Miss Great Britain still tied to her Gujarati roots

LONDON: To millions here used to waking up to tabloid beauties — mostly blonde and white — beaming from the pages of The Sun, 24-year-old Preeti Desai might have looked odd. She has a wheatish complexion with long, black hair and striking eyes. Perhaps it was her beautiful simplicity and solid confidence that won her the Miss Great Britain title.
The first Indian to win the title comes across as a confident woman who is at home with her British identity and Gujarati roots."I can speak Gujarati fluently. I like bhakhri, shak and athanu," she says, bemused with her new celebrity status. "It still has not sunk in. I don't feel any different," she says.
That gene pool has its origin in south Gujarat. Dad Jitu Desai hails from Vakhtana while mother Hemlata is from Pardi. Both, however, have an African connection. Jitu moved to Kenya, while Hemlata was in Zambia but returned to Pardi.
The Desais encouraged their daughters to chase their dreams. Preeti got trained in beauty therapy but moved to modelling while her younger sister Anjalee became a singer.
When TOI rang her up, the beauty queen was busy helping her father prepare for a fireworks show. "I can't do modelling forever. Soon I will be getting into the property business," she says. Where do India and Gujarat feature in her scheme of things? "Call me and I will be there. I want to get involved in charity and community work in Gujarat," she says.