An evening of recognition

By Melissa Perera

The recognition evening of two main ambassadors of ‘Bride of the World’ and ‘Miss International’ took place at the Hilton Residence earlier this week. The event was organised by the Hilton Residence Colombo, National Director of Miss International and Bride of the World, Rosita Wickramesinghe and famous actress Sangeetha Weerarathne. Second runner-up of Miss International 2012 Madusha Mayadunna, and a former Miss Universe Sri Lanka Aruni Rajapaksha, who won second runner-up at Bride of the World 2012 were the ambassadors.

General Manager of Hilton Residence, Manesh Fernando, commenced the evening’s proceedings by congratulating both ambassadors for their tireless efforts. He also thanked the National Director of Miss International and Bride of the World, Rosita Wickremesinghe, and Sangeetha Weeraratne for their contribution and for giving the young ladies this opportunity.   The International Cultural Association has prompted world peace and mutual understanding between nations, and started the ‘Miss International’ pageant in the ’60s where delegates from different nations represented their respective countries as goodwill ambassadors of beauty.  Originally this pageant was born in the US and then was then organised by Japan and China. Unlike other pageants, this doesn’t focus only on beauty. They gather to contribute societies and deepen relationships between countries.  

Priyani Mayadunne, Madusha’s mother, gave a brief description of Madusha’s achievements in her childhood and stated that she is indeed a very proud mother. Madusha also took part in various other international pageants. Speaking to the media, Madusha described her experience of the entire pageant. Her goal of participating in every contest is to honour the beauty of Sri Lanka. She was titled the ‘Ambassador of Beauty’ at the pageant. Later, the Head of Marketing at Cameron Pale and Medina, Prasanna Pathmanathan, introduced the second runner-up of Bride of the World 2012, Aruni Rajapaksha with a brief description of the pageant she took part in.

The idea of Bride of the World (BOW) was to promote Asian family values, mainly marriage, motherhood, career and respect for elders, that the Western world admires. Most beauty pageants are based on the Western culture which is why BOW is unique.

The pageant was started by a Singaporean, Cheng Keng Teo, in 2010 in China, who thought it was time the Asian world promoted what is precious to the region. The pageant looked into several factors in choosing the BOW: bravery, respect, resilience, intelligence, integrity, devotion, dedication, endurance and many more.

Aruni’s modelling life of eight years helped her when taking part in several other international pageants. She thanked Micheal Wijesooriya for her costumes and Rosita for giving her the opportunity to take part in the pageant. Finally she concluded with a slideshow which described her journey on the ramp and her achievements.

 – Pix by Sameera Wijesinghe