The Mercury, 16 December 2008, 09:02
By Jeff Wicks
Durban-born beauty Tatum Keshwar was crowned Miss South Africa at Johannesburg's Sun City on Monday night. The 24-year-old green-eyed model will be bringing the crown and coveted title back to her home town. Her looks have led to a whirlwind modelling career that spans three continents. However, whether wearing Tarun Tahiliani creations in India, partying with JZ and Beyonce in London, or with South Africa's own A-listers, she has remained focused and down to earth.
Keshwar, of the Bluff, says she never entered pageants as a child but, because of her awkwardness at being taller than all her friends at school, her mother encouraged her to take deportment courses. She took a beginner's course at Models International, then an advanced course, which led her to enter the world of modelling.
"People often assume models are perfect-looking people and we're not. What you have to be in this industry is resilient and confident," she said recently. Keshwar holds a degree in psychology and is working at a firm with motivational speakers and training facilitators.She also has ambitions of owning a corporate image consultancy of her own. Her passion is to bridge the gap between urban and rural education.
First princess Anja Van Zyl, 20, grew up in Pretoria and second princess Buyisiwe Shongwe, 24, is from Nelspruit in Mpumalanga.
