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Congratulations to
Richa Gangopadhyay
Miss India USA 2007! |
RICHA GANGOPADHYAY CROWNED NATIONWIDE MISS INDIA USA 2007
In a glittering function organized on December 28th at the Royal Alberts Palace , Fords, New Jersey, Richa Gangopadhyay of Michigan was crowned Nationwide Miss India USA 2007. Miss India USA is the longest running Indian pageant outside of India. The twenty-sixth annual pageant was organized by the New York-based IFC, headed by Dharmatma Saran, Founder and the Chief Organizer of the Pageant, in association with Royal Alberts Palace. Nationwide, the financial services firm, was the title sponsor of the pageant.
Richa, 21, is in her final year at the Michigan State University majoring in Dietetics and Nutrition and enjoys dance, music, movies and teaching children about health and nutrition. Richa also won the title of Miss Photogenic. She was crowned by outgoing queen Ayushka Singh. Richa will represent USA in the Seventeenth Annual Miss India Worldwide Pageant, also organized by IFC, to be held on February 23, 2008, in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Neha Multani, 22, of New York and Nisha Palvia, 18, of Georgia were respectively declared first and second runners up among 24 contestants from various parts of the country, in the gala event attended by over six hundred people. The other five finalists were Mohar Chaudhury of Texas and Sarika Shah of New Jersey.
The pageant started with a stunning performance by all the contestants led by Ayushka Singh. All contestants presented their best in the Indian and the Evening Gown segment after which the top ten were selected. The top ten contestants then amazed the audience with their talent which included Bollywood dances, Kathak, Bharat Natyam, violin as well as poetry recitation and singing. Winners of the various sub-contests were Priyanca Mody of Delaware Miss Beautiful Smile, Madhu Punjabi of California Miss Beautiful Eyes and Miss Congeniality, Neha Multani of New York Miss Beautiful Skin, Nisha Palvia of Georgia Miss Beautiful Hair, and Mohar Chaudhury of Texas Best Talent.
Dharmatma Saran presented an appreciation plaque to Tariq Khan of Nationwide, Albert Jasani of Royal Alberts Palace, Shekhar Rahate and Sonalee Vyas for their enthusiastic support in organizing the function. I am very thankful to the Indian community for its support through the years, said Dharmatma Saran, and especially thankful to Tariq Khan of Nationwide for supporting the pageant as title sponsor. We are very happy to be part of this pageant, since it promotes Indian culture and values, said Tariq Khan of Nationwide, and would love to continue our title sponsorship for the coming years.
Stacy Issac Miss India USA 2001 and Bhavna Toor Miss India New York 2001 were emcees for the function. Entertainment was provided by Arya Dance Academy, Divya Jain Group, Bohemia The Punjabi Rapper, Singers Janice Miller & Chirag Trivedi and Best Talent of last Miss India Worldwide - Sapna Sehravat of Canada. Another highlight of the evening was a dazzling fashion show by Shekhar Rahate.
The panel of judges included Dr. Hemant Patel President of AAPI, Tariq Khan - Vice President of Marketing & Diversity at Nationwide, Praveen Kumar - Counsel Political & Community Affairs at the Indian Consulate, Sudha Shekhar Choreographer and classical dance exponent, Dr. Lorenzo Ottaviano patron of Indian performing arts and Janice Miller - internationally acclaimed singer. Ganga Mukkavilli was the official CPA for the Pageant assisted by Divya Mathur and Kiran Hari. The choreography was done by Shekhar Rahate and Sonalee Vyas.
