… celebrating beauty across size, colour

WHEN Anusha Bisaal read an article a few years ago that degraded Indian women, she decided to launch a beauty pageant to empower them.

There were no stipulations for applicants. They could be widowed, married, single, divorced, dark skinned, light skinned, fat or thin, this did not matter.

She aimed to provide a platform to showcase the beauty of all women – something considered to be against the grain of industry and societal standards.

It also afforded women an opportunity to reach out to communities in need through her foundation, SHE Force.

SHE, Bisaal said, stood for Serve, Help and Empower.

“While growing up, I was a prim and proper little madam. I always made sure my clothes, shoes and nail polish matched, so it was no surprise when I chose a career in beauty over being a pharmacist or accountant,” Bisaal said.

The 49-year-old mother of two had lived at the time with her maternal grandparents, K Lalloo and Jasodha, in Merebank, along with her father, Juggie Juggnath, a businessman, mother Prem, a teacher, and two younger brothers.

She had an older sister, Shakti, who died at the age of 3 after contracting meningitis.

“My grandfather was also a businessman. We moved in with him so my mother could care for my grandmother, who was ill. My grandfather was

POST CHARLENE SOMDUTH