Created by Glamour by Sara, the virtual competition is a positive platform for either single or married women to showcase their range of talents confidently, from the comfort of their own homes.

Changing the way beauty pageants are regularly conducted, KL expat Mrs Sagarika Swain (better known as Sara), has launched her own global virtual show celebrating women of different ages and backgrounds called ‘Miss & Mrs Saree Queen 2021.’

Originally from Odisha, India, Sara is the founder of Glamour By Sara Sdn. Bhd. that was started in October 2020, and headquartered in Kuala Lumpur. On top of founding a company that works to empower the modern day woman through services like grooming programmes, fitness and yoga, personal development, and event management, Sara is also an active volunteer with the Women’s Aid Organisation in KL as well as other NGO societies.

Not only is she an experienced corporate figure, Sara’s initiative in creating a platform like Miss & Mrs Saree Queen 2021 was prompted by her own crowning win after participating in a Haut Monde Mrs. India Worldwide 2019, International pageant that was held in Greece.

Spurred by her win, Sara started Miss & Mrs Saree Queen 2021 during the ongoing pandemic, and has already organised over 20 virtual events in the last year and a half for both adults and children. With age groups starting as young as 15, virtual auditions for the pageant started from July 9 2021, and ended on August 19. With finalists coming from India, Malaysia, the UAE, Singapore and USA, the diverse range of contestants also includes a transwoman.

One of the contestants and current finalists is expat Mrs Saloni Anand Karan from New Delhi, India, who has been a KL resident with her husband and two children for over a decade. A former HR Manager, Saloni was thrilled to come across the pageant that drew interest from contestants around the world. Citing her deep love for her culture and celebrating the eternal saree, Saloni received a wonderful surprise when found out she was shortlisted as a finalist along with 20 others.

Talking about her experience with the pageant so far, Saloni expressed that the competition was very well curated by Glamour by Sara. The contestants were given tasks every week that included showcasing their hobbies, Bollywood dancing, cooking, drawing their vision board, and draping sarees in variety of ways.

Being a virtual competition, Saloni also said that using platforms like Facebook and Instagram to present her talents has helped her learn and polish her social media handling techniques.

“Participating in this contest has been an amazing and wonderful experience for me till now, pushing me more each time to show my hidden talent gracefully. I can’t thank Glamour By Sara enough for this lifetime opportunity, as well as my family and friends for supporting me at every step,” she adds.

An important reason why Miss & Mrs Saree Queen 2021 was created was to combat age discrimination in beauty pageants by empowering women of different ages to go for their own dreams, and celebrate their unique talents. Glamour by Sara also wanted to establish a positive environment for both single and married women to showcase their range of talents from the comfort of their own homes with confidence.

Miss & Mrs Saree Queen 2021 Grand Finale will be held live on Zoom on September 18, 2021 that will be streamed via social media platforms. If you would like to support the contestants and marvel over their gorgeous saree drapings, follow the competition highlights on Facebook and Instagram here. For event bookings, grooming classes, curated personal fitness programmes, and personal development coaching, visit glamourbysara.com.