Ageless beauty queen

EXPAT fashionista Shristi Sinha is back in the pageant world after taking a long break to focus on being a mother … and it seems her winning style hasn’t been forgotten, writes May Al Mousawi.

The housewife wowed judges at the Indian Club’s recent Ageless Beauty Queen contest, where she won three out of the six categories.

As well as being crowned Ageless Beauty Queen, alongside the first place prize she was judged to have the ‘Best Smile’ and to have made the ‘Best Catwalk’ appearance.

“I definitely didn’t expect to win. It was a good evening and I had a lot of fun especially with my family in the crowd. It was a big surprise for me,” said the 36-year-old mother of six-year-old Raj Singh.

As Shristi has already taken part in two previous pageants, taking home the crown on both occasions, her experience and wistful elegance left her the last of 17 married Indian women standing in the annual competition.

Indian-born Shristi, from Budaiya, said: “This is the third time I’ve been part of a beauty competition. I took part once when I was in school in Grade 10 and again during my college years. I won both times although I never aspired to be a model … it was just fun.

“This is the first time I have taken part in a pageant since I started a family. I moved to Bahrain in 2006 so it is also the first time I have competed outside of India.

“I was completely unaware of the pageant until a friend told me I should join in. Registration was almost closed when I came to my decision and I had just two days practice.

 “I never thought I would still be able to take part and win – I thought that those days were over. With a child and being married you wouldn’t think that you would have time or even the opportunity to do something like this … you feel like half your life is gone already! I will definitely try out again.”

Shristi believes the best part of her getting ‘back in the game’ was that now she has people to share the experience with. Little Raj Singh was the first one to jump up on stage when she was crowned and hug her. His excitement and pride in his mother made Shristi and her husband, Amit Yashpal, who works as head of risk management in Kuwait Finance House, overwhelmed and has further motivated her to take part in the next competition.

“I was grateful that my son, husband, good friends and entire family were there,” she said. “It was a joyous moment for everybody … that was actually what I was looking forward to.”

The first round of the competition focused on casual clothing, which Shristi believes was essential to show off her true personality. She chose to wear clothes from her own closet – blue jeans, a plain top and a pair of boots.

However, the second traditional clothing round, with a touch of Bahraini inspiration, was important to showcase her culture. Her dress was given to her by Bahraini designer Kubra Al Qaseer and she believes it helped sway the judge’s decision.

She said: “I wanted to portray India in its best form, especially in the traditional round. How we cover our hair and how we drape our clothing. I am very proud of my culture and it is something I love to share with people.

“Kubra Al Qaseer was sweet enough to help me out with the dress. It was awesome. It was a mix between Indian and Bahraini attire and was very nicely done. Everybody fell in love with it and I really want to thank her. I believe that it helped sway the judge’s vote … it was breathtaking.”

Shristi has been fascinated with fashion since she was a child. When she was 16 she entered her first competition and was mesmerised by the models and how they had so much confidence and held their heads up high. She took this fascination with her to college where she also participated in many fashion shows.

Although Shristi has experience, she stills admits to getting nervous before the competition, yet she finds serenity in prayer.

“Before I get on stage I always pray. It calms me down and gives me some reassurance that I will be fine. I really believe in God. It helps to give a little confidence as well.”