Reportage – 2005

A Song for Freedom

DHARAMSHALA, India, 1 February 2003
FEMINA magazine, Bombay, India

The first-ever Miss Tibet 2002 pageant finally took off. Lobsang Wangyal says it wasn't an easy task to prove the critics wrong.

According to the Tibetan lunar calendar, this is the year of the water horse. A time of abundance and power, a time for something new and different. This Miss Tibet 2002 Pageant was such an opportunity.

Conceived a year ago, the pageant is part of the Free Spirit Festival, an annual event held in Dharamsala to celebrate traditional and contemporary Tibetan arts, with a special focus placed on the rare and vanishing arts of Tibet.

The Obstacles

From the start, the idea of the pageant was met with criticism from the Tibetans. Even the exiled Prime Minister of Tibet charged the pageant with being "un-Tibetan", and missed the point of the entire exercise, which is to show the world how beautiful Tibetan women are, and to increase international awareness about the Tibetan issue.

At a press conference held to inaugurate the world's tallest stupa at Dehra Dun, His Holiness the Dalai Lama said that he is not against beauty pageants, but that they shouldn't only be about a woman's face and body, but a way of expressing youth's quest for freedom.

Even though the Miss Tibet Contest was a part of the Free Spirit Festival, it was not staged as an anti-China event; rather it was to promote Tibet's identity and enable Tibetan women to live out their dreams alongside other women of the 21st century.

The difficulties were many, financial aid among them. Actor and lone-time Tibet activist, Richard Gere, couldn't believe that a Miss Tibet Pageant was actually to happen. He just laughed it off when approached for funding. Nevertheless, he wished us the best of luck.

Goldie Hawn, similarly, did not extend financial support, but stood by us in spirit. Consequently, the only funds available to back this project came from the director's own pocket.

Behind the Scenes

US-based theatre artiste Sheri Winkelmann was a vital member of the team and helped train the girls. She was assisted by former professional dancer Bia Bispo from Brazil. Additional support came from Judith Caris of France, Wendy Wadsworth of Australia, and Kalsang Gya from Canada, while the phenomenal effort from the rest of the Miss Tibet team must be acknowledged.

The Event Day one: The show kicked off on 10 October 2002, with the swimsuit round. Fifty or so media professionals scuttled around, clicking photographs and filming the contest held near the Whispering Winds Resorts in the suburb of Dharamsala.

The swimsuit round was closed to the public to avoid offending people's sensibilities.

From an original 30 applicants, ten did not fulfil the required criteria, which included that their tax payments to the Tibetan government be up to date; that they be between 18 and 26 years of age; have a minimum of 165 cm, and, be unmarried. Other applicants dropped out because of social and family pressures.

The contestants underwent a short training programme, which involved yoga, make-up, choreography, voice training, and presentation skills. There was also a crash course in Tibetan culture, history and current affairs.

Day two: The Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts (TIPA) was packed with a 500-strong audience. The girls were given 15 minutes to prepare for the presentation round. Given a choice of two topics, each contestant had to talk on Tibetan history, culture, Buddhism or current affairs. The girls spoke with eloquence and poise and proved that the pageant wasn't only about beauty but about a well-rounded personality.

Day three: Under a star-studded sky, over 2,000 spectators cheered the contestants on as they walked the ramp, first in evening gowns, then in traditional Tibetan costumes. In the final question-and-answer round, each was asked a question by a member of the jury.

The four-member jury consisted of Tikkarani Sheilja Katoch, a member of the royal family of the Kangra Valley; Vijay Kranti, an Indian journalist and photographer who has been documenting Tibetan culture in exile for the past 30 years; Angela Donahue, the current holder of the Mrs Honolulu International title; and a participant in the Mrs Hawaii International pageant; and Dr Kenneth Delbray from Galloway, Scotland, who has been involved with the education projects for Tibetans since the 1970s.

Finally, after a nervous wait, the first-ever Miss Tibet, Dolma Tsering, was crowned by Ama Adhe—a veteran freedom fighter and a symbol of freedom and courage to all Tibetans. Ama Adhe survived 28 years of torture, rape and starvation in Chinese prisons in Tibet, and is one of the three women who survived from the original 100 imprisoned with her.

It's definitely a new beginning.

www.lobsangwangyal.com