivating segments that honor women.
Ajeta Singhal was crowned Miss India WA, whereas Protyusha Dasenogi and Simran Kota were crowned with the coveted titles of Miss / Mrs. India WA 2015 and Teen India WA 2015 respectively. The pageant opened up with each contestant showcasing ethnic wear as part of the traditional round, followed by a talent round, evening gown round and a judges question-and-answer session. The show was judged by a jury panel that included Dharmatma Saran, chariman and founder of IFC flying in from New York, along with his wife Mrs. Neelam Saran. Winners from the pageant have the tremendous opportunity to participate in Miss/Mrs/Teen India USA to be held in New Jersey later this year.
Arushi Agarwal, Budhbhatti Rinu, Simran Rai were crowned as first runner up as Mrs. India Seattle 2015, Miss India Seattle 2015, Teen India Seattle 2015. Other title winners included Shivani Singh as Ms. Catwalk, Sumedha Kshatriya as Ms. Talent, Pranavi KP as Ms. People’s Choice, Mannat Sudan as Ms. Entrepreneur, Manisha Prasad as Ms. Transformational.
The event was a grand celebration of the beauty and spirit of womanhood, while also bringing together the rich heritage and oneness as part of the larger Indian Diaspora.
The annual event, coordinated by Ravishing Women is a group working on the concept of “Growing Together” to “transform the dream of women entrepreneurs into reality.” It is an effort taken by group of women to promote, empower and encourage enterprises founded and nurtured by women. The group believes there is hidden potential and immense talent waiting to be tapped and encouraged, waiting for the right opportunity, a spark or a guiding light that will help them take flight. The objective of Ravishing Women is to create awareness and provide support to help such entrepreneurs grow together as a team. (end)
Photos courtesy Siddhartha Saha and Kiran Photography