"I was the fattest of them all! I still got through!"
Who She Is: Kaveri Jha
She Won: Sony My Miss India
She Is: Spontaneous and chirpy with a lithe body and great skin. This 21-year-old plans to do an MBA. She is interested in working with the media and plans on becoming a fashion journalist, although she admits her PR skills are not very great.
Winner's Quotient: "We were caught on candid camera. In fact, we didn't even know that we were being shot! Then people voted for us. That was what the Sony My Miss India contest was all about." Winning the sub-title crown has made her "feel special".
On not winning the Pond's Femina Miss India crown she says, "Yes, I was disappointed for a few seconds but I overcame the feeling pretty fast. After all, we are not losers."
This final year psychology student wants to continue modelling and be in the limelight. "After the whole contest I realised that I'm good in front of the camera," she says.
More..."I was always nearly five kilos overweight for television commercials. At the contest, others pointed out that I could critique and so I think I will make a good fashion journalist."

"I had to really work hard on my walk..."
Who She Is: Vaishali Desai
She Won: HappyDent Miss Beautiful Smile
She Is: 21 years old and not just a pretty face. "I intend to do my post graduation and Phd in psychology, I am very academically inclined," says this girl from Bangalore who won a gold medal in psychology in her second year of college. "Modelling is more like a hobby and I've been doing it for more than four years now," says Vaishali. She has also been the face of Pond's. Although known to be a quiet person, the other contestants all agreed that her face lit up each time she smiled.
Winner's Quotient: "I always compete with myself," she says. "I'm an ambitious person but I'm not obsessed with winning or losing." When Shobha De threw her a tough question during the semi -finals, her presence of mind was evident. "I was nervous when I heard the question, so I asked her to repeat it. It took me a while to compose myself and I kept reminding myself to say the first thing that came to mind."
More... Her parents are fitness freaks so she is at home with nutritious food. "I'm used to eating a lot of dal, fruit and health food even at home."

"Honestly, I was only thinking of 'tandoori' chicken when I ran!"
Who She Is: Gwen Athaide
She Won: Miss Athelete
She Is: Eclectic. A 23-year-old gal from Mumbai who seemed unaffected by all the contest chaos around her - one could literally touch her cool aura! "I was very casual in the beginning," she says. "Other contestants used to tell me to be more serious as I wasn't exactly a fighter. I'd mimic others and make people laugh. During the contest, I realised how one can change in a short period of time. For example, my confidence has reached new heights!"
Winner's Quotient: "When this competition (Miss Athlete) happened, I decided not to run as I was upset and cranky. And when I did participate, I realised it was a matter of mind over body. For the first run, we were divided into groups of six and told to run. The winners then ran a 100 meter sprint. Honestly, I was only thinking of 'tandoori' chicken when I ran!" she quips amidst giggles.
More... Gwen graduated from St Xavier's College, Mumbai, has been modelling for more than a year and works out regularly. She is also a hairstylist - she gave a chaperone a Mohawk hairstyle for the talent contest!


"I am not a die-hard workoutaholic!"
Who She Is: Shivani Sabikhi
She Won: Pond's Femina Miss Perfect Ten and Miss Mirchi Listeners' Choice
She Is: A former air hostess with Singapore Airlines, who was spotted on a flight to New York by a representative of the Wilhelmina modelling agency. When she was walking the ramp at the fashion week at China, she got a call from her brother about the age limit being raised for the Femina Miss India Contest, and she decided to give it a try. She got through the Mumbai prelims with a day's preparation.
Winner's quotient: "I have the most beautiful body, I guess, out of the lot. I eat healthy; thankfully I like eating greens. I work out three times a week; I don't eat ghee."
More... Shivani's the girl who India will remember as getting Anand Mahindra's portfolio question. "I just got unlucky with my question," she rues, "but the Femina Miss India Contest was a good experience; I'll always remember it."

"With each push-up, I would count, 'Femina one, Femina two'"
Who She Is: Suchitra Verma
She Won: Pond's Googly Woogly Woosh Miss Congeniality and Pond's Femina Miss Talented.
She Is: Just herself. And determined as hell. She had tried to enter the Miss India contest for three years but didn't make it. "I would actually work out at the gym and with each push-up I would count, 'Femina one, Femina two...' and so on," she laughs. This year, she was almost too demoralised to try again when she got a call to join after she won the Limca Fresh Face contest.
Winner's Quotient: For her talent round, she did a Bharat Natyam dance to the title track of 'Gupt', making it a fusion piece. "I expected both these crowns, actually," she says thoughtfully. "I wasn't thinking that I would win the final title but I did expect to be in the final 10." She hit it off with the other contestants straight off. "Everyone was expected to be a certain way, I was just me and I think everyone really liked that about me," she smiles. She would stun and delight everyone when she stepped off the ramp during rehearsals and reverted to complete Mumbaiya Hindi."I am completely different person off the ramp... and the girls would laugh at my 'bole to, kya re' accent."
More... This 23-year-old is studying mass communication in journalism from Mumbai University. "My supervisor called me after the pageant," she laughs. "He said, 'Okay Suchitra, you are beautiful...now come back and do your assignments'!"

"I have always been complimented on my eyes, so I kind of expected this crown,"
Who She Is: Pooja Arora
She Won: Kiah Miss Sparkling Eyes.
She Is: A resolute 24-year-old, who was signed on for a modelling contract while she was working at a hotel, after completing a course in hotel management in catering technology. "Right from school, my relatives have been telling my dad that I should enter this contest when I grow up," she recalls. It was something that had been on her mind since childhood. This Delhi girl has currently made Mumbai her home.
Winner's Quotient: "I was expecting this title," she says smiling. "So many people have complimented me on my eyes in the past. It was actually a contest between Sindhura and me. I was pretty sure that it would be one of us. I am really happy I won this crown. It boosted my confidence before the main contest."
More... Admitting it sounds like a cliché, she says, the girls actually learnt to live like a family and that there was no jealousy between the contestants at all. "Believe me, out of 23 girls, 21 are in love with each other," she says."We've all become so close." An ambitious girl, Pooja wanted to win the crown so she could go on to win international acclaim. "But unfortunately that didn't happen," she says wistfully. "But I'll make it in some way.This was a great platform to start out."

"Everyone called me 'Miss Boots'"
Who She Is: Sonal Chauhan
She Won: Miss Provogue 8888
She Is: Just 19, beautiful and has been modelling for two years. "I have a fetish for boots and would wear something different every day," she says. "So right from the first day, everyone would check out my shoes, and call me 'Miss Boots'". Well this Puss-in-boots made friends for life during the contest. "My roomie won the first runner - up. Everyone says ours has been the most brilliant batch."
Winner's Quotient: "I loved winning the Miss Provogue 8888 crown as the public voted for me from all over India," she says. "I checked our website after our music video appeared on Zoom and was really happy to read that the viewers had loved me." Like the other contestants, Sonal has had a blast during the contest and is now unsure of moving back to Delhi. "I am not sure any more," she confesses. "At the after-crowning party, I got a few offers in Mumbai."
More... She is completing philosophy honours from Gargi College in Delhi and is keen on balancing study and modelling... at least till a time when she can ascertain her priorities.