Indian Stunners

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Those who don't make the national pageants, like the Miss India gala, have to settle for other, less glamorous affairs, including scores of neighborhood beauty shows, intercollegiate contests and parade-queen competitions. In Bombay earlier this month, for example, 16 women tramped up and down a lumpy catwalk in a damp, steamy tent vying for the title Miss Monsoon. "Please watch out for holes in the carpet," warned the choreographer during a run-through. "We don't want any falls." Seventeen-year-old Rebecca Alvares, one of 150 applicants, explained, "This is a real stepping-stone for me. Maybe someone will spot me here."

The expanding list of pageants is spurred and sponsored by cosmetics companies eager to tap into the $1 billion-plus Indian market. The search for Miss Monsoon, for instance, was funded by American Dreams, which sells "fine fragrances from the U.S.A." It is these vendors, say cynics, who have put the spotlight on Indian beauty. With millions of Indians tuning in for live broadcasts of competitions featuring their countrywomen, the pageant scene is an advertiser's dream. "I am not getting paranoid about an international conspiracy, but it obviously helps the cosmetics giants to have India associated with beauty," says novelist Shobha De, who often judges pageants. "Indian women are among the most beautiful in the world, but there is something odd about the world's discovering this all of a sudden."

Defenders of the beauty industry argue it is India that has just discovered its radiant masses. Urban women are spending more on looking good, signing up for aerobics, skin treatments, silicon implants and nose or jaw jobs, which occasionally end in disaster. Cable TV, especially the 24-hour fashion channel, has brought with it a dramatically different notion of dressing. Tight skirts, cocktail dresses and power suits are In, even for women used to being seen in a wispy sari. As the Indian economy prospers, there is much more income to spare on designer wear. "The quality [of contestants] has definitely improved, and now any of our finalists are near international standards," says the Times group's Guha. "Today we go to win."

It is that will to win that keeps hopefuls arriving at the modeling academies, each convinced that she too can become Miss Universe. Consider Seher Bhandari, 20, a Miss Monsoon contestant who dropped out of engineering school because her friends told her she was tall enough to model. Bhandari plans to win the Miss India title and then become a movie star. "I am very adamant and clear about what I want to do," she says shortly before the competition. "I don't have a godfather in the movie business, so I take part in these contests because I need the experience."

As the pageant reaches its climax, the tuxedoed presenter announces the runners-up. It's clear that Bhandari is the winner. With damp eyes, Miss Monsoon stoops slightly to receive her tiara and begins dreaming of the next pageant.