Some things stay ‘plus c’est la même chose’ regardless of the wringer the world goes through. Despite the pandemic, one of the first things we heard when the virus got jabbed by the vaccine was that people were organising beauty pageants and crowning lovely lasses for their good looks, wit and well-rehearsed repartee.
When tracking beauty contests at local clubs, I always marvelled at the ability of the contestants to look fresh and ready to break into a jig even at 2am when the results were usually announced. We used to say in the newsroom that ladies who looked that alive after those hours of dressing up and parading truly deserved the crown and sash.
Make no mistake – being beautiful is hard work and these contestants put in a lot of effort into the way they present themselves. And, don’t be fooled into cliches that beauty contestants are airheads whose vision is limited to the next lipstick colour trend. I know one local beauty queen who is now a respected epidemiologist working in the critical field of public health, another who makes the airwaves sing as an accomplished radio pro and even senior finance professionals.
In India, every beauty contest usually throws up a few movie stars since this platform is the shortest route to catch movie-makers’ attention. Of course, only a few make it to the level of an Aishwarya Rai or a Priyanka Chopra but even a Miss Indore or a Mrs Kottayam finds a few months of lucrative work inaugurating supermarkets and gracing local fashion shows as showstoppers. Others dazzle the world as calendar girls, lighting up our drab lives with visions of their beauty.
But the world does not revolve around beauty alone and beyond the razzamatazz of well-packaged good looks, we all seek something with more soul and cerebral stimulation. That is why the efforts of a local group of young women needs applause. I’m talking of Women Across, which has released a unique digital calendar dedicated ‘to help a woman BE everything she can BE’.
The group has thoughtfully selected 12 amazing achievers, women who range from community volunteers to scientists, to a professor, a martial arts champion, writers, a finance professional, a yoga expert and radio professional. They have been drawn from all communities and what is truly inspiring is that these women represent the ability of Bahrain to give us all the space and the resources to follow our dreams and blossom to our fullest potential.
Beautifully produced, the digital calendar helps us to not just track the weeks of the year but also keep assessing our goals, and remind ourselves of how much more needs to be done to make the world a better place and ourselves a better version of what we are today.
Similarly, the Indian Community Relief Fund has also come out with its annual Spectra calendar featuring the artworks of children – I understand more than 550 children from 80 schools in 17 countries took part in the online event this year and five winners were chosen from nine groups. The sheer logistical and organisational challenge of putting such an event together makes it admirable – and the whole exercise generates valuable funds for needy people.
When great causes and local inspiration come together, it’s a fantastic initiative to live 2022 well. Calendar art takes on a new meaning altogether!
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