Hyderabad: The 72nd Miss World festival got underway in Hyderabad, after Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy inaugurated the event on Saturday night before an audience of thousands at the Gachibowli indoor stadium.
The evening opened with the Telangana anthem written by Ande Sri and composed by M.M. Keeravani. A choir of 50 students, trained by singer and teacher Komanduri Ramachary, performed the song. It was followed by the Perini Natyam, a classical dance rooted in martial tradition. Choreographer Perini Sandeep assembled 250 women for the performance.
The dancers, girls and women aged between 10 and 30, moved in coordinated patterns to form symbols including a butterfly, a star, and the Miss World logo. “We rehearsed over 15 days. Just making the formations took us 10 days. It was emotional, exhausting, but unforgettable,” said Sandeep. He thanked the department of language and culture, particularly director Dr Mamidi Harikrishna, for enabling such a presentation of the art form.
The performances moved across the regions of Telangana, from Kommu Koya and Gusadi to Lambadi dappu and Oggu Dolu. Artists entered ahead of each continental round, introducing groups of contestants through music and movement. Miss Argentina walked first for the Caribbean and American block, followed by Miss Angola who led the African segment, then Europe and finally Asian and Oceanic. Contestants wore national costumes, and the crowd responded with cheers.
Among the loudest cheers came for Miss India Nandini Gupta, as expected and also Miss Philippines.
Ruby, a Filipino woman living in Hyderabad since 2017, attended with her friends Nidha and Sarah. “Our community in Hyderabad is small but close. The contestant is from my country, so I had to come here. We messaged her and said we’d come and she responded so this was personal. Many wanted to be here, but only three of us could get passes through the Telangana Tourism website,” she said. They had coordinated online and sat together, waving flags and calling out her name.
Ankur, 24, had come with a colleague. “I’ve followed Miss World since I was a kid, mostly checking who won. But this was the first time I saw it live. I couldn’t believe the Indian flag being carried across the ramp. That one moment made everything personal. You realise how rare this is to have so many people from so many countries here in Hyderabad, and a message of such harmony and peace coming from here means something.” He said the most powerful part was how the event did not feel distant or restricted. “Everyone could see what Telangana is. It is like the world is here together.”
