Turning up in beautiful chiffon and georgette saris and ‘lehengas’, along with spaghetti-strapped designer blouses, the contestants exuded poise and confidence at the national-level ‘Miss. Trans Queen’ beauty pageant.
The much-awaited beauty contest for the third genders, which stopped due to sudden thundershowers on Thursday, resumed its charm with heart-pounding music, dance, and energy-packed audience at Gurajada Kalakshetram here on Friday. Of the 125 contestants who made their way to the venue from different places like Delhi, Pune, Kolkata, Kochi, Hyderabad, and Visakhapatnam, among other cities, 22 were short-listed for the final round.
With the tagline ‘Hum kisi se kum nahin’ attached to the beauty show, hosted jointly by Naandi Service Society and Moon Power, the participants walked down the ramp with ease, teaming their attires with attractive stilettos. Apart from creating a platform for the others, the pageant kept its focus on raising awareness on the acceptance of the third gender community.
“We are not bothered about winning or losing the beauty pageant, but a platform such as this is really heart-warming. What our hometown (Delhi) has not done so far, the City of Destiny has done for us. Whoever we are, all we need is your love and acceptance,” one of the contestants from Delhi said. While some of the participants surprised the viewers by introducing themselves in Telugu, a few shared their wonderful experience of being part of the national-level beauty pageant. It was the first time the beauty contest for the community was being organised in Andhra Pradesh. “We have been planning for the event for the last five years. The objective is to provide a platform for the others to exhibit their talent and allow them to express themselves,” director of Moon Power Srinivas said.
The top winner walked away with gold crown worth Rs.1 lakh and the second and third winners grabbed silver crowns. The other titles of the pageant included ‘beautiful eyes’, ‘best skin’, ‘best walk’, ‘beautiful smile’, and ‘beautiful personality’.
