Anshika Virani of Plainsboro will compete in the pre-teen category of the National American Miss pageant for girls ages 4 to 20. The state finals will be held Friday and Saturday, August 16 and 17, at the Hilton Hotel in East Brunswick. The winner will receive $1,000, an official crown, a bouquet of roses, and transportation to compete in the national pageant at Disneyland in California.
Virani, 9, is a rising fourth grade student at Millstone River Upper Elementary School. “I am looking forward to learning the right spirit and attitude towards the competition, making new friends, and having unlimited fun,” she says. “I am excited just being selected and looking forward to a wonderful and a unique experience of the pageant competition.”
Virani will participate in several competitions. “I love being versatile,” she says. “My activities include horseback riding, swimming, Taekwondo, piano, Indian classical dance (Odissi), and Indian classical music.”
The four categories for the pageant include formal wear, a one-on-one interview with each judge, personal introduction, and community involvement. “I will also be participating in optional competitions such as talent show, actress, top model, and casual modeling,” says Virani.
She has been swimming for five years and is on the Cando Aquatics Swim Team. Virani plans to participate in state tryouts soon after pageant. She has been studying horseback riding at Wildflower Farms in West Windsor since she was six. “I plan to participate in a horse show in the fall,” she says. Taekwondo began when she was five at Cando Martial Arts. “I will be taking the final black belt test and hope to be a black belt holder by the end of August,” she says.
She has been studying piano with Galina Prilutskaya at Westminister Conservatory for a year. “Playing piano relaxes me and energizes me,” she says. She has been learning Odissi dancing since for the past two years with Bani Ray. “It is one of the eight classical dances from India and originated from eastern India,” she says. “It is the oldest surviving dance form.” She studies Hindustani, Indian classical music, with Suresh Wadkar and his disciple, Purnash Durgaprasad.
Her mother, Purvi Virani, was a scientist at an Indian Space Research Organization, and is now president of Virani Inc., an IT consulting firm. “She is the reason I am able to do so many activities,” she says. Her father, Bhavyesh Virani, studied at the Indian Institute of Science. He is the COO and founder of Virani Consulting, an IT consulting firm. “He is the strength behind my adventurous nature,” she says.
“My dream is to be a space scientist and a great writer when I grow up,” she says. “But most importantly, I want people to stop wasting food. When my mom showed me the videos and pictures of starving kids in east Africa, I realized how lucky I am and how ignorant I was for not realizing the value of food.”
State Finals, National American Miss, Hilton, 3 Tower Center Boulevard, East Brunswick. Friday and Saturday, August 16 and 17. www.namiss.com 732-828-2000.
