Bahaar Kaur has been crowned Miss Uttarakhand 2010

Anjali Nauriyal

The recently-crowned Miss Uttarakhand, Bahaar Kaur feels that bagging the title has thrown open a door of opportunities for her and fellow winners. The 20 year old winner says, "For me my winning will act as an impetus for joining the glamour industry. I am very keen on journalism as well and hope to juggle the two." Bahar is presently pursuing her final year of bachelor's degree in journalism from IMS, Dehradun.

For this alumnus of Convent of Jesus and Mary, getting in the limelight is fast becoming a habit. She recently was declared Miss IMA at the end of term Ball Party held at the Indian Military Academy. For this only child of businessman Narendra Singh Rattan and homemaker Durga Rattan, home is her real haven that provides all the security and encouragement that she needs to become her own person. Mixed parentage (her father is a sikh while her mom is a Nepali) has contributed to her imbibing the best from two cultures adding to her charm. She now truly wants to make her parents happy. She also wants to do her bit in social responsibility work for organizations such as PFA. Life has been on a song for first runner-up Swati Negi ever since she was adjudged the winner. But right now she would like to complete her B.A. from DAV PG College, where she is studying in the first year and Airport Diploma from Avalon Aviation Academy. Though she has emerged the winner after a tough competition, she had to face a lot of opposition at home from her father who is senior warrant officer with Assam Rifles.

"He totally turned around after my win and is today my strongest supporter. Now he says, 'Do what you want'. He also wants me to act on television and is ready to provide all the wherewithal. My mom Rekha though was always supportive from the beginning along with my Bua and that was very encouraging," recalls the beauty with a smile. The third runner-up Manpreet Kocchar passed out of Doon Cambridge and Graphic Era before enrolling for MCom at DAV. Daughter of Kawaljeet Kaur, who is a teacher with Guru Nanak Inter College, and Ravinder Singh, Administrative Officer at ONGC Polytechnic, Manpreet informs that she could easily identity her strengths and weaknesses during the entire preparation phase of the beauty pageant. "Now I want to work for women empowerment and for the prevention of female foeticide. I now feel that if each one of us can teach one child how much difference it can make in the progress of our country," she wonders aloud. Interestingly all the three winners are Doonites and wish to work for the betterment of the city in some way or the other. They have already participated in a cleanliness drive and would like to make the city a better place, not only for humans but animals as well.

The other participants at the contest included Arushi Gupta, Chitrashi Tiwari, Deepika Bisht, Khushboo Khan, Manisha Rana, Nitisha Rana, Poonam Kohli, Shikha Rawat (all from Dehradun) and Chetna Kaintura (Pauri Garhwal), Kavita Bhandari (Pithoragarh), Kiran Bala Negi (Chamoli), Manpreet Dhillon (Kotdwar), Rahel Rupama (Tankapur), Sandhya Bhadri (Tehri Garhwal), Sangeeta Borai (Nainital), Tarang Chauhan (Haridwar) and Vidushi Bhatnagar (Mussoorie). Rajeev Mittal, Dalip K Sindhi, Directors of Sinmit Communications, which organised the pageant, expressed elation that the pageant, which began humbly, is growing in stature and is inviting participants from other states and even countries such as Nepal.