May Queen 2010

The evening of glamor and glitz, fashion and flair saw 20 participants vie for the May Queen 2010 title. Witnessing the event on the lawns of Rustom Baug on April 30, 2010 were enthusiastic community members who saw Sanaya Daruwalla being conferred the May Queen title this year with a prize of Rs 51,000.

The first runner-up Parinaz Jal received Rs 31,000 and the second runner-up Natasha Bahmani took home Rs 20,000 as well as the Miss Photogenic title. The other title winners were: Nazneen Irani (Best Hair), Natasha Nava (Body Beautiful), Maher­naz Chiniwala (Best Smile) and Ka­rish­ma Karkaria (Miss Vivacious) winning Rs 10,000 each, all the prize money being donated by Justice Shah­rukh Kathawalla, according to a write-up sent by event coordinator Hutoxi Doodh­wala.

In this event organized by the Sir Ness Wadia Club (SNWC), Rustom Baug since 1993, the girls go through a 10-day grooming workshop, sponsored by the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) as a part of its youth activities. The contestants attend sessions in yoga, nutrition and dietetics, posture and body language, etiquette and manners, speech, diction and stage presentation, ballroom dancing and dance floor etiquette, ramp walk, make-up and hairstyling, camera awareness, self defense, rights and duties of the Indian women and a photoshoot for each participant. According to Doodh­wala, the main aim of the pageant is to encourage young girls to be confident and talented. "We have a panel of personalities that grooms the girls,” she said. This year dance therapy was the new module introduced in the schedule.

Each workshop was conducted by leading professionals in the industry. Fitness guru Mickey Mehta, ace photographer and actor Boman Irani, ballroom dancer Sandip Soparrkar, VJ and TV anchor Parizad Kolah Marshall, Grasim Mr India 2005 Viraf Patel, Miss India 2005 finalist Hufriya Bhiwandiwalla, Sensei Hoshi Batliwala, lawyer Hormuz Mehta, hair stylists Yasmin Kadodwala, Shibani and Yazmeen Contractor, Arish Patel for the photoshoot, dance therapist Dilshad Patel, stylist Kerzina Madon, designers Laila Wadia and Urshila Mehta, dermatologist Dr Ram Malkani along with Doodhwala formed the elite panel that mentored the girls.

L to R (Top row) Maharukh Noble, Parizad Kolah Marshall, Hutoxi Doodhwala and Dinshaw Mehta; May Queen 2010 Sanaya Daruwalla; judges Smriti Irani, Mickey Contractor, Shernaaz Engineer and A. D. Singh; Hufriya Bhiwandiwalla. (below) Bombay Times editor Mark Manuel and Mickey Mehta; Arnavaz Kolah; Hormuzd Kham-bata. (Alongside) Khambata’s dance troupe. (Below) Hutoxi Doodhwala, Rustom Jasoomoney, Burzis Taraporevala with 14 finalists; audience Photographs: Homyar Mistry, Homz Prints

A nutritious diet was worked out by a dietician and cooked up by Hooma Billimoria who took great pains to make the ordinary fare appear exotic. Danesh Taraporewalla was responsible for grooming the girls. On the invitation of BPP trustee Jimmy Mistry, the girls spent one evening at Della Adventure entertainment park in Lonavla.

Budding fashion designer Farina Kajanwalla was promoted and given a platform to showcase her talent. Whilst the marks were being totaled for the top nine finalists the youngsters of Rustom Baug sashayed down the ramp displaying her collection of saris. This was followed by Hip Hop dance numbers choreographed by Hormuzd Khambata who also directed the ramp walk for the contestants.

The second round of the contest saw the finalists on the ramp, each one being posed a question by judges ace Bollywood makeup artist Mickey Contractor, TV actress Smriti Irani, restaurateur A. D. Singh and Jam-e-Jamshed editor Shernaaz Engineer. Livening the show were the anchors of the evening Burzis Taraporevala and Contractor. Before the winners were announced a group of 15 young Rustom Baugites enthralled the crowd with their disco dance performance coordinated by Pashyn Sethna and Sharmin Doo­masia.

The SNWC president Rustom Jasoo­money expressed his gratitude to Nusli Wadia for promoting and sponsoring the May Queen Ball and other activities for many years through the Sir Ness Wadia Foundation. He also appreciated the assistance of Dhun Gagrat, chairman emeritus of the BPP Jamshed Guzder, the present set of trustees Dinshaw Mehta, Jimmy Mistry, Yazdi Desai, Arnavaz Mistry, Armaity Tirandaz, Khojeste Mistree and Noshir Dadrawala, Dinshaw Tamboly of the WZO Trust Funds and ex Punchayet trustees Dadi Engineer and Burjor Antia for their support. The co-sponsors of the evening were AFL, WZO Trust Funds, Della Tecnica, Hilla Builders, Colgate, P. N. Writer and Company, House of Tatas and United Breweries group. Among the others who contributed to the success of the function were mem­bers of the Zoroastrian Youth for Next Generation (ZYNG) organizing commit­tee, volunteers Zeenia Wadia, Aashdin Billimoria, Homyar Mistry for the photography, Lanavaz Cooper and the SNWC managing committee. Appreciation was also accorded to Yazad Karai and his Nyumark Entertainment for managing the spectacular sets, sound and lights, music, LCD projection, video and photography for the evening, Homai Dubash for the mouthwatering dishes and the tenants of Rustom Baug for their "complete cooperation.”