Kerala’s, I mean India’s Parvathy Omanakuttan was almost Miss World 2008; in the end, however, it was Russia’s glamazon who won the crown. Just another instance of a brown girl being passed over in favor of some blue-eyed blonde…KIDDING. Sort of. 😉 Here is her biodata, I mean, bio (thanks, nik and mithua):
Parvathy, hailing from Kottayam, grew up in Mumbai. Having graduated in Arts, she has studied Sociology, Psychology & English Literature.
Parvathy’s ambition is to further her studies in Psychology to learn more about human behaviour in depth…The lanky beauty is an ardent sports fan with a special interest in basketball, badminton and swimming.
She has a special talent for whistling. She likes listening to music, singing, reading, glass painting, acting, modelling, dancing (varying from local dances to ballroom and Latin dances) and learning new languages.[zee]
I have to ask, why is whistling important? Apart from being extra-able to hail a cab, re-enact the “Whistle while you work” scene from Snow White or tell some hottie that he or she is foine–in a rather inappropriate way–what is it good for? Never mind , I answered my own question with that list.
Parvathy is also very fond of a beautiful quote by former President APJ Abdul Kalam ‘Dreams are not what you see in your sleep, but dreams are that, which do not allow you to sleep’, hence her motto in life is ‘Dream with your eyes open’. [zee]
She might be fond of that dreamy quote, but I’m fond of the fact that she’s athletic. We at SM love us some sporty brown girls.
Speaking of those of us at SM, feast your eyes on this inter-bunker haterade Ennis sent to me, via G-chat:
4:30 PM Ennis: everybody knows mallu chicks are too short to win a pageant 😉
For your information, HATER, she is either 5’8 or 5’9; I’ve seen both heights listed in the 20+ articles I trudged through for this post (which were all filled with the same lame quotes). Either way, she’s tall enough. Oh, when will the North-South hate end? When, I ask? When? 😉
Reading the following made me smile with recognition:
Prior to witnessing the event on TV, close family members visited a few temples to offer prayers for Parvathy’s success.
Those present couldn’t contain their joy when Parvathy’s name was announced in the five semi finalists.
Then followed tense moments as they waited for the winner to be announced, and when the news came that she was the first runner up, not everyone was happy.
“Anyway, we are happy that she came second. If she had not won anything then it would have been bad. We are happy with what she has won,” Shantakumari said. [Hindu]
Shantakumari is Parvathy’s grandmother, and she wasn’t the only one who had great expectations for her grandchild:
“I’ll try my best to make every Indian all over the world proud,†Parvathy Omanakkuttan had said two days prior to the Miss World 2008 beauty pageant at Johannesburg. [express]
We’re very proud of you, penne. No need for the gnashing of teeth and bitter agonizing over what could have been:
“I have performed better than others in the personality and question-answer round. This is not just. All those who watched it yesterday felt like that. I feel the jury’s decision was unfair”, Parvathy told India Vision channel on Sunday.
“I had confidence. I could do well. The question-round did not come as a challenge to me considering my background in literature,” Parvathy, who hails from Kottayam in Kerala, said. [NDTV]
She reminds me of one of my cousins in Kerala, a pedantess who once apologized to my Aunt and Uncle for getting a 98 on a test, while simultaneously insisting that the grade was unfair. My father proudly related this anecdote about perfectionism to me, to inspire me to emulate such fastidiousness. I responded, “I ain’t the one“. I then received a lecture on how “ain’t” was a word, but that’s a tangent to be abused on a future post.
Miss World is the original and most popular beauty pageant in the world, which was launched in 1951. Each year young women from every country compete to go through rounds such as the Most Beautiful Smile, the Swimsuit round, Miss Talented and the Question & Answer round, etc, and judges select the contestant who has the winning combination of beauty, glamour, poise and intelligence. [Zee]
Well, I learned something new. I didn’t know that the Miss World pageant is more popular than Miss Universe. I also didn’t know that first runner-up was such a bad thing. I’m lying. I’m Desi. I totally know that.
