When Married Women Were Made To Feel Like Queens

To be bestowed the honour of a queen for a married woman is no less than a dream come true, but to be crowned at a glorious 60-plus age is like going over the moon. This is what 16 women from all walks of life experienced as they displayed grace, beauty, poise and glamour on the ramp while participating in three different age categories in the finale of the first ever Mrs India Punjab-2018 pageant, part of the larger Mrs India pageant, at the Ramada Plaza Chandigarh on June 25 night. The ‘youngest’ among the ladies of substance had crossed the 68 mark, and dazzled the indulgent audience like none else.

A helicopter pilot of the Indian Air Force, flying Cheetahs and Chetaks, Squadron Leader Garima Dixit ran away with the Mrs India Punjab-2018 winner’s title in the 18-40 years age group. The Classic Mrs India Punjab-2018 (age group 40-60) crown was worn by Sandhya Kulkarni, a multi-faceted personality – educationist, avid mountain trekker, painter and poet. The wiry Rashmi Sabharwal, winner of the Super Classic (60-plus) Mrs India Punjab-2018 title, is again a multi-tasker – an IELTS and English language trainer, certified Reiki practitioner and accomplished dance trainer, who also runs a fashion jewellery store.

Photos By : Life In Chandigarh

The stately Super Classic lady winners

Rashmi, in fact, gave a scintillating display of her dancing skills in the company of her equally lithe husband Col. (retd.) Sabharwal. The Cuban origin ‘cha-cha-cha’ dance to a Latin American tune had the audience at the edge of their seats.

Garima Dixit

First up, the pageant, an attempt to bring the Mrs India contest closer to the aspiring married women from Punjab, Chandigarh and around, was impressive, though it left scope for improvement. Organised and managed by Mrs India Punjab Director Jyoti Rupaal, herself a sub-title holder of Mrs Asia International Popularity Queen 2017 in China, the pageant attracted an overwhelmingly large number of applicants and contestants from Defence background, with Jyoti herself being from an Army family. Wider outreach in the coming editions could be an answer to larger and more broad-based participation.

Pooja Sharda

The pageant was organised under the patronage of Mrs India Pageants & Productions Pvt. Ltd., one and only National pageant for Indian married women, and official host for Mrs Tourism International, Mrs Asia International and Mrs Planet.

Jyoti Rupaal told lifeinchandigarh.com that they received 82 applications, out of which 39 contestants were selected for auditions, and further 16 were shortlisted for the finale. Since it was the first state level pageant, the Mrs India head office fully supported the Mrs India Punjab-2018 pageant, both financially and otherwise, she added.

Sucheta Bagri being crowned by Jyoti Rupaal (left) and Deepali Phadnis 

In the finale, the participants in all three categories first participated in a traditional dress round, followed by an introduction round. The talent round saw all but one of the finalists displaying their dancing skills to good effect, and a lone finalist winning hearts with a sweet song. The evening gown round was the most elegant of all the rounds.   

The concluding question-answer round, in which all finalists were asked to pen down in three minutes, and later read out their views on what they would do to empower women who were not as blessed as they were, saw an across-the-board dip in their performances.  

The Classic winners

Besides Jyoti Rupaal, the others on the judges’ panel were Chennai-based Deepali Phadnis, Managing Director of Mrs India Pageants & Productions Pvt. Ltd. and herself a Mrs Asia International title winner in 2012, Punjabi films producer-actor Manpreet Singh ‘Tony’ Popli and AKSS Medi Aesthetic & Cosmetology Clinic promoter Dr Sonia Oberoi.

The winners

Mrs India Punjab-2018 (18-40 years)

Winner : Squadron Leader Garima Dixit

1^st Runner-up : Pooja Sharda

2^nd Runner-up : Sucheta Bagri

Classic Mrs India Punjab-2018 (40-60 years)

Winner : Sandhya Kulkarni

1^st Runner-up : Leena Sharma

2^nd Runner-up : Geeta Dhull

Super Classic Mrs Indai Punjab-2018 (60-plus years)

Winner : Rashmi Sabharwal

1^st Runner-up : Jyoti Dogra

2^nd Runner-up : Kanwaljit Kaur Bains

Sub-titles

Mrs Beautiful Smile : Pallavi Airy

Mrs Photogenic : Rashmi Singh

Mrs Personality : Gurpreet Gill

Mrs Congeniality : Parminder Matharu

Mrs Graceful : Sarabjit Kaur

Mrs Talented : Ashi Parashar

Best Traditional Costume : Neelam Khatter

Mrs Vivacious : Pooja Sharda

There was also a special surprise award for Best Supporting Husband (for treating his wife like a queen 24X7 right through the contest), and it went to Col. Tejinder Singh.

All went home happy !! Overall, a well planned and designed event, executed with finesse !! A job well done, first up !!

Sanjeev Kochhar

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