Just finished reading a mediocrely written but nonetheless interesting book titled What Would You Do To Save the World. It’s an autobiographical account of the Femina Miss India pageant penned by a contestant who participated in 2004. This gal is very candid about her experiences, which I think deserves a certain degree of boldness to expose.
Of course she has nothing to lose in terms of her career, because she does not have her sights set on Bollywood or any part of the glamour industry; she’s a student of economics.
All the personalities involved in the pageant are barely camouflaged by a slight change of name, and the descriptions pretty much fit the bill. It’s an amusing read because it exposes even how the judges regard the pageant — a ticket to the glamour industry — and not the embodiment of womanhood at its ideal best.
The sad bit is that the grooming programme does more harm that good. Now if only it could be made less superficial, I’m sure the experience would help small-town girls with less exposure widen their horizons a wee bit.
I doubt if it’s possible that such pagaents be considered less superficial. No matter how hard one tries to set one up with purely noble intentions, they will all become the same.
“Yeah, I judged in favor of Miss Dignity because she had the nicest set of… uh… personalities.”