Yes! I Thakka Thaiya Thaiya! I looked her up too…wondering why she isn’t more popular.
44 · desiwoman said
To each their own. It’s humorous that you reference bad attitudes, since I don’t know that your comment is representative of anything but. As for the “overweight” bit, only a troll would say that. Seriously. I didn’t put up her swimsuit pics because I don’t need to be chained to my computer all day, deleting crap right and left, but trust me when I say that she’s one of the skinniest pageant winners I’ve seen. AND in some pictures she DOES look like Sushmita. So…yeah.
A reader who is FROM South Africa, who is having problems with our site wrote to me personally, to ask that I post this. I think it’s relevant and it totally changes how I look at Parvathy’s comments about the Q+A/why she feels like she got robbed.
This is in response to some of you:
Word.
I KNOW!!!! LIKE OMG, WTF!!!! the loss of parvathy almost makes the judging criteria of these beauty pageants seem completely arbitrary and stupid. especially when they clearly screen for smarts, and put them through intensive IQ tests…
I didnt realize people still cared about Miss World/Universe contests…
54 · amreekandesi said
Not everyone can be as enlightened as those who dismiss such light-fare. It’s a desi blog, a desi almost won, and she’s Malayalee, to boot. Like I wouldn’t post on it. 🙂
I would just like to point out that Asin is easily the best looking mallu in the universe (bar me 😛 ). I know this thread has nothing to do with her, but since we are celebrating beautiful malayalis, I just thought I’d give her some love. 🙂
And am I the only one who is slightly offended by P.Omanakuttan’s moaning about not winning? Ostensibly, she is talented intelligent woman. That should be miles better than being Miss World.
54 · amreekandesi said
I take it, you’re not the academic kind.
With a name like that, she has no chance in Kollywood. Omanakuttan definitely means “naked short person” for tamil speakers. Don’t know if it means the same in Mallu lingo.
I’ve just added it to my glossary of useful Tamil terms ; ) Thanks.
I think it is a plus. Already mallu hotties like Asin and Nayanatara are rocking Kollywood.
It seems that Ms. Omanakuttan’s error is that she believes this is more than a beauty pageant. Fact is the judges placed a higher value on beauty over brains, and this has been occuring since the history of beauty pageants. I’m sure speaking eloquently is important to an extent, but let’s be honest…the most talented person never wins if she isn’t the most beautiful. So while I understand her bitterness over this, it’s kinda her fault for assuming such pageants are anything more than parading around in bikinis and beautiful evening dresses.
I enjoy these contests – I guess partly b/c India usually does so well in them and I don’t take them too seriously – it’s all fun! I’m sure many feminists would like to bash me.
In any room Parvathy would be considered beautiful, as would most of those girls – but compared to the miss world contestants, she didn’t have the perfect doll face that say Miss Russia did (IMO). I like her face better actually b/c it’s more interesting than Ms. Russia’s. She was smart (miss-world-smart that is) and on top of the game and reminded me so much of Lara Dutta, who won Ms Universe back in 2000 – Lara didn’t have the most beautiful face but she exuded confidence and smarts. It could have gone either way —- of course I wanted my fellow indian and mallu to win, and she’s (imo) the best contestant we’ve sent in awhile, but we’ll have other chances to win, and I do think Ms. Russia was beautiful.
I don’t know if it’s just me, but something about Parvathy reminds me a lot of that chick from ANTM – not the mallu girl, but the other one (which I don’t know if she’s mallu or not) – Anchal:
http://scarlett1616.livejournal.com/26587.html
Honestly I’m also surprised Miss Russia won b/c it just seems wrong for Russia to win after the whole debacle with Georgia, and I thought that these pageants did take politics like that into account. I guess not.
Also Miss Russia is too cutesy looking, with way way way too much eye makeup and fried hair, and it looks like there’s nothing to her. She already looks like a runway model; beauty pageant winners are supposed to have a different (more ‘real’ and professional and womanly, less bohemian and doll-like, I think) look.
