On the evening of Nov. 18, 2007, the Queen Mary Hotel in Los Angeles was swarming with activity. Yet the source of the commotion was not any sort of A-list party or the scene of a celebrity scandal. No, the girls walking the red carpet that night were the semifinalists in the Miss Teen India America pageant.
Among this group was senior Archana Nair, who was at the culminating point of the application process. Nair learned about the pageant online, and filled out an application soon after. The semifinalists, chosen from the applicant pool, culminated in L.A. for the final pageant.
The first round consisted of a walk down the red carpet, mingling with various event sponsors and other contestants. After a quick change of clothes, the participants competed in a judged walk dressed in formal Indian wear. And finally, the semifinalists arrived at the talent portion. Nair said the most common talent was dance, but a few contestants sang.
Nair selected dance as her talent as well. She performed a semi-classical Indian dance, something she was well prepared for after 13 years of training and practice. “It is definitely the thing I am most passionate about,” she said.
After the talent round the cut was made to 10 finalists; each of them had to answer a question for the judges. Nair was shocked to hear her question, which asked whether a woman had a right to an abortion, but said she felt comfortable after that. “It was a question I had a strong definite opinion on,” she said.
When she was crowned the winner, Nair said she did could not remember all the thoughts that crossed her mind. “It was that ‘wow’ feeling,” she said. “Like you don’t even know how to react.”
Nair enjoyed the pageant and the company. “The girls were not what you would consider the typical pageant girls,” she said, adding that she would surely enter the pageant again.
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