Contestants shortlisted for Nihar Naturals Sananda Srimati, 2009. Picture by Pabitra Das

From 2,000 initial entries, 60 made it to the prelims of the Nihar Naturals Sananda Srimati, 2009, hosted at Hotel Lindsay on Thursday. Going strong in its second year, contestants looked far more prepared and relaxed this time around, said the organisers. Locket Chatterjee and Bratati Bandopadhayay judged the event, which is the city’s beauty pageant only for married women.

There were lawyers, models, engineers, actresses and homemakers — all dressed up for the occasion. Red seemed to be the colour of the day: there was ample red zardosi, traditional drapes and a fair share of bling, along with a few fitted jeans and balloon tops. The contestants walked the ramp, introduced themselves and were quizzed by the judges subsequently.

The judges stumped some of them with questions like, “What do you think about living together?” or “Being a lawyer, would you grant bail to Ashok Todi?”

“It is good to see so many women turn out for the event, and not only are they goodlooking and intelligent, but they have also maintained themselves very well,” felt Locket. The judges evaluated the contestants on the basis of looks, figure, intelligence, walk and poise. “It is basically how they present themselves to us, their personality and their intelligence as reflected in their interaction with the judges which is important in this selection process,” explained Bratati.

There was a combination of fun and anxiety during the lunch break as contestants waited for the judges’ pick of the top 10. “It is a childhood dream, if I am selected it would just be great. It will also provide a boost to my profession,” smiled Somlata Sen, a costume jewellery designer and contestant. “My in-laws have encouraged me tremendously, in fact it’s my mom-in-law who decided on my look for this event,” laughed Aritri Banerjee, who came in with her mother-in-law dressed in her wedding sari. “Since I have been a model before, I am really looking forward to the grooming session with Nayanika Chatterjee. Fingers crossed!”

After some deliberation, the judges decided on the final 20 who would have to walk the ramp again before the final 10 was announced. Runa Laha, Sunanda Nandy Majumder, Anuradha Raza, Doyel Hari, Aritri Banerjee, Somlata Sen, Madhurima Mukherjee, Srabani Ghosh, Sucharita Paul and Suchismita Chowdhury made it to the finals of the contest to be held on February 7. All the 10 contestants will undergo an intense grooming session with Nayanika Chatterjee from January 13 to February 6 to be battle ready!

Shreyosi Mukherjee