Anchal Joseph – yup, also Mallu. I forgot about her! But yeah, there is something similar about them – they both have wide faces and similar deep-set eyes I think.
way too much eye makeup
I agree with you there, but looking at miss world winners and the indian ones like Rai, Priyanka Chopra, etc, they all have that really, really cute doll face.
I didn’t know Anchal was Malyalee —
Asin Thottumkal! sigh
On a lighter note, before Parukutty won, I had only heard of “Omanakutty”. Mebbe her grandparents thought they were going to be parents of a female baby, till they saw the requisite signs soon after birth and decided that they had enough of fighting with each other for the name.
More pictures of Parvathy, some in which she looks quite different. Still think she ain’t all that?
Btw, had never heard of Asin…glad you mutineers educated me about her. Gorgeous. 🙂
“Malayalee girls are damn hot. Some of the most beautiful indian women are from Kerala – especially Padma Lakshmi”
Padma Lakshmi is tamilian . Malaika Arora and Priyanka Chopra are half-malayalees.
The hottest South Indian women I have ever seen are Rekha and Hema malilini.
Padma Lakshmy was brought up in Chennai but was born in Kerala. So I would guess she’s malayalee
ash is also a southie
and the maharashtrians? madhuri dixit?
I guess we don’t count as north or south…somewhere in the middle…
Padma Lakshmi is not ethnically Malayalee… I thought she was TamBrahm.
Padma Lakshmi is a TamBram
But, the hottest south indian girl right now is Ileana from Goa.
-And Parvathy may get opportunities in Telugu or Tamil films before Bollywood knocks on the door.That is, if she wants to get into films, instead of working for world peace.
And, oh btw defrocked @25 , Ileana D’Cruz is a Goan Catholic from Mumbai.
Does any one think some Portuguese genes are there?
Is Padma Lakshmi a Malayalee or Tamil? Freddie Mercury, Indian or Persian? How long does one’s ancestors have to live in a place to be considered ethnically native?
Here is a (hilarious) definition of a malayalee, you judge whether some of you or your ancestors qualify
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aCShcWz5XQ&feature=related
Asin is a cutie pie – I like the video of her with the little kids singing “honey, honey, money, money” and then there’s that part assa pooda assa pooda assa pooda…yeah, I don’t speak Tamil.
I think you hang out more with the Aryan scythian crowd. That’s the reason you have not heard of Asin.
I guess even they’d know about Asin in the immediate future. looks like Ghajini is coming out soon in Hindi starring Asin and Amir Khan.
78 · Ponniyin Selvan said
While I don’t mind Scythians (barring a few notable idiots who’ve soiled our site), the reason I have not heard of Asin is because I don’t watch fill-ums at all, unless they show up at the Smithsonian (and that’s 2-3 times a year, if I’m lucky). 🙂 Those movies tend to be like Amal or Against the Tide…I’m not sure what you would call them. Indie? Art house? Not bolly? Surely I shall be pilloried for this, but I don’t know the difference between Tollywood and Kollywood. I’m almost certain that our Bess has seen more fillums than I have. 🙂
As far as possible, I like to stay away from the indie movie going crowd. 🙂 Why spend time watching a movie and then feel sad for the rest of the week ?. I watched Satyajit Ray’s “Pather panchali” (is that an indie movie ?) and was feeling sad for the next few days. lovely movie though. I like watching movies that makes no sense at all.
No problem. Tamil movie industry is called “Kollywood” because it grew out of Kodambakkam, Chennai. Telugu movie industry is called “Tollywood”.
Umm.. let’s see, they pick Ms. World based on the ability to insightfully answer difficult questions and a crackling personality…??? Is that what she thinks got her this far?
If that were true, I can think of quite a few mols who write on this blog who could win Ms. World hands down, many times over!
79 · A N N A said
i think idiocy is an equal opportunity trait. as for asin, i just saw a video of hers from ‘ghajini’ a minute ago. that girl is gonna be pan-india star. i think she’s one of those people who’s objectively/universally beautiful, if there is such a thing possible.
