Some missed their college exams and some braved the taxi strike. There were others who dropped by, hoping to be lucky on the third try. All to make it to the mega prelims of Dabur Gulabari Sananda Tilottama 2010, eastern India’s most popular beauty pageant. The Princeton Club premises on Prince Anwar Shah Road was the last of the four-city prelim stops. After Guwahati, Bhubaneswar and Jamshedpur, it was Calcutta’s turn to put its best beauties forward.

Buzzing with enthusiasm and excitement were the 100 who made it from a whopping pool of more than 4,000 entries. Judging them were designer Soumitra Mondal and actress Soumili Biswas. A quick walk down the ramp later, the count came down to 50. Then began the second and final round of some hard grilling. “Will you leave college for modelling?”, “What is fashion for you?”, “What are the two cosmetics that you will carry if you were to travel to the moon?” — the contestants had to face posers both usual and hatke.

As their daughters walked the walk and talked the talk, the moms huddled together, sharing stories about how their daughters never give up! “I have come with medical certificates as my daughter has had four surgeries on her tummy. So, if she is not chosen on the basis of that, I will produce these,” said Uttarpara’s Ranjita Majumder, Pramukta’s mother.

The contestants came across a confident bunch. “Even if I don’t get through, this is an experience. I will be ready to take up my next challenge,” smiled 24-year-old Runa Laila. She made it. So did Kaviya Roy. “I have been coming to this pageant for three years now. Earlier I was plump, so I got rejected. This time I have really made an effort and if I don’t get through, I will feel really bad,” she smiled, at the post-interview break.

The city leg, compered by Rini Biswas, saw 32 girls making it to the next round. The shortlisted pageant pretties from Guwahati, Bhubaneswar and Jamshedpur will be joining them for the battle of the final 10 at Swissotel today, where they will face Aparajita Ghosh Das and designer duo Dev and Nil.

(From left) Contestants wait for their turn; judges Soumitra Mondal and Soumili Biswas look on; a pageant aspirant takes a walk. Pictures by Anindya Shankar Ray