Doon valley girl Kajal Chauhan wears Miss SAKE India 2024 crown, loves Japanese culture
Kajal will promote Japanese traditional beverage SAKE & culture in India. She will represent India in the Miss SAKE World beauty pageant to be held in Japan in June.
MUMBAI: Kajal Chauhan, a Doon University graduate and Japanese language expert (JLPT Level N2) has won the Miss SAKE India 2024 (2nd from left) title. She was crowned by Miss SAKE Japan Ms Kotoko Yamada during a glittering pageant in Mumbai hosted by HIROHAMA Group on Friday evening.
A ardent lover of Japanese culture and language expert Kajal has been to Japan earlier also as she participated in many cross-cultural exchange programs like Mukashi-banashi cafe, Ohayou Japan, and Doki-Doki cultural events. She will now represent India in the Miss SAKE World beauty pageant to be held in Japan in June this year. 2024 Miss Sake India received 30 applicants from all over India for the contest. Miss SAKE event has been conceptualized in many countries to promotion Japanese traditional beverage SAKE and culture across the world.
Kojiro Honda, co-owner and founder of Hirohama India and Kuuraku India, who has been recently appointed as the Japanese Liquor Import Coordinator for India by Japan’s National Tax Authority, stated in a SM post that the event would go places to other states as well in the time to come. “Thank you for your all support for conducting the event. I and my team @hirohama_india and @kuuraku.india is very honored to be host of the event for the good relations between India and Japan via Sake and cultural exchange with lots of emotions!! We do more events for Sake and Japanese culture and products in different states! See you soon!!,” he said.
Honda san further stated, “ムンバイの2024 Miss Sake Indiaをホストとして開催させて頂き笑いあり、涙あり日本からの沢山の声援もありとても良いイベントを開催することが、出来ました。ありがとうございました 開催にあたり関係者の皆さん、またスポンサーになって頂いた皆さん、また沢山の応援を頂きありがとうございました。”
“皆緊張しながらも日本が好きで日本とインドの為に貢献したい、チャンスを掴みたいという気持ちを持って皆全力でステージに臨み、嬉し涙、悔し涙涙を見てとても感動しました。日本好きで熱い想いを持った彼女達と一緒に活動し、イベントの開催など日本とインドのお酒、文化交流をどんどんして参ります！日系企業のPRや開所式、日本の美容商材、インドから日本へのインバウンド事業のPRなどに繋げられればと思います！,”he added.
Key dignitaries who were present on the occasion included Tatsumi Kondo – Chairman of Japanese Association in Mumbai.
Raizy Bedi, one of the jury members at Miss Sake India held and Chairperson Magicka Global Pvt Ltd., said that all the seven participants were very talented and exceptionally gorgeous. It was a difficult decision to choose one out of all. But the winner Kajal Chauhan was exceptionally talented, she added.
“I’m really happy for Kajal Chauhan to receive the Sake Miss India 2024 title as she exuded an exquisite mastery of Japanese culture, seamless insights into the profound significance of sake as a cherished cultural heritage. Kajal also spoke about the tradition of treating women with unwavering respect and dignity within Japanese society that captivated the audience, reflecting both her depth of understanding and her refined expression. It was her poised demeanor, coupled with her intelligence, hat ultimately distinguished her as the right choice for victory,” Raizy Bedi said.
During the event held at World Trade Centre in Mumbai, Miss Sake Japan Ms. Kotoko Yamada crowned Miss Sake India Kajal Chauhan.
Currently touring India, Ms Kotoko Yamada is the 10th Miss SAKE Japan who was crowned for this title on June 23rd last year at the final selection event of the 2023 Miss SAKE competition at The Westin Miyako Kyoto.
In her day job, she provides consulting services to Japanese companies on the overseas expansion of their businesses. She has come to want to create a future where sake is enjoyed on tables all over the world, and while searching for combinations of sake and food, she is working to communicate this to people not only in Japan but also around the world.
Interestingly, as part of its key focus on Sake drink promotion, the event also showcased different ways Sake, the famed drink, can be enjoyed along with different Japanese cuisine delicacies. The organizers exhibited Sake from all over Japan allowing people to appreciate different variations of Sake flavours resulting from rice from famous regions of Tohoku to Kyushu. Focusing on different Sake alcobev types viz. Seishu Sake, and Koshu Sake(Vintage), Awamori, Sparkling Sake, attendees were delighted to experience differences in drinking styles and flavours. This helped everyone to better understand what Sake is all about & depth of Sake when taken with different Japanese food choices.
To better appreciate some of the important duties to be performed by these pageant-winning divas, the event saw Miss Sake 2023 global brand ambassador & sommelier Kotoko Yamada who shared how popular ‘Sake’ alcobev from different areas of Japan come with their unique specialities in taste & experiences. She explained the background behind the different delightful Sake drinks’ taste variations resulting from premier rice from the Tohoku to Kyushu regions. Her Indian counterpart Ms Nupur Tewari, then shared how to make the overall experience of consuming Sake alcobev more enriching & memorable by sharing more delightful nuances of Sake alcobev and its immense business growth opportunities.
