Assamese beauty Varsha Rajkhowa has been crowned the new Miss Scuba International 2016 – a one-of-a-kind global beauty pageant held with the purpose of spreading awareness about ocean protection and marine life. Twenty-five-year-old Varsha was adjudged the winner from among 16 other participants after a glitzy grand finale at Sutera Harbour Resort in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia on November 20, 2016.
What makes it an even more proud moment for the country is that this is the first time ever an Indian has represented at the pageant and won it, too. Varsha impressed with her maturity and intellect during the entire event but her reply in the final question-answer round wowed all judges. On being asked, “What is the most important lesson you’ve learned during the competition?” She said, “The most important thing we learn is that united we stand and divided we fall. We must come together to save our oceans and to [preserve] beautiful marine life. This is because what we love is what we save, and what we fear to lose is what we have to work for.”
The answer earned Varsha the coveted title while Meryl Angeline King, 27, from Philippines became the first runner-up and Sun Zitong, 24 from China grabbed the second runner-up titles.
Born in Assam and brought up in different parts of the country, Varsha hails from a defence background. She is an environmentalist by profession and wears multiple hats of a model, international-grade dancer, choreographer, national level swimmer and a certified scuba diver.
Photo: Facebook
