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Bhubaneswar, August 21: Rasmita Jena looked beautiful in bridal wear. She walked the ramp with confidence before a panel of judges who could see, unlike her.
Rasmita was one of the participants at the ‘Miss India’ pageant jointly organised by Vocational Rehabilitation Centre for Handicapped (VRCH), Bhubaneswar, and the state branch of National Association for the Blind (NAB) here, Sunday.
“This was the first time I participated in such an event. It felt amazing walking in front of an audience and answering questions the judges posed. The whole experience was something new. I dressed up like a bride as bridal wear is considered something very special.”
A total of 56 visually impaired persons from across the state had applied for taking part in the first round of the contest. Twenty-five of these in the age group 18-30 were found eligible to participate.
A total of 14 contestants have made it to the second round. At the second round, to be held again at the VRCH August 28, two totally blind and two partially blind girls will be selected.
Rasmita, who is 21, is among the contestants who have made it to the second round. This graduate in Oriya from Rajendra College, Bolangir, dreams of becoming a teacher. “I intend to pursue a BEd course as I am interested in teaching and believe I am where I am due to my teachers.”
The pleasure of participating in an event that is not normally associated with the visually impaired was evident from what Sandhya Rani Patra, a 19-year-old pursuing a degree at RD Women’s University, had to say. “Miss India contests were for normal people and not for those like us. Such events should be organised for people like us, too, on a regular basis. It will help boost our confidence and would make us feel we can do anything.”
Another 19-year-old, Jhumari Biswal, who is a student of Ravenshaw University also said she participated in the event mainly to know what it was like.
“I have heard a lot about national and international level beauty pageants. I just wanted to experience it all once in my lifetime. Disability is only in our mind. If we decide to do something, nobody can stop us from doing that,” she said.
Ram Kishor Sharma, the assistant director of VRCH, said the first round of the national level contest will be held in Mumbai. “The four girls selected from the second round here will compete with participants from other states in September. Twelve girls will be shortlisted from that round and they will take part in another round at Mumbai in October-November. They will be given training for 15 days by a choreographer and a personality development trainer.”
The final will be held in January 2017 among these 12 girls who will face interactive rounds, display their talents, and walk the ramp before a panel of judges, celebrities and eminent personalities in January 2017. Namrata Chadda, Tulika Mohanty, Ananya Patnaik, Itishree Sahoo and Pravati Mishra formed the Jury at the preliminary round Sunday. Balwant Singh, Director, DTE&T, and Ajay Samal, the state general secretary of NAB, were among the dignitaries present.