Anu Romesh crowned IACA Miss Georgia
Miss Congeniality Yash Yadav sparkles in performance at the IACA Miss Georgia 2014 Pageant.
(Photos: Hakim’s Studio)
On July 19, 2014, Anu Romesh, who won first place last year singing in the Junior category at IACA’s Atlanta Indian Idol Contest, returned this year to the stage of the Ferst Center to compete in IACA’s beauty pageant—and won not only the Best Talent Award, but was crowned IACA Miss Georgia.
This 27th India America Cultural Association (IACA) pageant had theme ‘Once upon a time,’ and raised funds for multiple myeloma research at Emory University’s Winship Cancer Institute.
Contestants competed in Indian attire, in evening gowns, and in a Q&A round, and four top contestants were chosen. They each drew a judge’s name from a bowl and then answered a question from that judge. To the question “What qualities should the judges look for in a beauty pageant contestant?” Anu Romesh’s winning response was that judges should see not only the makeup and clothes, but look beyond the outward appearance to see the inner qualities, the talent, intelligence, grace, and self-confidence of the contestants. “We are all special in our own way,” she said.
IACA Miss Georgia 1st Runner-Up 2013 Veena Anilkumar, IACA Miss Georgia 2014 & Best Talent Anu Romesh, IACA Miss Georgia Runner-Up 2014 Suvarsha Reddy, IACA Miss Teen Georgia 2014 Diya Sharma, IACA Miss Teen Georgia Runner-Up 2014 Prachita Porika, IACA Miss Teen Georgia 2013 Pushtee Jhaveri, and IACA Miss Teen Georgia Runner-Up 2013 Gargee Sathe.
Winners were
IACA Miss Georgia – Anu Romesh
first runner-up – Suvarsha Reddy.
IACA Miss Teen Georgia – Diya Sharma
first runner-up – Prachita Porika.
Diya and Prachitha had tied, but after the tie-breaker question, “If you win this pageant, how would life change for you on a daily basis?” Diya was named winner.
The “superlative awards” were
Best Eyes –Maulika Reddy (photo at Right)
Best Smile –Vaishnavi Bavadekar (photo bottom Right)
Best Talent – Anu Romesh
Best Talent, Teen – Priyanka Patil (photo bottom Left)
Miss Congeniality – Yash Yadav
People’s Choice – Vaishnavi Bavadekar.
The Miss Congeniality winner was chosen by the contestants.
The People’s Choice winner was chosen by the audience, using an SMS polling feature.
Entertainment and a fashion show were coordinated by Hema Shilpa. The creative design and choreography was by Shiva Turlapati of Shiv’s Institute of Dance, and Shiva’s students also performed. Sa-Re-Ga-Ma singing star Darshana Menon and the Ehsaas Band shone, and Punjabi singer Ikamjit Gill rocked the stage. Emcees were Pritesh Patel and Anjali Sharma Tripathi. Judges included Paddy Sharma, Sana Ayubi, Ross, Rossin, Karishma Kothari, Nix Spalding, and Ava Bonneva Rossin.
Nida Shariff and Kaushal Tripathi directed the pageant, which Tripathi called “a vehicle for us to give back to the community”—being of the community, by and community, and for the community. IACA president Nivedita Garabadu called the contestants “our angels on earth” working to show “poise, grandeur, ambition, self-confidence, and friendship.”
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Website Bonus Feature
Anu Romesh took first place singing at IACA’s Atlanta Indian Idol Contest 2013: http://www.khabar.com/magazine/around-town/iaca_presents_its_first_atlanta_indian_idol_contest
Darshana Menon:
'Shiv's Institute of Dance' - YouTube
Video for Shiv’s Institute of Dance► 6:30► 6:30
May 5, 2013 - Uploaded by gopal turaga
Akhil's team dancing for movie songs from Nayak,Rangam and Julayi. Choreography:Shiva Turlapati.
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