Punjabis are known all over the world for their colourful culture, music, language, food and familial bonds. In New Zealand, the Punjabi community organised the first ever Miss NZ Punjaban competition that showcased the beauty and talents of Punjabi women from all over New Zealand.
A cold Saturday evening marked the first ever Miss Punjaban competition in New Zealand. Fourteen girls showcased their talents in four rounds of judging.
The New Zealand Indian Cultural Society (Inc.) organised the Miss NZ Punjaban competition. The evening was filled with cultural performances and memoirs of Punjab. The culture was vividly brought to life throughout the night.
The main attraction for the night was Gurpreet Guggi, better known from ‘The Great Indian Laughter Challenge’. His humorous rendition of everyday life had the audience in stitches and was a great partition between the different rounds of the competition.
Last year’s Miss Punjaban World winner, Japji Kaur Khaira from Australia and now a Punjabi film starlet was also present at the competition. Her graceful beauty and mature poise at such a young age astounded the audience, who were simply swept away by her presence. Japji performed an impromptu dance and was also a judge on the panel.
The night was long and hard. The show was to begin at 7.30pm, but did not commence until well after 8pm. It was difficult at times to entertain the audience and to keep them interested. The show did feel long and the fourth round did not commence until after 11.30pm.
Shortly after the fourth round concluded the winners were announced. The one girl that truly represented the Punjabi culture and the identity of a true Punjaban was
Sophie Dhaliwal. She was crowned Miss NZ Punjaban and will go on to represent New Zealand at the Miss World Punjaban competition. The first and second runner ups were Jigyasa Dua and Gurjeet Kaur respectively.
The Miss NZ Punjaban competition is a truly unique way of preserving the Punjabi culture and language via a pageant and bringing together the NZ Punjabi community.
