Hotel Centre Point in Shillong, the venue of the pageant scheduled for Friday

April 5: From the serene surroundings of Umiam Lake to Hotel Centre Point in Shillong, the stage is set for five of the most beautiful and intelligent girls of the Northeast to take their first step towards stardom.

Come tomorrow, a bevy of beauties from across the region will be tested for both beauty and brains in a bid to be among the five lucky ones to be selected for the finals of Dabur Gulabari Sananda Tilottama 2007.

Sananda is a sister publication of The Telegraph, both a part of the ABP group.

Shillong will host the regional round of the contest for the first time, after the event was successfully held in Guwahati last year.

“The response to the Shillong round of the event has been overwhelming and that’s putting it mildly,” said a member of the team managing the event. “I would not like to give any numbers right now, as entries are still coming in online. But we have a tough job on our hands in screening the applicants.” he added.

The contest will start at 11 am at Hotel Centre Point with the screening.

Following the initial round, the selected contestants will be put through their paces (the routine associated with a pageant of its stature), from probing questions by the panel of judges to showing off their skills on the catwalk, their talents and above all, their general knowledge.

“The five winners will then join the creme de la creme of Shillong at a get-together in the evening, which will be held at the picturesque Ri Kynjai resort on the banks of the Umiam Lake,” the organiser revealed.

The five selected beauties will also pose for the official photo shoot during the evening’s function.

The four-member panel of judges for the contest includes Nandini Baruva Jajodia, Mrs India 2007 second runner-up and fashion guru Dipankar Kashyap.

A day before the contest, when the aspiring beauty queens are grooming themselves to put their best foot forward, fashion connoisseurs of Shillong are also excited about the mega show.

“This is the first time Shillong will witness a beauty pageant of national prominence. This will give us an idea of what goes into the making of a beauty queen,” said youngster Pinky Dkhar, who wants to pursue a career in the world of fashion.

It is not only the young brigade of Shillong who are eagerly awaiting the city’s biggest fashion event.

Veterans of the fashion industry are glad that the contest will make its debut in Shillong and give aspiring models a chance to sizzle on the ramp at the national level.

Last year, Priyanka Laurembaum from Manipur was adjudged the first runner-up in the finals of the contest.

Delphine Marbaniang from Meghalaya had bagged the Miss Beautiful Skin and Miss Beautiful Smile titles, along with a special title — Akashottoma — awarded by TV channel Akash Bangla.

Zodiki Darkin from Mizoram won the titles of Miss Perfect 10, Miss Confidence, Miss Personality, Miss Talented and the swimsuit round, while her sister Rochelle Zochuani Darkin bagged the Miss Beautiful Hair award.

One of the contestants, a resident of Shillong, said: “I have been told that winning the contest is a short cut to Bollywood. Can there be anything more exciting than that?”

“I would like to achieve the kind of success that Bipasha Basu or Celina Jaitley did,” added the young beauty who was not willing to reveal her name.

The five selected lucky ones selected tomorrow will be groomed for a month by ramp queen Noyonika Chatterjee to be able to take on the other contestants in the finals to be held in Calcutta.

But for the time being, the spotlight is entirely on Shillong.