Beauty pageant ‘Meetei Chanu, 2022’ is all set to be held with an objective to preserve and promote the rich culture of Meetei community at the Bhagyachandra Open Air Theatre (BOAT), Palace Compound, Imphal East on December 10.
Speaking to the media at Manipur Press Club on Friday, convenor of the Organising Committee Waikhom Ananda Meitei said that Lainingthou Sanamahee Sana Pung (LSSP) has been organising the beauty pageant since 2016 to preserve and promote the rich cultural heritage of the Meetei community.
LSSP could not organise the beauty pageant for some years due to COVID-19 pandemic, he said.
The committee has resolved to bring back the contest from this year, considering that the pandemic has subsided.
He further said the audition of the contest will be held on November 6 at Manipur Jagoi Marup Lamboi Khong Nang Khong, followed by various competitions to examine their understanding of Meetei culture and other social issues.
The competition will be held in various sessions which will be held for nearly a month, he said. After different competitions are held, the grand finale will be held on December 12, during which only 25 contestants will be selected, he said. Of the total, one each will be selected from among the Meetei diaspora settling in Assam, Tripura and Bangladesh, he added.
The prize of ‘Meetei Chanu’ title is cash award of Rs 1 lakh, first runner’s up is Rs 70,000 and second runner’s is Rs 50,000.
He further raised concern that as an impact of globalization, Meetei culture has been severely affected and is gradually losing its values each day. The role of the present generation is to safeguard the cultural heritage, he said, appealing to Meetei women to take part in the competition.
