Himalayan News Service

Kathmandu:

Looking at her flawless beauty as Sarah Gurung, First Runner Up, Miss Nepal 2004 walked in dressed in a beautiful saree embellished with a dazzling smile, all one could do was gaze in admiration. This beautiful lass is going to Guangzhou city in China to participate in the Miss Asia-Pacific International Pageant, the finals of which will be held on April 9, 2005. “Though the Miss Nepal pageant was held in 2004, Miss Asia Pacific is being held after being postponed twice and hence the 2004 winner will be participating in the 2005 pageant,” said Subarna Chhetri, founder chairman of Hidden Treasures. He also informed that this contest was earlier known as Miss Asia Pacific Quest and had lesser international participation and now they have changed their pageant to Miss Asia-Pacific International and are encouraging more international contestants. “This year a total of 50 countries are participating in the pageant,” he said. Dabur Nepal, the official sponsors of Miss Nepal 2004, will be initiating this year’s Miss Nepal pageant, too.

Gurung, all prepared for the pageant, will be leaving on March 17 for the event. She has been going through a session of training classes upgrading her on the history, culture and conservation in Nepal and also on beauty tips, personality development and fitness. She has been provided with the best designer outfits and will be flaunting a Newari cultural dress for the Traditional Wear Round. Gurung will be performing a Nepali dance “Gairikhet ko” for the Talent Round and says, “I will try my best to promote Nepalis culture in the pageant since Nepal is a cultural land rich with culture.” This humble beauty is totally confident about herself without a hint of pride. “ Winning is not the only thing on my mind. The experiences that I will gain would be my utmost priority and I believe that they would be immensely helpful for me and also for the future beauty queens of our country. All I can do now is put in my level best,” she says. The other two winners of Miss Nepal, Payal Shakya and Anita Gurung, have already participated in two other prestigious beauty pageants of the world. We wish Sarah all the very best and hope and pray that she turns out to be a winner not only in the pageant but also in her life.