Saritha Ram Menon from Thrissur won the prestigious title of Mrs. United Nations World at a recently concluded Mrs. United Nations Pageant World finals 2019, which was held in New Delhi and Punjab.
Ms. Saritha, who has been staying in Werrington for more than eight years, represented Australia in the pageant. Saritha became the first South Asian woman to win the title.
She also won the People’s Ambassador award 2019, as she got the maximum votes in an online people’s choice voting. Hailing from Chelakkara in Thrissur district, Ms. Saritha is an accountant and assists in her husband Ram Menon’s finance firm Amogh Financial Services.
“I stand for body positivity. When I began this journey people thought that I wouldn’t have a chance to do well as I was not size zero. It was a challenge for me to prove my critics wrong. Its all about your confidence and positive attitude,” said Ms. Saritha.
“Women should know that no matter your size or age, you have great worth,” she said.
59 contestants
The contestants were judged in various rounds such as promoting multiculturalism, charity and social causes, national costume, personal interview, high fashion, talent and sports.
The pageant saw 59 contestants from Asia, Europe, Africa and America vying for the honour.
Training, grooming
“We went through nine days of vigorous training and grooming sessions under grooming experts and well known choreographers,” she said.
The contestants visited NGOs, children homes and orphanages. They cooked delicacies of their respective nations and served to the underprivileged kids as part of involvement in social causes. As part of pageantry excursions and showing the cultural flavour of India, all contestants were also taken to the Golden Temple in Amritsar and the Wagah border. The pageant provided men and women from various cultures, irrespective of their body statistics, opportunity to come together regardless of their background and nurture relationships, to make a positive impact on the society in general, Ms. Saritha noted.
Ms. Saritha was also crowned the Mrs. South Asia (India) and Mrs. South Asia (NSW) 2018, which was held in Melbourne (Victoria) in September 2018.
She also won the title of Mrs. Talented India Worldwide 2018, which was held in Adelaide (South Australia) in March 2018.
