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Richa Shukla Named Miss India No. Calif.
Posted by ASHFAQUE SWAPAN on Sep 12, 2008, 00:12
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MILPITAS, Calif. — Nineteen-year-old Richa Shukla quickly recovered from an awestruck silence as her name was announced as Miss India Northern California 2008, and stepped ahead with poise at the beauty pageant hosted Sept. 5 at the India Community Center here. Her crowning followed an evening where the audience was entertained by elegant young women walking up the ramp in Indian dress and Western evening gowns, and a display of the talent of fashion designer Shekhar Rahate as a separate set of women walked by wearing evening wear designed by him. (A complete list of winners appears at the end of the story.)
In addition to the crown, Shukla received a scholarship to be trained at the Asha K. Chandra acting school in Mumbai. Shukla will now compete for the title of Miss India USA 2008, and if she wins there, she will participate in the Miss India Worldwide 2008 contest.
It was not just about looks — there was a talent show, and the final, nerve-wracking instant reply session, and Shukla likely clinched it with a performance that impressed the judges. Shukla is an undergraduate student at the University of California at Davis majoring in communications.
Her Bollywood dance during the talent segment was athletic and well executed, and in the final question-and-answer session she was asked: “Do you believe it’s a man’s world?”
“No, I don’t believe it’s a man’s world,” she replied confidently enough. “I can think of so many women” who have achieved success, Shukla added, naming, off the top of her head, former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Nobel laureate social worker Mother Teresa, U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, and last but not least, the current U.S. Republican Party sensation Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, the running mate of Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.
In terms of community appeal, beauty pageants are a surefire winner because they appear to have an avowed following in the Indian American community, particularly among the youth. This event was no exception, and each contestant had raucous supporters amid the audience who had few inhibitions about rooting for their choice with catcalls, wolf whistles and howls.
Many contestants had pretty impressive credentials. Take Suhanya Ramakrishnan, an electrical engineer who designs electronic chips for Intel. She offfered a brief vocal presentation of classical Carnatic music that was one of the most creditable expressions of individual talent during the evening.
However, Bollywood dances ruled the roost even with the judges, it appears, and she was not named among the five finalists.
The organizers said the contest was not just about physical beauty.
“Women of Indian origin have always been known for their beauty. But beauty is not just skin deep. What makes a contemporary Indian woman stand apart is not just her looks — (It is the fact that) she is intelligent ... she is talented ... most of all, she has her own mind,” the organizers say on their Web site. “Miss India Northern California is a pageant designed to showcase all of the above and more. Miss India Northern California beauty pageant embraces Indian culture to showcase the best in the modern Indian woman.”
According to the site, the pageant, presented by Sahara One and organized by Orange Productions and ICC, was open to any woman of Indian origin between the ages of 17 and 27 who is unmarried and has never been married, and who is expected to have a “talent such as but not limited to … dance, sing, act, recital, etc.”
Nine contestants vied for the title in a contest divided into five rounds. First, the contestants walked in and briefly introduced themselves. The contestants then walked down in Indian dress, and following that, in Western evening gown.
Then came the talent show. Five of the nine contestants chose to dance, and for good reason, it turned out, because it was precisely those five contestants who were named finalists. With the exception of the Carnatic performance of Ramakrishna, the non-dance talent performances were of mixed quality, with the odd choice of one contestant to sing the Indian national anthem.
After the five contestants were chosen, a question-and-answer session followed, one of the trickiest parts of the contest. Each contestant was asked a question and there was hardly any time to think. Most of the five contestants answered quite well, with the exception of one, who was at a loss of words after a few halting remarks.
The event also included entertainment in the form of live music and an impressive fashion show showcasing the work of Rahate.
Models presented around 60 evening and wedding gowns, part of Rahate’s Fall 2008/2009 collection. The collection was Western but Rahate includes Indian touches like embroidery. He also uses Swarovski crystals, which he feels give the outfits more stunning results.
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