Shreya Sood, a radiologist from Easton, CT, won the “Beauty from the Heart” Miss India Connecticut 2010 title, beating 13 other beautiful young Indian American women at the prestigious Palace Theater, Stamford, CT on Sunday, October 3, 2010. The glittering more than three-hours long non-stop entertainment filled with music, dances and pageantry was organized by Diva America, Inc.
 
Shreya Sood was unable to describe her feelings as she stood on the stage while other participants and organizers came forward to congratulate her. “I am speechless, which is rare for me," said Sood about winning the title in a beauty competition that also stresses good physical and mental health. She added that she was "completely overwhelmed and extremely grateful." Born in India, Shreya grew up in Woodbridge, CT and is currently working as a  radiologist. She graduated from Cornell University in 2005, and then went on to study medicine at Yale University.
 
The Pageant consisted of two competitions, Miss India Connecticut (17-27 years old) and Miss India Teen Connecticut (14 -16 years old).  Priya Kumar was crowned Miss India Teen CT from a field of eight contestants. Miss India CT runner-up was Tina Kumar and Miss India Teen CT runner-up was Priya Gupta. Besides the two Miss India titles, there were other awards handed out. The Talent contest saw eight participants performing brilliantly to the tunes of popular Bollywood numbers. Shefali Kumar won the Miss Talented award, while the Miss Congeniality award went to Pjua Arora.
 
Shreya Sood also won the Miss Catwalk category.  Tina Kumar bested others for the Miss Smile award. Among the Teens, Miss Teen Talent award and Miss Congeniality awards were awarded to Anisha manglani, while Miss Smile award went to Priya Gupta and Priya Kumar waled away with the Miss Teen Catwalk title.
 
The beauty queens, who have spent the majority of their lives in the United States, seemed to move effortlessly between their Indian heritage and their distinctively American experiences and tastes. But for all its familiar elements, the second-ever Miss India Connecticut competition, held before a packed crowd was a dazzlingly different type of beauty contest. There were three segments to the event: The Evening Gown Segment, The Indian Dress Segment, and the Q&A Segment, which was reserved to the five finalists among each category. If the Evening Gown segment was dazzling, during Indian Gown segment, the 22 young female contestants wore traditional Indian clothes and streamed onto the stage like an array of precious gems.
 
The finalists were required to answer a pair of questions from one of the judges. One of the two questions was always related to healthy living and promoting health awareness among the youth and children. Shreya’s response to one about where she'd take a visitor new to Connecticut showed her affinity for family. She chose Sleeping Giant State Park in Hamden, a favorite place for family outings. “I don't think anybody can go there and not have fun," Sood said. To another question, one of the contestants offered up Martin Luther King as the celebrity, dead or alive, she would most like to have dinner with. "I'm American by nature, but Indian at heart," another contestant said.
 
As against other pageants that promote beauty, the current pageant stressed health as an important component of beauty. “Beauty is just not physical, but it is health," said Anita Bhat, president/CEO of Diva America, Inc., a nonprofit group based in Stamford. She told this writer that the pageant is being organized to bring awareness of health and fitness in the fashion industry and to showcase the culture of one of the city's fastest-growing ethnic communities.
 
This pageant is titled “Beauty from the Heart”, is not only a  Beauty Pageant but also a movement to bring health and fitness awareness in the “Fashion Industry”. By introducing health as one of the selection criteria in the selection process, and by giving bonus points to the contestants with ideal body mass index (BMI), Diva America Inc. hopes to reduce the instances of Anorexia, Bulimia, Low Self- Esteem and Depression among next generation.  This new approach to the beauty pageant has drawn a lot of interest and gained support from a lot of local physicians and health promoters. If we succeed in bringing about this change, it will be historical, Bhatt said. All women entering the contest were required to fall within a healthy BMI range, which is a measure of body fat based on age, height and weight. A normal BMI is within the range of 18.5 and 24.9, according to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.
 
The Miss India Connecticut pageant is the first in the world to require contestants to meet healthy body mass standards, said Anita Bhat, adding that she hoped that the movement will catch on with beauty pageants at national and international levels. "We started it to reduce obesity and also the pencil-thin figure the fashion industry demands," Bhat said.

Another aim of the pageant is to foster an understanding of Indian culture in the mainstream community, Bhat said. According to reports, there are 50,000 Indians in Connecticut and about 5,000 Indian students in Connecticut schools and universities. The pageant hopes to showcase the talents and beauty of this younger segment of the population.
Last year's pageant was a huge success and also achieved its goal of getting young women interested in health and fitness, she said. "Usually when you talk about diet there's a stigma attached," Bhat said. "Nobody likes to talk about it. This pageant is a fun project and the girls think that it's cool."

Throughout the night, the auditorium pulsated to the infectious sounds of Bollywood songs. Chief guest at the pageant was Ajeeth Singhvi, who along with his daugher Mamta Singhvi participated at the event. CAPI and AAPI, along with Stamford Hospital endorsed this cause opf the pageant, while the latter was a major sponsor of this pageant.
 
Stamford Mayor Michael Pavia said the event underscores the city's "multicultural ethnicity" and "diversification." "This is one of the most festive events I've attended in all my life," Pavia told the audience. "The colors, the music, the dancing -- it's exquisite." Maureen Pavia, who was an advisor to the pageant, praised the organizers of the event. “This is the first event of its kind in the nation that makes having a healthy BMI a part of its criteria," Pavia said. "I am proud that this makes Stamford a leader in this effort and I am hopeful that this will become a requirement that all similar events embrace."
 
Another major sponsor of the event was the Coromandel Group of Restaurants, voted as one of the most authentic Indian cuisines in the United States. A portion of the proceeds was donated to Maureen Pavia's Stamford Gives Back Association, which provides scholarships and other support to young performing artists. Vice president Meera Banta handed over a check, comprising of a portion of the money raised through the pageant to Stamford Gives Back
 
Shreya Sood will compete in the Miss India USA contest and will also serve as an ambassador for healthy lifestyles and local causes.

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