Some girls wanted to fulfil their quest to be all-rounders, while a few wanted to gain confidence that would help them become successful models, and others wanted to push their limits and make a difference. Guess what connects them with Deepika Padukone, Sonakshi Sinha and Yami Gautam? The Bolly actresses have been the golden girls of P.C. Chandra Jewellers and these young girls fought it out at the finale of P.C. Chandra Goldlites Diva, in association with t2, to be on this coveted list.
The finale, held at Nicco Parks, East Pavilion, on August 19, saw 25 finalists put their best foot forward on the ramp, first in Western wear— short cocktail dresses, gowns, one-shoulder and off-shoulder dresses — and then in ethnic-wear— saris in pastel hues and heavily embroidered lehngas. Clothes for both the rounds were made by Delhi-based fashion designer Mandira Wirk.
Ten girls made it to the Q&A round where the judges —Tollywood actress Paoli Dam, filmmaker Shiboprosad Mukhopadhyay, fashion designer Mandira Wirk, P.C. Chandra Jewellers directors Udipto and Prosenjit Chandra, and Anil Jain, marketing adviser, P.C. Chandra Jewellers — asked them questions. The semi-final was a battle among winners of intra-college contests held on 80 campuses across West Bengal and winners from the wild card round who participated in the pageant.
The one to emerge as the Diva, and the face of P.C. Chandra Goldlites — a range of modern, daily-wear jewellery — was Madhumita Das, a 20-year-old from Behala. Madhumita won a gift voucher worth Rs 1 lakh from P.C. Chandra Jewellers, while first runner-up Srijita Poddar and second runner-up Samarpita Banerjee received privilege coupons worth Rs 50,000 and Rs 25,000, respectively.
The sub-category winners — Miss Photogenic, Miss Beautiful Hair, Miss Beautiful Eyes, Miss Confident, Miss Perfect Catwalk, Miss Congeniality and Miss Beautiful Smile — received gift vouchers worth Rs 10,000 each.
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WINNER: MADHUMITA DAS
The second-year fashion designing student at National Institute of Fashion Technology, Bhubaneswar, also bagged the Miss Confident title. Here’s the winning answer that fetched her the P.C. Chandra Goldlites Diva crown:
Q: Do you consider yourself to be a giver or a taker?
A: To me, priceless happiness occurs when we give. The happiness we give to each other is the happiness we get. Therefore, I believe that I am definitely a giver. There is no greater joy than when we give.
WINNER SPEAK: “The feeling hasn’t sunk in yet. I honestly don’t know how to react to this situation... it’s overwhelming! I am thankful to the people behind the crown, whose hard work has got me to where I am today. I want to inspire people and remind them that we can be anything we want, as long as we’re passionate about it. I entered the contest through the wild card round. We were groomed by people who are masters in their field and that really helped us. I learnt how to project myself in front of the camera,” Madhumita told t2.
FIRST RUNNER-UP
Srijita Poddar
First year master’s student of economics at Jadavpur University.
Q: If you have a magic wand, what is the one thing that you will ask for?
A: In today’s world we are surrounded by fake people who don’t tell you how they feel and who they are. People would take better decisions and be better human beings if we could actually read our true emotions and have the guts to speak what we feel. I would want everyone in this world, including myself, to be true to themselves.
“This was my first experience at a beauty pageant. The intra-college round included introduction, talent hunt and Q&A, so I felt that this was a competition for all-rounders and not just about appearance. Being a complete package is the USP of this competition. I always thought I was too studious do participate in something like this. I proved myself wrong,” said the 21-year-old who wants to become a business analyst.
SECOND RUNNER-UP
Samarpita Banerjee
The graduate in journalism and mass communication from Amity University, Calcutta, was also Miss Photogenic.
Q: What does freedom mean to you, as a woman?
A: Since I was a young girl, I have always had freedom in everything. My parents have never stopped me from doing anything. To me, freedom means to give oneself space. To go out into the outer world, one has to perfect oneself. The process of doing that without hurdles or resistance is freedom.
“I was excited because I never thought I’d be the second runner-up. After dieting for so long, I can finally take a break, today! From tomorrow, I will be back to normal life, with yoga and dieting. Nayanika ma’am taught me how to walk in heels with the proper posture. I even learnt how to apply make-up properly and what kind of make-up is appropriate for what occasion. I loved every minute of the grooming session,” said the 21-year-old who aspires to be an actress.
BEHIND THE SCENES
ONCE A DIVA, ALWAYS A DIVA
OTHERS IN THE TOP TEN
Arpita Singh
A 25-year-old software developer at Tata Consultancy Services.
Q: How would you change the world if you were to play God for a day?
A: I always wanted to go into the media industry, but because of peer pressure, I studied engineering. If I was God for one day, I would give a single message to the world — live your dream and don’t follow others.
Disha Mallick
Third-year English student of Bidhannagar College.
Q: Who in your opinion is doing the more important job, a housewife or a career woman?
A: A housewife, because my mother is a housewife and I’ve seen how she looks after the entire house and then also takes care of jobs outside the house.
Sukriti Konar
Graduate in BSc from Bankura Sammilani College, and Miss Congeniality.
Q: If you were a superwoman, what superpower would you want?
A: A power that would prevent me from hurting others. I like to stay happy and keep others happy as well.
Susmita Malakar
Second-year English student of Gangarampur College, and Miss Beautiful Smile.
Q: If you had an enormous amount of cash today, how would you spend it?
A: First thing I will do is go shopping! Secondly, I would donate to the flood relief operations in Kerala. And if there’s anything left after that, I would like to donate it to orphanages and old age homes.
Rimona Das
Second-year mathematics student of Sarojini Naidu College for Women.
Q: If you had 30 minutes every day during which you could do whatever you wanted to, what would that be?
A: I would like to do yoga, because I have lost a lot of weight in this grooming session.
Ritu Bhattacharya
Graduate in psychology from Indira Gandhi Open University, and Miss Perfect Catwalk.
Q: Do you prefer love marriage or arranged marriage?
A: I would always prefer a love marriage, because I think if you have to live with a person for the rest of your life, you need to find out as much as you can about the person.
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Nayanika Sarkar
A postgraduate in Bengali from the University of North Bengal.
Q: Would you judge a book by its cover?
A: We do judge a person by their outer appearance at the first meeting, but to understand a person completely, you have to understand their mind and heart as well.
Text: Malancha Dasgupta and Rushati Mukherjee
Pictures: B. Halder
