Tsering Chungtak being crowned at Dharamsala

Shillong, Oct. 23: Wearing the Miss Tibet sash and crown, Tsering Chungtak stood considering her quaint situation for a while, and then said, “Tibet is my phayul (fatherland in Tibetan) and Shillong is my keyyul (land of birth).”

Born and brought up in Shillong, Tsering has seen Tibet only in maps and photographs. So when she was crowned Miss Tibet 2006 in Dharamsala last week, she couldn’t help remembering her place of birth.

An ex-student of Government Girls’ High School in Shillong, where she studied till Class VI, Tsering later joined the Tibetan Children Village (TCV) school in Dharamsala and then moved to Delhi to study sociology at Hindu College.

“I am emotionally attached to this place (Shillong),” she said over phone from Delhi.

Tsering had to stave off stiff competition from several contestants from across the world to win the title. Wangchuk Palmo from Toronto, Canada, was the first runner-up while Tseten Yangzom from Kathmandu, Nepal, was adjudged the second runner-up.

After the pageant, her low-profile family, which resides in Mawkhar, has suddenly became popular among the Tibetan community in Shillong.

“We could not believe it when the news came in. This is an honour not only to our family but for Shillong. All Tibetans living in Shillong are overwhelmed with joy,” Labsang, Tsering’s elder brother, told The Telegraph.

She is now flooded with offers from the fashion industry.

Sphere Photography International from Singapore, for instance, has offered her to do a portfolio worth $ 500, free of cost.

Though the Miss Tibet contest is five years old, it had to face strong criticism from conservative community leaders.

Tsering, whose father fled Tibet in the Sixties and later settled in Shillong, brushed aside reports that Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama did not approve of the beauty pageant. There are reports that the Chinese government was also annoyed with the beauty pageant, which is drawing international attention.

Tsering, however, is certain about her future. “Now that I have won the title, I sincerely believe my responsibility has increased manifold. I will try my best to contribute to the Tibetan cause with this title,” she said.

Besides the title and a prize of about $ 2,200 (Rs 1 lakh), she will go on to represent Tibet in international pageants.

The new Miss Tibet will also pursue the issue of the 11th Panchen Lama, whose whereabouts are unknown ever since he was allegedly abducted by the Chinese government in 1996 after it was discovered that he was the reincarnation of the 10th Panchen Lama.