Inspiring Interview for 'Miss India New England' Crown aspirants

'Pageant season' has arrived. 'Miss India New York' and 'Miss India Connecticut' have announced their winners, and 'Miss India New England' is around the corner. At this time I am sure some crown aspirants are looking for words of inspiration so I thought of sharing excerpts of this interview of relevance taken by Mrs Ranjani Saigal of Lokvani.

This interview was taken after Monica Gill won Miss India USA-2013/14 (at Royal Alberts Palace New Jersey) within two weeks of winning Miss India New England-2013( in Lexington Massachusetts). Later on, she proceeded to 'Miss India Worldwide-2014' in Abu Dhabi ( July 2014) and became the first Indian girl from New England area ever to reach that pageant and win the crown. I also shared some of my thoughts as 'Miss India New England' director.

Monica Gill -Miss India USA 2013 with Priyam Bhargava- Miss India USA-2012

 MONICA GILL (Miss India Worldwide, USA, New England, Massachusetts) 2013 / 2014

Monica, how does it feel to win the 'Miss India USA' crown?

It doesn’t feel real. Perhaps it hasn’t hit me yet. I get excited when I see my picture on the Miss India USA Facebook page or the website. Other than that I don’t feel much different. I think my mind may be subconsciously trying to keep my feet on the ground. Which is important because I want to be focused on the next step. After all, I have a community counting on me!

What opportunities do you hope this win will have for you?

I don’t expect anything from the crown. Every crown and sash provides the same thing no matter what pageant it is. Be it Miss USA or Miss India USA,  a crown and sash work as a microphone. People will be more inclined to listen to what I have to say because now I have title. I do have expectations of myself however. I still expect myself to be active in the community and to grow as a woman.

What preparations did you do to help you for the contest? 

My preparations were all mental. The Miss India USA pageant was two weeks after the Miss India New England one. There was not much I could change. The only thing different between the two was my outfit for talent. However, I did meet with a lot of people and ask for their critiques. I actively sought out constructive criticism.

How excited are you about the next level? 

I wouldn’t really call it excitement. I feel I am focused. I want to prepare to the best of my abilities and go there and give it my all. I want to make my community, my parents and the Miss India USA organization proud. Above all I want to use this experience and grow from it. I feel it will teach me something enormous as most challenging experiences do!

Monica Gill with Ruchika Arora after winning Miss India New England-2013

RUCHIKA ARORA (State Director Miss India New England for Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire)

Ruchika Arora, how does it feel to have delivered the successful candidate to the Miss India USA Pageant?  You also delivered a second runner up for the Miss Teen competition.

Having our ‘Miss India New England-2013’ win ‘Miss India USA’ feels like a dream. The last time when some one from Massachusetts got the crown, it was in 1985 - a very long time ago. Then Radhika Rao from Massachusetts got the crown.  Worldwide pageant started in 1990 so Monica Gill is the first delegate ever to go there from New England. Harika Talluri is first Miss Teen India New Hampshire and seeing her as second runner up among such strong teen contestants is another moment of pride and happiness.

What do beauty pageants look for in winners?

Overall personality gets reflected when contestants participate in multiple rounds of contest. Self confidence can be seen through the walk, facial expressions and speech. Talent and achievements can be stated in application forms, personal interviews or talent round. Reasoning, logical approach, and understanding of community and awareness about the world around us can be judged in the Question-Answer round. The most deserving at that moment gets the Crown.

What made Monica stand out amongst the competitors?

Monica is very hard working girl and she did not leave a single detail unattended. From understanding of schedule and all rounds of contest, selection of clothes, accessories, theme for talent and preparing for the question-answer session. Her idea was to improve in every aspect, and represent herself in best possible way. We also researched what made past winners different from others and realized that all of them had a very special talent and presentation.

What advice do you have for aspiring beauty pageant competitors?

Be optimistic and take guidance. The goal for a contestant should not be crown/title; it should be improvement of skills and overall presentation and personality enhancement.

(Excerpts of original interview by Mrs.Ranjani Saigal of Lokvani.original article http://www.lokvani.com/lokvani/article.php?article_id=9530)

Miss New York wins Miss America in 3rd consecutive year!

Congratulations to Miss America 2015 Kira Kazantsev who won 'Miss America' pageant last night, which is New York’s victory in third consecutive year. She must have thought about following footsteps of the two previous winners Nina Davuluri (2014) and Mallory Hagan (2013), and she actually did. Kira is born to immigrant parents of Russian descent and is a student at Hofstra University. Her platform is “Love shouldn’t hurt: Protecting women against domestic violence”. For her talent- she sang Pharrell Williams song ‘Happy’ while playing with a red plastic cup. It was inspired by 2012 movie ‘Pitch perfect’. 

Like last year Nina Davuluri became first winner of Indian descent, Kira also created history as she made her state proud by getting crown for third year.

It seems like criticism is a part of every win. There were many racist tweets and comments last year but as Nina said very gracefully in one of her interviews in Boston that she is happy that for every negative comments- there were 10 positive replies. This year- the new Miss America is being criticized for her talent. In my opinion- her singing is better than what many can do, she was confident on stage, interacting with audience, and her performance had ability to make her stand out in the crowd. The world watches to see if their favorite wins, if not, follows the critism. Be a winner anyways!