Priyanka Shah is 'Miss Tourism 2007'

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24 Dec 2007, 0000 hrs IST,NIMISHA TIWARI ,TNN

Around the world: Priyanka Shah (TOI Photo)

Around the world: Priyanka Shah (TOI Photo

She feels on top of the world and life looks like a bundle of treats for Pantaloons Femina Miss India Tourism 2007 Priyanka Shah, who made the nation proud by bagging the Miss Tourism 2007 title at Sibu recently.

Priyanka says, “I feel like a princess and want to invite people of the world to visit my beautiful homeland, India. As an engineering student, I was hesitant to embark on this journey of glamour, but now with my success, I have a message for all aspiring girls – the Miss India pageant is the place to be, it not only makes you beautiful outside, but grooms you from within as well.”

Pantaloons Femina Miss India Earth-Air 2007 Pooja Chitgopekar, too, won the international title of Miss Earth-Air 2007 in Manila this year.

In the last 45 years, the Miss India pageant has evolved to present winners at the international level, creating a platform for a sparkling career in fashion and a stepping stone to films.

It was Reita Faria, a young medical student from Mumbai, who created history in 1966 by becoming the first Indian to be crowned Miss World.

However, it took almost 26 years for another Indian to win at an international beauty pageant. The turning point for the Femina Miss India pageant was when Madhu Sapre was selected second runner-up at the Miss Universe contest in 1992. After that year, a lot more planning was put into the competition.

The training imparted to the winners was made more intensive to ensure they fared exceptionally well internationally. And the result was clearly visible in 1994, with the twin triumphs of Sushmita Sen and Aishwarya Rai, who were crowned Miss Universe and Miss World respectively. Their feats are responsible for taking this beauty pageant to where it is today.

Lara Dutta was Miss Universe 2000, Priyanka Chopra Miss World 2000 and Dia Mirza, by winning the Miss Asia-Pacific 2000 title, helped score a hat-trick for India globally.

In 2006, Amruta Patki and Tanya Vakil brought laurels to India by winning the Miss Earth-Air 2006 and Miss Tourism International first runner-up titles respectively.

It’s been a great journey and this glamourous entourage is only getting more interesting for Indian beauties. As Pooja Chitgopekar and Priyanka Shah put it, “Indians have the potential to rule the world, we need to go ahead and prove just that.”

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