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Grooming them right

Winners all? The participants of the Miss Kerala contest

The wait is finally over. As the dazzling tiara sat pretty over Miss Kerala’s head, all covered with confetti, the pageant coach from ‘The Tiara,’ Ritika Ramtri Kumar said, “You know each one of them is a winner.” And how right!

Amidst the din of hugs and kisses, tears and tizzy Ritika looked every bit satisfied with the outcome.

The girls whom she had trained had walked confidently and tall, answered questions with aplomb, and sashayed without a falter. And one was left wondering at the behind-the-scene grooming. Ritika, who grooms contestants for glamorous events like this one said, “I had just eight days to train the girls but I found them to be top class. They are very capable, confident and competitive enough for bigger pageants.” So what exactly was her quick-fix mantra for these girls? “I did intense Q&A rounds with them for that’s what I felt they were weak at. The rest of the attitude was right.”

So from a spectrum of questions ranging from brain teasers to ticklish ones did she tutor them on how not to go for clichéd answers, “I thank God… Mother Teresa ….” ? “Well, I don’t believe in pageant clones. I don’t want to kill their individuality. Mother Teresa is an icon for so many of us and thanking God too is a normal answer.”

Dalu, the choreographer, has worked hard at turning “raw talent” into beauty queens, from body language to the catwalk. “All the girls are very professional and all willing to learn. Although height may be a problem, most of these girls are ‘Model Hunt’ and ‘Gladrags’ material. Height is not a consideration in these contests,” he says.”

About some of the girls having a strong local accent, said Ritika, “It is the mother tongue influence and I told them that there was nothing to be embarrassed about. We do correct pronunciation mistakes but not accent.” Complimenting the girls on their special looks “having beautiful features and every expressive eyes,” Ritika has groomed many Miss India contestants who have made it to the top three. Amrita Thapar, Miss India Universe, 2005 , Jyothika Sirohi, are just a few of her success stories.

At ‘The Tiara,’ she says it’s their endeavour to get all their students the crown. And here too that’s what the aim was. Communicating effectively, voice modulation and the most importantly winning the pageant was what she trained the contestants for. And what was that one ‘winning the pageant’ ingredient? “Oh that’s a little secret,” she smiles keeping the trump card to herself.

P.S. & S.N.A.

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