The 70th edition of Miss World pageant, Miss World 2021, is set to be held on 16th December 2021 at the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum in San Juan, Puerto Rico where Toni-Ann Singh of Jamaica will crown her successor at the end of the event finale. There was no pageant held in 2020 due to the rampant spread of Covid-19 across the world.
While the competition is cut throat this year and delegates from all over the world are putting their best foot forward, India’s Manasa Varanasi is emerging as one of the prime candidates for the title. The diva has managed to secure a spot in the Top 10 of Beauty with a Purpose challenge and is one of the best dressed contestants at the event. Manasa has been bleeding blue on her stint at the competition, from her sea green Kanchipuram silk sari which featured a self-colour border with charming accents to looking absolutely ravishing flowing in tune with her lehenga on the streets of Old San Juan by Abhinav Mishra.
The diva’s advocacy is to strengthen the child protection system in India. Sensitising people, the Bharatnatyam dancer urged, “The COVID 19 Pandemic has put children at an increased risk of harm. There has been a severe rise in cases of child marriage, child labour, abandoned children and children orphaned - pandemic induced poverty being a major factor. In my home state of Telangana, I’ve been learning from and working with the Women Development and Child Welfare Department (WDCW), which has been working tirelessly to protect and rescue children.”
She aspires to be like her idol Priyanka Chopra, Miss World 2000 someday and adopt her qualities of exploring opportunities and pushing boundaries. She explained, “As a shy kid who tried to make herself heard, I always looked up to Priyanka for the outspoken badass that she was. It's her versatility and strength that I draw inspiration from.”
Harnaaz Kaur Sandhu, who hails from Chandigarh, India won the Miss Universe 2021 title past week on 12th December 2021 in Eilat, Israel. Historically speaking, whenever India has won the coveted crown of Miss Universe, the representatives have also went on to win at Miss World. Be it in 1994 when Sushmita Sen won Miss Universe and Aishwarya Rai followed suit by winning Miss World or in 2000 when Lara Dutta was crowned as Miss Universe and Priyanka Chopra came back home with the world title. Will Manasa recreate history in tune with Harnaaz this year?