Glitz and glamor

Uneasy may lie the head that wears the crown.” But what if there are three! Jennifer Daruwalla won the May Queen 2013 title, the Miss Body Beautiful and Miss Vivacious walking away with a cash prize of Rs 70,000 plus gifts. Hands filled with gift bags and balancing three crowns, Daruwalla could barely hold the rotating winning trophy! First runner up Tanya Shroff won Rs 30,000 while second runner up Shanaya Irani won Rs 20,000.

Winning beauties: May Queen 2013 Jennifer Daruwalla (center) flanked by Tanya Shroff (right) and Shanaya Irani

In a glittering function held on the lawns of Rustom Baug on April 30, 21 contestants walked the ramp. Promoted by The Sir Ness Wadia Foundation with grooming sponsored by the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP), May Queen 2013 was supported by the WZO (World Zoroastrian Organisation) Trust Funds. The contenders were from Bombay, barring one each who came from Ahmednagar and Indore.

For the first time the Miss Vivacious winner was chosen by the contestants themselves. Rhea Dalal won the Viewers Choice award, a title introduced this year sponsored by Viraf Mehta [of ZYNG (Zoroastrian Youth for the Next Generation)] who gave a donation of Rs 10,000 (for the two titles he sponsored). She was selected by the souvenir (priced at Rs 50) buyers who had to tear out the perforated photo of the girl of their choice and drop it in the ballot box at the entrance. The other sub title winners receiving Rs 10,000 each were: Shroff (Most Talented, also sponsored by Mehta); Perlene Bhesania, Best Smile; Ferzein Sethna, Best Hair; Sanober Dastoor, Best Skin, bagging an extra gift voucher of Rs 5,000 from dermatology clinic Enhance. Photographer Arish Patel will make a special portfolio for Miss Photogenic Jean Billimoria. A donation of one lakh rupees was given to the organizers by the family of the late Jimmy Anklesaria to perpetuate the three top titles in his memory.

Judges — 1: Daena Sethna; 2: Feroze Khan; 3: Raell Padamsee; 4: Shalini Sharma; 5: Jason Park;

6: Akshay Dogra; 7: Daljeet Bhanot; 8: Shaleen Bhanot

Besides the cash awards, prizes in kind were gift hampers from Nestle, Reckitt Benckeiser, Godrej Consumer Products Limited, Byculla Pharmacy, Aspi Archarya, Cottons-Kachnaar Crafts Limited, Homiar Shroff, flip flops from Havianas, a special gift from Swarovski, a watch from Guess and membership to Mickey Mehta’s 360° Gym (one year for Daruwalla and three months each for Tanya Shroff and Irani). While Vivanta by Taj President gave a dinner voucher to the first runner up, for Daruwalla it was a two-night stay. The crowned queen will also get a portfolio shot by Jamshed Havewala.
The panel of judges included guest of honor and promoter of beauty pageants Maureen Wadia, fashion stylist Daena Sethna, editor of Hi! Blitz Shalini Sharma, Bollywood dance director/choreographer Feroze Khan, theater personality Raell Padamsee, US vice consul Jason Park, model and television actor Barun Sobti, television serial actor Akshay Dogra and winners of the dance reality show Nach Baliye 4 Daljeet and Shaleen Bhanot.

Tara Sutaria

The evening started with Homiar Shroff, president of The Sir Ness Wadia Memorial Pavilion welcoming the gathering of around 2,200. Jim Vimadalal and Zeenia Wadia compered the show. In between the beauty rounds was a song by Tara Sutaria, a dance and "Fashion through the Ages,” choreographed by Pearl Tirandaz where the old and the young walked the ramp. Stage design, sound and lights display were by Yazad Karai of Nyumark Entertainment.
The 10 finalists fielded questions posed by the judges. In answer to whether newspapers and books should be replaced by modern technology like iPads and Kindles, Daruwalla, a chef, answered that she still preferred books as in the event of an inability to recharge the gadget due to an electrical failure (such as occurred for 15 minutes when one phase of the venue’s electric supply failed) or no connectivity, one can still read a printed book. Atrocities and crimes against women are increasing day by day. What would you do for the protection of women in our country was the question posed to 17-year-old Jaihindite Shroff. She replied that she would like to educate the men how to behave! And then teach women how to cope with sexual harassment. When asked if item numbers should be an integral part of Indian cinema, 17-year-old Ms H. R. (H. R. College of Commerce and Economics) Irani replied that instead of women, men should "strut their stuff,” eliciting a raucous applause from the audience.

Prior to the main event, the contestants have to undergo a 10-day grueling mind and body grooming which helps them to ‘walk the walk and talk the talk.’ A special trip to the women’s ward of the B. D. Petit Parsee General Hospital was organized. One evening was spent at Della Adventure in Lonavala hosted by BPP trustee Jimmy Mistry. Confidence boosters were experts in various fields: holistic health guru Mickey Mehta, lawyer Hormaz Mehta, actor and model Dilkhush Reporter, ramp walking and grooming by Hufriya Bhivandiwalla, director Meherzad Patel, speech and drama trainer Fawza Marolia, dental expert Dr Ashdin Turner, stylist Khushnaz Turner, dermatologist and hair expert Dr Behroze Deputy, karateka Sensai Hoshi Batliwala, choreographer Tirandaz, Jam-e-Jamshed editor Shernaaz Engineer, dancer Merzi Pestonjee, make-up artist Naomi Sarkari, models Scherezade Shroff and Viraf Patel, motivator Freyaz Shroff, speech trainer Niloufer Mistry and photographer Arish Patel.

Other benefactors included Central Bank of India, Behram Wadia, Pirojshah Godrej Foundation, Spenta Multimedia, Rustom Baug Association, Colgate, Hilla Builders, P. N. Writer and Company (courtesy BPP trustee Yazdi Desai), Della Technica, Swisstours, Pepsi, Tatas and others. Partners included Jam-e-Jamshed, Fat Mu, Guess and Havaianas. The sponsors of the event were FBB (Fashion at Big Bazaar) and Surily.
Jimmy Gadiwala catered for the crowd.
At the helm of the team that works hard to bring this extravaganza to the community is president Homiar Shroff. Others on the committee are vice presidents Anosh Munshi and Cyrus Dumasia, joint general secretaries Khushru Contractor and Tirandaz, treasurer Yazdin Mistry, sports and entertainment secretary Karai and committee members Ruby and Behram Aderbad and Neville Chithiwalla, notes an email from the organizers. Social activist and Rustom Baug resident Anahita Desai was applauded for being the "woman behind the scenes” and seeing the competition to fruition.