In an alien land where Spanish is widely spoken and most of your two dozen rivals hail from Latin American nations, conditions can be pretty intimidating for any contestant. However, Noida girl Srishti Kaur tackled not only the language barrier but all odds stacked heavily against her to emerge a winner at Teen Universe 2017 in Nicaragua.
Srishti, who wore peacock dress and evening gown at the pageant, surprised the jury with grace and chutzpah.
Beaming with joy at making the nation proud, the 19-year-old said: “I am elated to bring home the crown. More than the fear of competition or pangs of nervousness, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience right from the first day till the culmination of the event.”
She tackled the language barrier in a smart way. “Once all the girls were speaking in fluent Spanish. All of a sudden I started speaking randomly in Hindi. When they inquired what I was up to I replied that is exactly what I feel when they don’t speak in English,” says Srishti.
Interestingly, Srishti also taught contestants a smattering of Hindi. “I taught them how to say words like namaste, kaise ho . And they fell in love with these simple words with profound meanings.” She also taught them film songs and crazy Bollywood steps. “I combined songs Aja Nachle, Nagara Dhol and Jai Ho and taught them our dancing moves. All of them started grooving and it was fun to see how catchy our Hindi film songs can be as they even made foreigners take a jig.”
Srishti studied how Sushmita Sen carried herself during the auditions and the way she demonstrated her intelligence at the Miss Universe contest.
Srishti’s work with visually impaired persons at School for the Blind in Delhi helped her to give a powerful social message. “I said both India and Nicaragua are beautiful countries. So I would like to make blind persons experience this beautiful paradise which we call Earth. Without vision they have to touch objects and visualise how beautiful things would be.”
She wants to promote Make in India project through a mix of indigenous ethnic embroidery and Western wear. “I want to make use of traditional silver jewellery, handmade embroideries and handicrafts which epitomise Indian heritage and culture. Through my online label Crystal Sourcing I am making bags and footwear. I would soon be roping in boys and girls aged between 18 and 25 who are familiar with latest fashion trends ,” says Srishti, whose ambition is to participate as a designer at the London Fashion Week.
Priyanka Chopra is her favourite for representing the country on the international film circuit. “She is someone I look up in awe as she is doing a mix of Hollywood and Bollywood.”