Richa Gangopadhyay being crowned by outgoing queen, Ayushka Singh
Richa being congratulated by first runner-up, Neha Multani (R) and second runner-up, Nisha Palvia (L)
Richa with the chief organizers, Neelam and Dharmatma Saran
The Panel of Judges: (from L to R) Tariq Khan, Janice Miller, Sudha Shekhar, Praveen Kumar, Dr. Hemant Patel and Dr. Lorenzo Ottaviano
Best Talent: Mohar Chaudhury
The Top Five Finalists: (from L to R) Neha Multani, Mohar Chaudhury, Sarika Shah, Richa Gangopadhyay and Nisha Palvia
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ALL ABOUT THE MISS INDIA USA PAGEANT
Miss India USA Pageant is produced by the IFC, based in New York City. The IFC began its first annual "India Festival" in Central Park, New York City, in 1974. An integral component of these festivals were the immensely popular "Fashion Show", which was the first to be provided to the Indian and American communities by the IFC.
By 1979, the "Fashion Show" had become so popular that it was proposed to start the first ever Miss India USA Pageant from 1980. The various groups/organizations in the major cities of USA were contacted to start Indian pageants in various states and send the winner to New York to compete for Miss India USA. The pageant was an instant success and has been acclaimed as "the most glamorous Indian function in the country."
Starting from the basement of Air-India with an audience of twenty people, we have come a long way! Air-India has remained our staunch supporter from day one and helped us tremendously in our growth nationally and internationally.
In line with other prestigious national pageants, we have also started staging Miss India USA in other parts of the country. The pageant has been previously held in Los Angles, Dallas, San Jose, New Jersey and Tampa besides New York City.
Many of our past winners have made a name in the Indian and American movies and television and in the modeling world. Our past winners have also become lawyers, CPA's, engineers, business entrepreneurs, doctors and homemakers.
The contestants of the pageant are girls of Indian origin, between the ages of 17 to 27, never married and living in the USA. The pageant consists of four segments-Evening Gown, Indian Dress, Talent and Question/Answer. The winner of Miss India USA is the only delegate from USA at the Miss India Worldwide Pageant, which is also organized by the IFC. Miss India Worldwide is the only international Indian pageant.
The IFC motivates and guides its winners and contestants to take up charitable causes. Many of our past winners have raised substantial amount of funds for various charities, especially for handicapped children. |
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RULES AND REGULATIONS
I. Who Can Participate: Any woman of Indian origin (regardless of her place of birth) between the ages of 17 and 27, inclusive (on December 31st of the year she participates), never married and never having had a child, is eligible to participate. The contestant must be a resident of the state that she is to represent. Appropriate documentation regarding the age arid residency status of the contestant must be submitted in order to meet eligibility requirements.
2. Contestant Regulations: The India Festival Committee (IFC) is NOT RESPONSIBLE for the contestant or any of her personal belongings. The PC is only responsible for room arid hoard for the contestant. The contestants must behave in a manner befitting the title of Miss India USA.
3. State Contests: Each year, the IFC selects reputable individuals/organizations to hold various state contests. The PC has the exclusive right to select the states and State Directors that are authorized to conduct the state contests. When a State Director has been selected, said director is responsible for the judging of the state contest in accordance with these rules and regulations. The State Director is responsible for the selection of the state winners and the awarding of all prizes to them. The IFC is not responsible for the conduct, judging, or awarding of prizes by the State Director. In addition, the State Director will invite a representative from the IFC to attend the state pageant as an observer/judge. The IFC will provide contestants from the tri-state area through their own preliminaries. The IFC can select contestants-at-large to represent a state. Since Miss India USA is a conservative pageant proper attire for all segments is mandatory. No vulgar attire will be permitted. The IFC, in its sole discretion, retains the right to alter the format of the pageant. The winner of Miss India USA will be the only delegate of the USA at the Miss India Worldwide pageant.
4. The Contest: State winners who are selected for the Miss India USA will be judged iii the following segments: (a) Indian Dress, (b) Evening Gown. After these two segments top ten will be selected who will be required to present a (c) talent for three minutes. The top five contestants will move on to the (d), Question/Answer segment. The IFC, in its sole discretion, retains the right to alter the format of the pageant. The winner of Miss India USA will be the only delegate of USA at the Miss India WorldwidE Pageant.
