There’s more to these Miss SA beauties than meets the eye
IN LESS than 20 days Karishma Ramdev, 23, and Bryoni Govender, 21, will realise their childhood dreams when they walk the ramp at the Miss South Africa 2018 pageant.
The country’s most prestigious beauty pageant is offering its winner R2 million in prizes.
Ramdev, a fifth-year medical student at the University of Pretoria, and Govender, a third-year law student at the University of Johannesburg, were selected out of 28 regional finalists to compete in the finals.
The Miss SA pageant is set to take place on May 27, at the Sun Arena at Time Square, Pretoria.
Speaking to earlier this week, Govender, whose name Bryoni is pronounced similarly to breyani, said she had always been teased while growing up.
Her mother, Shireen, named her after a character in a romance novel.
“The name is actually an English original,” said Govender, whose second name is Natalie.
Living in Kempton Park, Govender said entering the Miss SA had always been a childhood dream.
“At the age of 14, I had the privilege of meeting and working alongside former Miss SA, Melinda Bam, while volunteering on a charity project, and I was in awe of her confidence. She created such a good impression on me, and I fell more in love with my dream of one day becoming Miss SA.”
Govender has been dancing since Grade 1 and has taken to tap dancing.
“My best friend and I began tap dancing when we were in Grade 4, and we continued to dance together over the years. It was also a way to spend time together,” said Govender, who also does modern dancing.
When asked how she kept in such good shape, Govender boiled it down to “good genes”, adding that she also didn’t want to take anything for granted, so she sometimes watched what she ate and went to the gym at least four times a week.
Her favourite meal is lamb curry and rice.
Govender’s dad Devan, a businessman, mother Shireen and brother Bryson and his wife will all be there to support her on her big day.
As an aspiring attorney, Govender said if she won, she intended using her Miss SA title to advocate for equal rights, starting at the place she volunteered at, called MES Kempton.
The organisation provides access to food and shelter for the less fortunate.
“I want to take that initiative and grow it into a larger platform.”
Her advice to the younger generation: “Love everything about yourself and be willing to try new things, face challenges, work harder and excel beyond your expectations.”
Ramdev, whose childhood dream was also to be Miss SA since spotting Jo-Ann Cindy Strauss on the cover of a magazine, said the feeling of being selected to participate in the finals was “indescribable”.
“I can’t put the feeling into words, and I can’t wait for the final night,” said Ramdev, who lives in Chatsworth.
Ramdev enjoys horse riding, reading, going to the gym and hiking.
She said her parents – father Karun, an optometrist; mother Komla, a radiographer, and siblings Aveshan and Sashin, as well as her extended family, will be supporting her at the finals.
“My dad has seven siblings, and my mother has three, and my grannies will be there,” said Ramdev excitedly.
Education is something Ramdev is passionate about, and she believes that educating the youth is of paramount importance.
If she wins Miss SA, Ramdev intends to start a programme similar to the Cell C Take A Girl Child to work.
“I would partner with the Miss SA and their sponsors and have an initiative like Take a Professional to School Day.
“The professional would have to come from an impoverished background, so that the pupils can relate to them, and realise that they, too can change their lives.”
Ramdev currently volunteers at Tulip (Tux, Leadership and Individual Programme).
“The organisation helps with high school pupils getting into universities. We tutor pupils and do monthly visits.”