Four to vie for Miss Tibet-2010 crown

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HimVani

Dharamsala: Four young Tibetan women are competing for this year’s Miss Tibet crown, the organiser of the Tibetan beauty pageant announced on Saturday. Yangchen Metok, 19, from Dharamsala, Rinzin Choden, 25, from Bangalore, Tenzin Namchoe, 22, from Bangalore and Tenzin Norzom 23, from Varanasi, are the four contenders for this year’s Tibetan beauty title.

“This year’s pageant is officially called Kingfisher Miss Tibet Pageant 2010, as KF is the sponsor of the pageant,” the director of the beauty pageant Lobsang Wangyal told HimVani over the phone. “This year we have also tied up with an entertainment company to give the pageant a more professional touch,” Lobsang said. As usual, the four girls will go through seven rounds of competitions in three days’ time to claim the title, the ninth in a series started by Lobsang Wangyal Productions in 2002.

The contenders will undergo a week-long training-cum-grooming session before entering into the competition rounds next week. Competition rounds will kick-start on Friday with a swimsuit round at a local resort here. It will be followed by “Talk and Talent Rounds” on Saturday at the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts (TIPA) here. The remaining four rounds — Introduction, Evening Gown, Traditional Costume and Interview rounds — will be held on “Grand Finale Round” on Sunday, also at TIPA. Lobsang confirmed that the winner would receive Rs 100,000 (USD 2,200.00 approx). The first runners-up will receive Rs 50,000 and the second runner-up will receive Rs 25,000.

Despite its share of popularity in the exiled Tibetan community and its successive editions over the years, the number of participants for the beauty pageant has not gone up as expected by the organizers. Last year too there were only four participants. At times the pageant struggled for survival as only a single participant volunteered, as in 2003 and 2005. Lobsang faced criticism for the beauty pageant from some sections, including Prime Minister Samdhong Rinpoche, who said it was “un-Tibetan” and “aping western culture”.

Not surprisingly, the contest has also irritated the Chinese Communist government as well. In the past, winners of Miss Tibet were forced to withdraw from international beauty pageants after objections from the Chinese government. Lobsang said this year’s beauty pageant would be a low-profile one considering the tragic earthquake that struck Kyegudo region in Tibet last month.

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