Small Talk

Pretty panache
Scintillating performances of contemporary dance marked the evening of the Rajinder Singhji Institute (RSI) May Queen Pageant held in the city recently,where 17 girls vied for the crown. The contest,that included five rounds,kicked off with the entry round,which was followed by traditional and designer clothes for the modelling round,whereas the last two rounds were the question answer rounds. A large gathering of over 3000 army officers and their families enjoyed the evening. The one who walked away with the crown was 16-year-old Shweta Parmar. Akruti,a business management student was the first runner-up,whereas Nikita Shrotri,a student of BCom at the Symbiosis College was the second runner-up.

Soulful musings
From having the honour of being the first girl from the city to be selected for the Miss Universe pageant,to being a spokesperson for Mauritius and Berlin,Amrita Thapar has done it all. Speaking about her multi-faceted personality,she says,“One of the few things that drive me on is my own creative instinct. For me,it is very important to be able to constantly re-invent myself,so that I don’t stagnate or get stuck doing mundane tasks. It’s maybe one of the reasons why I made it to the Miss Universe Pageant in 2005 or have tried my hand at doing things against the grind.” In town to launch the Body and Soul Health Spa,Thapar speaks about the change in her life post the Miss Universe pageant,“I spent a lot of my time traveling and understanding the problems of people in various countries of the world. Rather than just being a pretty face,I decided to actually work towards causes that really needed to be addressed. In addition to that,I was also the spokesperson for the Tourism Board for Mauritius and Berlin. I continued my regular hobbies of painting and writing poetry.” On Bolly wood,she says,“As far as joining the Bollywood bandwagon,or the small screen is concerned,I haven’t come across any script that would really move me to work for it.”

Talking about political inclination,“Maybe somewhere down the line I would also consider campaigning for a political party if I see that their ideology is focused on development. And just maybe in future,I would find time to work towards helping develop the infrastructure of the city and also work towards the development of women and children in rural areas,” she adds before concluding.

Freeze frame
Passionate attitude towards work is all it takes to go places and get recognised. And this came true in the case of Atharva Theatres from Nigdi. The group has found a place in the Limca Book of Records for performing four plays continuously for 16 hours. Last year on May 11,the artistes from the Atharva theatre performed Shante cha Karta chalu ahe,Moruchi Maushi,To Me Navehcha,Tarun Tarka,Mhatare Arka – all popular Marathi plays from 9 in the morning to 1 am continuously for 16 hours. Taking a note of the continuous performance,the group’s name was added to the Limca Book of Records recently. A certificate was awarded to Atharva Theatres and Dr Sanjeev Kumar Patil by the Limca Book of Records officials. The direction,art direction,and main role for all four plays was performed by Dr Sanjeev Kumar Patil. He played eight different roles in the plays. Pradeep Mujumdar and Arandhai Kamat also essayed various roles.