By Phurbu Thinley
Phayul Correspondent
Dharamsala, October 15 – After three days’ of competing in seven rounds of competitions, Tsering Chungtak, the 21-year old second year student from Delhi University, was crowned the Miss Tibet 2006 here on the night of the Grand Finale event.
Miss Tsering Chungtak also took the title of this year’s Miss Tibet Photogenic after securing 1740 votes of the total 3909 votes cast in the online public poll.
Amidst firecrackers, Tibetan music, songs and dances, the Grand Finale night of the much-hyped Miss Tibet 2006 saw the final five contestants of this years beauty pageant competing in the remaining four rounds; introduction, gown, traditional costume and interview.
Adding more glamour for this year’s grand finale evening and drawing in a lot of media attention was Miss Washington State 2006, Kristen Eddings, who was one among the five jury members of the final rounds.
Describing Dharamsala as a very beautiful place, Eddings said that such a creative event can attract a lot of attention to the Tibetan issue further adding that the pageant is a step in the right direction for more publicity for the Tibetan freedom struggle.
Lobsang Wangyal, the producer-director of the pageant boasted that Miss Tibet has indeed become a “Media-Darling” and said, “This has definitely help publicise our Tibetan cause”.
Miss Tsering Chungtak received a scholarship cheque of 1,00,000 Indian rupees. Besides, for this year, the first runner-up and the second runner-up were also declared and given a scholarship cheque of rupees 50,000 and 25,000 each respectively along with crowns.
While 25- year old Wangchuk Palmo from Toronto, Canada was placed in the first runner-up the second runner-up place was taken by the 21-year old Tseten Yangzom from Kathmandu, Nepal.
The 24-year old Pema Chodon, who was earlier forced to withdraw from pageant because of her Indian army back ground, said she felt sad watching other fellow contestants competing on the stage and one of them winning the crown. “I have still not given up my hope and will find another possible way to participate again in the next year’s beauty pageant”, said Pema.
In his opening address, Mr. Wangyal opined that very soon there might be Mr. Tibet contest too and said that there is enough platform for someone else to come forward and make it a reality.
The whole Miss Tibet 2006 event was held here in the McLeod town in Dharamsala, the seat of the Dalai Lama’s led Tibetan Government in Exile in India and home town to thousands of Tibetans taking political refuge as a result of forceful occupation of Tibet by the Communist China way back in 1949 and continuing till to this day.
