Looks can be deceptive. Catch a glimpse of 30-year-old Amita Panda and you can easily mistake her to be a lady in her twenties. This IT professional from city’s Hanspal area has made the city proud. She has won a national-level beauty pageant. She was crowned as Mrs India Galaxy 2018 at Tivoli gardens in New Delhi. She had a cutting edge over 40 contestants from across the country.
Interestingly, Amita had designed the red gown that she wore during the final round of the contest by herself. It took more than a month to get her outfit chic-ready. “I used to visit a boutique near KIIT square. I made the sketch of my gown and asked the tailor to stitch it accordingly. I researched about the various gowns worn by the winners of various beauty contests. I visited the boutique for at least 50 times. The gown was body-hugging in the upper portion that accentuated my curves and towards the tail portion it had flares. I opted for red colour as it suits me. Also, red has the greatest wavelength and catches the eye!” she shared.
For Amita, victory came unexpectedly. “The other contestants had won beauty pageants elsewhere. So, I felt I had lesser chance of winning the contest. At the end of each round, I was scared that I would be expelled,” she added. She claimed that the question answer round made the difference. “I was asked what I expected from this platform. I answered that this platform would give me a chance to evolve as an empowered and independent woman,” she said.
The selection to this contest was a lengthy process. The organisers had conducted auditions across 20 States. In Bhubaneswar, they conducted the auditions in March. Never a professional model, Amita had however participated in college contests earlier.
TV actress Divya Malik, fashion designer Sadan Pande and celebrity stylist Sylvie Rodgers, Mrs Universe Arabasia Anupama Sharma, TV actor Sunny Sachdeva comprised the judgement panel.
Mrs India Galaxy is the first-of-its-kind beauty pageant for married women across the country. The contest is the brain child of Ginny Kapoor and Gagan Kapoor of Vibrant Concepts.