Crowning our Queen
Despite the threat of inclement weather the DI May Queen Ball 2017 was a spectacular event with an amazing level of excitement and energy. Read all about it.
On a windy, midsummer evening fourteen young ladies sashayed down a ramp at the Dalhousie Institute, all hoping for a chance to be crowned Queen. The ever-popular DI May Queen Ball took place on the 26th of May, 2017. I was lucky to catch a bit of the excitement before the actual event when I had the opportunity to meet and interview several of the young, gorgeous hopefuls in their dressing room.
I asked the girls why they were participating in the pageant and these are some of the interesting sound bytes we got:
• My mother forced me!
• To build my confidence and gain experience
• To win a bet with my friends
• I’m always interested in pageants and this is a famous one
• (this from a Delhi-ite) I wanted to see what it would be like to compete with Bong beauties!
The confidence came, of course, from the intensive practice they had had under the watchful eye of Ms Nicola Gomes, herself a model of repute and the choreographer for the event. They expressed confidence in the way they introduced themselves prompted by the enthusiastic anchor, Annie!
The five judges for the event were an all-star cast comprising Mrs Bridgette Jones, Mr Neeraj Surana, Dr Dolly Gupta, Ms Madhabilata Mitra and were joined by DI president, Mr Jayajit Biswas. The outfits modelled by the participants were presented by Purple and Purple Peacock, designers of amazing clothes.
There were three rounds in the contest interspersed with performances by boyband VOICEZ and dance troupe Addiction. The performances were outstanding and kept the audience mesmerized throughout the show. Due to a sudden drizzle which threatened to blow into a full fledged kal-baisakhi, the action of the final round had to be shifted to the badminton court area which is under renovation. This added a very surreal backdrop, similar to a factory floor but it also leant a special feel to the final round. This also pushed the whole event back by an hour or two and we ended just before the Cinderella hour!
Let us introduce you the winners in all categories:
Kristen Dreego, a crowd favourite who wants to be on the cover of Vogue someday, was the 2nd runner up. Gunjan Preet Saggi, self proclaimed “army brat”, had her “#winningmoment” when she came in as the 1st runner up. The DI May Queen 2017 was 19 year-old Lipsika Mondal, who looked absolutely stunning in a shimmery red evening gown as she was crowned by last year's winner, Nikita Wilson.
Other winners in various categories were Falguni Ondhia for Ms Perfect 10, Nikita Sinha for Ms Perfect Hair, Amanda Paull for Ms Beautiful Smile, Sharon Wixey for Ms Beautiful Skin. The contestants voted among themselves and awarded the title of Ms Congeniality to Andrea Rixon.
And so, despite the delay and slight drizzle, the show was a resounding success (especially due to the enhanced acoustics provided by the makeshift location of the final round).
A message from Ryan Shaw, Member in Charge, Entertainment
''Even though the weatherman predicted hot and humid conditions with no signs of rain, our DI May Queen experienced 2 bouts of it. The first mild downpour which actually cooled the place down considerably pushed us back by an hour or more. The second caused us to shift venues to the Badminton court. I would like to place on record my sincere thanks to all the support staff, the sweepers, the stewards on duty and the electrical staff that helped to make this transition a really smooth one. A special thank you to Mrs Ruth Crizzle who was superb with logistical support. Thanks to Mr Malcolm Joseph and Mr Brian Sweeney for tabulation of all 3 rounds of the pageant. Thank you Mr Leslie D'Gama for conducting the DI Lucky Draw. Thank you Mrs Jacquie Paes for all your effort. It was a wonderful team effort that ensured our May Queen went the distance.
GREAT JOB TEAM DI!’'
