Grooming for glory

Preparations for the grooming session of the 11th Miss South India 2014 are in full swing, with the final round scheduled to begin on January 13 at Beaumonde-The Fern, Kochi. The 16 finalists are being trained in yoga and meditation, and taught personality development, catwalk, beauty tips, photo shoot and interaction.

For the first time in six years, the Miss South India pageant is being organised outside Kerala at Le Meridien, Coimbatore, on January 18 and will completely focus on the culture and traditions of South India.

“A specialty of this year’s pageant is the introduction of designer-wear half-sarees. We also have four regional titles this year — Miss Queen And­hra, Miss Queen Karn­ataka, Miss Queen Kerala and Miss Tamil Nadu,” says Ajith Peg­asus of Pegasus Event Makers.

The contestants will be groomed by a panel of fashion choreographers and trainers such as Arun Ratna of Fashion Runway and Sameer Khan of Elite Model Flatt.  

“The entire expense for the five-day grooming sessions as well as travel is being borne by the organisers and no additional charges are put on the models unlike most other pageants.  These apart, for the first time live music will be used for the ramp walk. The music is composed by a local band called Rithu Ragas and violin will be predominant,” adds Ajith.

The judging panel comprises Parvathy Omanak­uttan, Babu Antony and Major Ravi among others. The pageant is organised by Pegasus Event Makers in association with Manappuram Finance.