5. Time Constraints: Due to time constraints each contestant will only be allowed 3 (three) minutes for the talent category (NO EXCEPTIONS WILL BE ALLOWED TO THIS RULE). The contestants must notify the IFC of any special technical need at least two week prior to the pageant. TFIE CONTESTANT WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO HAVE ANY ON-STAGE ACCOMPANIMENT DURING THE TALENT SEGMENT (I.E. MODELS, BACKUP SINGERS, ETC.)
6. Judges: Judges will be selected for Miss India USA by the IFC. They will be eminent, respected members of the Indian, American and International Community. The IFC reserves the right to appoint all such judges. THE DECISION OF THE JUDGES, ONCE Tabulated, IS FINAL. THE IFC BEARS NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE DECISIONS OF THE JUDGES.
7. Prizes: Past Miss India USA winners have received round-trip tickets from New York to India, an expense paid trip to participate in Miss India Worldwide and various gills (i.e. jewelry. watches, electronic items, gift certificates, screen tests, picture portfolios, modeling contracts, scholarships. and cash).
The foregoing rules are subject to change by the IFC. All decisions regarding the eligibility of the contestant and the conduct of the Miss India USA, in general, are subject to ultimate approval by the IFC. The IFC may also give franchises to reputable individuals/organizations to conduct Miss India USA. |
PAST WINNERS
| 1980 |
Surita
Mansukhani |
Illinois |
| 1981 |
Sabina
Paul |
Pennsylvania |
| 1982 |
Rani
Chandran |
Illinois |
| 1983 |
Neeta
Puri |
New
York |
| 1984 |
Sandhya
Satia |
New
York |
| 1985 |
Radhika
Rao |
Massachusetts |
| 1986 |
Vidya
Shekhar |
Michigan |
| 1987 |
Luckmi
Anantha |
Texas |
| 1988 |
Vaishali
Mathur |
Texas |
| 1989 |
Simi
Chadha |
Illinois |
| 1991 |
Bela
Bajaria |
California |
| 1992 |
Ichha
Singh |
Georgia |
| 1993 |
Rathna
Kanchrela |
Georgia |
| 1994 |
Kavita
Chabra |
California |
| 1995 |
Pooja
Kumar |
Missouri |
| 1996 |
Priya
Ayyar |
Washington
State |
| 1997 |
Nileem
Shah |
New
Jersey |
| 1999 |
Sharan
Gill |
California |
Ritu Upadhyay - Illinois
2000 |
Stacy Isaac - Florida
2001 |
Priya Arora - Arizona
2002 |
Meghna Nagarajan
Georgia
2003 |
Reshoo Pande
Mississippi
2004
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Trina Chakravarty
Florida
2005
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Ayushka Singh Gharib
Nevada
2006
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State Directors
| Arizona |
Arthy Kumar-Chadha |
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| California |
Reshma Dordi/Shekhar Rahate |
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| Connecticut |
Diva America Inc. |
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| Deleware |
Arya International/IFC |
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| Georgia |
India American Cultural Association (IACA) |
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| Illinois |
Arya International |
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| Indiana |
India Association of Indiana |
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| Kentucky |
Dr. Hema Sinha |
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| Maryland |
Neena Bhaskar |
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| Michigan |
Gurvinder Singh/Festival of India |
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| Massachusetts |
Rupal Patel |
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| Minnesota |
Anjali Keswani |
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| Mississippi |
IFC, New York |
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| New Jersey |
Arya International / IFC |
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| New York |
IFC |
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| Ohio |
India Association of Greater Ohio |
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| Oklahoma |
Malini Gandhi |
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| Oregon |
Jaisen Mody |
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| Pennsylvania |
Arya International / IFC |
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| South Carolina |
India Association of Charleston |
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| Tennessee |
Sandeep Pednekar |
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| Texas |
Altaf Ali |
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| Virginia |
Neena Bhaskar |
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| Washington D.C. |
Neena Bhaskar |
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| Wisconsin |
Mrs. Parminder Kaleka |
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