Yea but you just know that if you chucked a ton of parachute coconut oil at her hair, plaited it, slung a couple of bunches of jasmine on it and made her wear the obligatory flowery salwar.. then she would look like 99% of the girls in kerala 😉
82 · portmanteau said
i protest. i think this judgment is unfair. being a successful actress in india is about personality, talking good, and doing other things good. there’s more to being a hindi/tamil film star than being really really good looking.
Congrats Parvathy ! I wish she had won.
Regarding height of people in South vs. North: On an average, I have seen taller people during my visits to South (Kerala and Tamil Nadu) than during my visits to North (Delhi, UP). I have also seen very short people from Punjab, and very tall people too. But I was surprised to see so many tall people in the South, given the stereotype. I think the stereotype should be about bone width for men in South vs. North. I am from the East, so unbiased ;p
85 · zee said
who has girth?
casting couch?
86 · portmanteau said
No, not girth. That would be quite uniform throughout India I think. I meant bone width, say e.g. in the wrist. That’s my amateur opinion. Not to be taken seriously.
Oh my god, she’s gorgeous! She should have won…
anna – lovely alliteration! and i suppose we should be proud of her, and it’s too bad that she did not win – after all, her family did visit a few temples in preparation. though i do wonder whether india gives too much importance to the global platform of such competitions….
84 · salmon said
salmon, you should start a school/centre for this, because although there is more to life than being really really ridiculously good-looking, people might have the desire to read and do other things good as well 😉
eeks – she is as flat as NH-47. I have bigger pecs that she does 😉 never did understand how a woman with a non-existent chest can be considered a miss world !!! unless we are talking about we missing her twin peaks. certainly attractive but beautiful – no freaking way. Now a Madhuri Dixit on the other hand……
76 · Kerala said
Good question. I guess it depends on the person himself/herself. Freddie Mercury for example considered himself Persian, and in fact hardly ever mentioned any ties with India. (BTW, he was not bhorn in India, his parents never lived in India, he only stayed with some relatives in Mumbai where he studied junior school for a few years, so I don’t know how anyone can claim him as Indian)
90· melbourne desi said
Is that the new standard for comparing a woman’s anatomy to an Indian road?
68 · A N N A said
Wow.. stunning. especially the one in the series that is x-rated. i thought these girls got kicked out of ms world etc for poses like that.
no – in fact it is more than 15 years old. was used when i was a student many aeons ago. did not realize that it is still in vogue. for all i know college students still use it to describe girls who are flat chested. Again – nothing wrong with being flat chested – just that flat chest is just so flat. Like warm beer on a hot day. Most straight men would agree.
Asin is an average malayalee girl in her first malayalam movie and malayalees didn’t accept her as a successful actress.There are a lot more good lookin girls in kerala.
95 · Dash said
just average? i guess the malyalees are god’s own people too. but seriously, i’ve traveled some over kerala, and i didn’t see any asins peeking at me from the between the banana fronds. just lots of nice ladies on the highway serving us refreshing juice in night-wear.
95 · Dash said
thats because shes a hit in Tamil and Telugu. and now she’s made it to bollywood (the BEST) :]
58 · Vadivukarasi said
I doubt that matters cuz most kollywood actresses are known by their first names. Jyotika, Asin, Trisha, Shriya, etch.
97 · fallen jhumki said
i guess my boyfriend has a new nickname for me in bed.
58 · Vadivukarasi said
No way, not in the way it is pronounced in malayalam. for it to mean naked it would have to be “nn” sound (as in words like panam meaning money and a pretty emphasized one at that, but in omanakuttan it is the “n” sound like in pani meaning mist. Plus it is the mallu O, the classic malayalee shibboleth, a sound that really doesn’t exist in Tamil.
“but seriously, i’ve traveled some over kerala, and i didn’t see any asins peeking at me from the between the banana fronds. just lots of nice ladies on the highway serving us refreshing juice in night-“
You coudn’t find any Asins peekin at you from the between the banana fronds.Make a visit to the women’s college in Cochin.you’ll find way more good lookin girls there.Asin also from Cochin