Dr Reshma Prakash, the CEO of a surgical clinic in Johore, made the country proud by winning two major titles and a subsidiary title in the Haut Monde Mrs India Worldwide pageant in Dubai, UAE on May 9, 2024.
Hailing from Segamat, Johor, the 33-year-old psychologist and a mother of three was crowned Mrs India Worldwide Water 2024 and also Mrs India Worldwide South Asia 2024.
Reshma also clinched the Mrs Elegant subsidiary title.
The grand finale saw the participation of 104 contestants from 19 countries faced off in the competition.
“I’m so proud and happy to have worked hard and won these two prestigious titles and a subsidiary title for my country. Representing Malaysia on the international stage was huge,” said Reshma.
During the pageant’s question-and-answer portion, Reshma was asked what qualities women should have. Her reply that all women should have leadership qualities was greeted with applause and cheers from the audience.
Reshma was thankful to her dedicated team and all those who helped through the preparation stages. Her relentless pursuit of excellence, resilience and unwavering spirit have helped her journey to success.
According to Reshma, her preparations took more than six months. All her efforts paid off in the end and she was selected as one of the finalists and the only Malaysian to make the cut to the world finals.
Although she is of Malayalee origin and only spoke her mother tongue, Tamil, English and Malay, Reshma had to learn a bit of Hindi to help her better understand and communicate in the pageant.
The new queen spoke of the challenging part of the competition which was a whole new experience for her but she had to be confident and performed her best.
“My biggest challenges throughout the competition were learning to engage on social media, learning Hindi to understand and communicate better with the organizers and other delegates, managing my time and coping with the lack of sleep,” said Reshma.
“I made 100 contacts from 42 countries while there, all talented women who taught me a lot throughout the competition. They came from all walks of life, religions, diverse Indian ethnicities, lifestyles, ages and professions. Even a grandmother of two competed. I truly bow my heads to them.”
As for her own role models, Reshma admired her mother for taking the responsibilities of the whole family on herself.
“My amazing mother Prema Narayanan will always be my role model. She was both my mum and my dad all rolled into one. She put us through school despite having very little money. We could not even attend tuition classes.
“Despite all the challenges, my sister graduated in financial accounting while I graduated in psychology,” she said.
During her stay in Dubai, Reshma also made the most of her time in introducing Malaysia’s diversity and cultural heritage to delegates from around the world.
“When I was there, I always spoke about the unity of Malaysia and encouraged my fellow delegates to visit Malaysia,” she said.
“I always addressed people properly and politely when I was in Dubai. It constantly amazed them, especially when I gave them our national hand-over-heart greeting. I even got the CEO of the pageant to do the same. Everyone admired the way Malaysians showed our respect to each other.”
Feeling truly empowered from the entire experience, Reshma aims to focus on her family first. With two major titles in hand, she hopes to start up her own home for underprivileged girls. She also aims to help women who are facing depression and those who are suicidal and lead them forward to a better and more positive life.
Her final message was to thank all men who respect and treat their wives like queens.
The main title of Haut Monde Mrs India Worldwide Earth 2024 was won by Mousoumi Sinha Dutta from Amsterdam, Netherlands.
