Toronto, July 10, 2007
Des Raj
Meher Pavri, 19-year-old of London, Ontario was
crowned Miss India-Canada 2007 out of total 16 contestants. The
top 5 finalists were announced - Uppekha Jain of Brampton, Ontario;
Eva Khondaker of Edmonton, Alberta; Meher Pavri of London, Ontario;
Sunpreet Bains of White Rock, BC; and Poonam Sandhu of Vancouver,
BC.
- Eva Khondaker was adjudged the first runner-up
- Sunpreet Bains the second runner-up.
Ms. Pavri is a student of music at the University
of Western Ontario. After finishing her undergraduate degree she
plans to do her Masters in Vocal Performance to pursue a career
in Opera and private vocal teaching. She is actively involved
in charitable work in NRI community.
The 17th annual Miss India-Canada event, 2007 began
with a video tribute dedicated to the founder of the pageant Mr.
Kush Agnihotri, who passed away on December 25, 2006, to promote
Indian culture within the Canadian mainstream. The Miss India-Canada
pageant offers a unique platform for the NRIs to celebrate their
heritage. The Miss India-Canada pageant has become recognized
not only in Canada but in the U.S.A. and India. The stars from
Bollywood also attend this event every year.
Aftab Sivadasani, the popular Bollywood star who
was in the recent thriller 'Red: The Dark Side' (opposite Celina
Jaitley and Amrita Arora) was the chief guest of the pageant and
was presented the 'Special Achievement Award".
Other notable attendees were: Canada's popular politicians
Ujjal Dosanjh (former Health Minister of Canada); Gurbux Malhi,
Member of Parliament; Dr Ruby Dhalla, Member of Parliament and
John Tory, Member of Provincial Parliament and Satish Mehta, Consul
General of India.
In the past, Canada-India Beauty Quest has honored
Hema Malini, Shashi Kapoor, Rajashree, Shabana Azmi, Zeenat Aman,
Dev Anand, Meenakshi Seshadri, Kavi Raz, Tanuja, Raakhee Gulzar,
Tonya Lee Williams, Raveena Tandon and Dino Morea.
Ujjal Dosanjh spoke about Mr. Kush Agnihotri and
told the audience of the gentle soul that he was. Dr Dhalla presented
Sanjay Agnihotri with a certificate of appreciation for establishing
the Kush Agnihotri Cultural Foundation, a non-profit organization
that will promote and celebrate cultural heritage and achievements
within the NRI community.
The son of Mr. Kush Agnihotri , Sanjay Agnihotri,
CEO remarked that we are promoting a very important organization,
"the Heart and Stroke Foundation" with the help of new
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