Rosy Senanayake talks about beauty, life and lifestyle

How would you describe yourself?

I like to think I fight for justice. To be truthful, I'm very quick tempered and I tend to voice my disapproval when I see something that's wrong. I'm very straight up and I'm not sure that's always a good thing! But at the same time I'm also a very sensitive person, and I'm sensitive to the needs of people around me.

I love humanity and I can't bear to see anyone suffer. I'm not a hypocrite and I think I'm very thoughtful, kind and considerate.

Describe a day in your life?

Well I have a pretty early start from Monday to Friday as I host a program on Sirasa TV, so I have to be at the station by 6 am. The show covers all kinds of everyday issues like health, social, domestic and environmental issues.

I'm not a TV presenter though; I use the media as a platform to empower women and children in areas that I strongly believe in. I also bring out topics that most people don't want to discuss.

After my show it's basically fundraising events. I take two days of the week to fast and pray, I'm very religious and I also manage to find time to spend with my three kids and husband. I think I'm just like any other working mum.

Did you have any big childhood dream?

Well, I was focused but I wouldn't say ambitious. I was also very studious and back then everyone wanted to become a doctor, lawyer engineer etc. But I think my dreams and goals have continued to change over the years.

Would you say that your accomplishments are close to those dreams or has life taken you down a completely different path?

Well everything happened quite by accident, I never thought that I'd take part and win in an international beauty pageant.

It was mostly my friends who dared me and then things just happened. Like I said before, as I've grown my ambitions have changed and according to situations my life has kept changing, I've gone with the flow and I'm happy where I am right now.

I now have many ambitions for my kids and I like championing for good causes.

Issues pop up all the time, as a mum and a wife things change all the time. I have many more goals and ambitions yet to be fulfilled for society at large. I love taking on challenges that come my way.

What motivated you to enter the international beauty pageant arena?

Well nothing motivated me as such, my friends played a major role in making me join and it was all really accidental. I was here on holiday from England as I was studying there and once I won the local contest well, I guess the rest is history!

How did you feel after winning the title Miss Asia Pacific in 1981 and Mrs. World in 1984?

Ecstatic, it's like how anyone feels after they win having beaten so much of competition. And it was a moment of pride as Sri Lanka had never won a title before, and back then many people didn't know where Sri Lanka even was.

It's hard to explain how I felt, it was over 20 years ago after all, but I remember it gave me a sense of dignity I think Sri Lanka is a far more advanced country than people think, and Sri Lankans are far worldlier.

Tell us about your experience as the Sri Lankan ambassador to Malaysia back in 2003-2004.

It was grueling but educational for me. I was never trained for the job but I worked hard at it, I didn't give 100%, rather 1000%.

It took allot of commitment to learn and gather information and the fact that I was criticized allot about it made me work that much harder, it drove me to prove that there's more to Rosie than a pretty face at a time when people didn't want to see beyond my title, I had to prove myself, and I did.

If there were three things that you could change about Sri Lanka what would they be?

1.) Change the present ethnic situation and eradicate the war.

2.) I'd love to take Sri Lanka back to the 1950's, we were one of the richest nations, and our neighbors (Singapore, Malaysia Etc.) wanted to be like us. I'd love to go back to that time where we were not only rich economy wise but also in our lifestyle and our culture. We were also far more hospitable back then, we were a caring and loving nation.

3.) In the past (late 1920's early 1930's) women were more committed. We had 4 % in the council and women were more responsible. I don't see gender equality ere, so I'd love to see women fight harder for their rights and be more involved in decision making.

What's the secret behind your flawless skin?

When you lead a busy and hectic lifestyle you tend to neglect yourself. We all live in a competitive and commercially driven world and especially women tend to put everyone else first. It's important to maintain a healthy diet.

I find time to take a one hour walk everyday and I also balance my diet with food supplements like GLOW. I have been using GLOW ever since it was launched in Sri Lanka and I am very happy, it works wonders.

I think it's absolutely essential to supplement your diet with extra nutrients. GLOW is a complete skincare nutrient that can keep your skin healthy, radiant and glowing.

They say beauty is skin deep. What would you say are the qualities a woman should possess to look beautiful from the inside?

To me, it's all about being feminine and simple. We talk about living in a man's world and equal rights but I think being feminine is a key in achieving equal rights. Women are the strength behind development and family.

They've got to be sensitive and have a high tolerance rate! We've become a self centered nation and we need to tolerate people who are different to us. We need to respect different religions and cultures and stick together in times of trouble.

I don't understand why some women want to emulate men. It's unattractive and to me, appalling. Gentleness, sensitivity and knowing when to be strong are they keys, but these qualities need to be taught at home.

What's your favorite food and holiday spot?

A good Sri Lankan rice and curry, in fact if I could eat that three meals a day I gladly would! I also love oriental food and typical Sri Lankan village style cooked items and rare vegetables.

As for my favorite holiday spot, it's home. I've traveled quite a bit but there's no place like Sri Lanka and no place like home. I love the beaches here and now and then places like Dambulla are very relaxing if I want to get away from Colombo.

But more often tan not I find that when you take a vacation, you just need another one to recover so I just prefer staying at home, unplugging the phone and relaxing with my family.

Any major principals that you live by?

I'm a very spiritual person but I have flaws just like anyone else. I believe that what you sew is what you reap. It's not the academic background, the big houses, cars and money that you take wit you when you go, and I also believe that the only certain thing in life is death.

What we do take with us is what we've done for humanity. We need to feel for others we need to be more spiritual. I live by very religious principals and I derive my strength from the bible - it gives me oxygen.

You can only start giving once you understand life and I see today that values have deteriorated drastically. I believe that religion is important, no matter what religion you belong to. Every human being is a child of god and everyone's equal. I think that being spiritual also helps in reducing stress levels quite a bit.

Any advice to up and coming models and future beauty queens?

Modeling can be very grueling and it takes a lot of responsibility and professionalism. You have to be disciplined to become a top model and it can be lucrative if you make it into the international arena.

Unfortunately over here it's not the best paying job! But look at Aiywaria Rai, she started out as a model in a Pepsi add and now she's not only made it to Bollywood but Hollywood as well.

It's hard work, determination and once you get there, you can't lose sight of the bigger picture. Modeling is not a dumb blonde job anymore and I think there's a dire need for modeling in this country.

As for beauty queens, it's more or less the same, but sometimes no matter how hard you prepare, there's allot of luck involved and it can either go your way or not. Sri Lankan women are strong, intelligent and beautiful.

We're unique but I guess we don't know how to present ourselves on an international platform. I guess one just as to know what to do and what not to do, and to always have that competitive edge yet be natural and not over ambitious.