How to be a beauty queen (and change the world!)

She may be just 19, but Stephanie Lohale oozes confidence as she walks into the meeting room. Her handshake is firm and she flashes a charming smile – both of which surely must have helped her beat 32 other contestants and walk away with the Miss India Worldwide 2015 crown.

‘Oh yes, self-confidence is extremely important if you want to make it on such an international stage,’ she says, still basking in the glow of success. ‘But that is not the same as arrogance. Judges look for a person who exudes grace as well as confidence, but a bad attitude will never succeed.’

Stephanie, a design student at Heriot-Watt University Dubai, walked away with the crown at the grand finale held in September last year in Mumbai, India.

‘It surely was not easy – I was up against 32 strong contenders,’ she says.

‘It’s every girl’s dream to be a beauty queen. But dreaming is not enough.

‘You need to have confidence. And all the preparations that I did prior to the finale helped.’

So, what are the qualities required to walk away with the crown at an international beauty pageant?

‘First you need experience in walking the ramp, or participating in similar events,’ says Stephanie. ‘What better way than to start locally?’

With beauty pageants of some kind happening almost every month, there are plenty of opportunities for aspiring models to get some much-needed experience. ‘Participating in a local pageant is a good way to get a feel of what they’re like, how contestants should dress and behave, and, more importantly, what is required to enter a world-class pageant like Miss India Worldwide,’ she says.

But on the day the UAE qualifiers were held at Al Raha Beach Hotel in Abu Dhabi in April, Stephanie was far from prepared. In fact, she only went to the venue with her mother Naina, a manager with Meraas Holdings, to get an idea of what it takes to participate in an event of such magnitude.

‘We went to the auditions to check out the competition and look around, hoping to participate the following year,’ she says. ‘But an organiser, Tarun Gangwani of Emirates Vision, which partners with the Miss India UAE pageant, met us and suggested that I try out this year. I was in sweatpants and a T-shirt that day and hardly prepared!’

Despite misgivings, Stephanie took a split-second decision and entered her name. And incredibly enough, she was chosen first runner-up from 15 finalists.

‘I was like over the moon!’ she exclaims. ‘It taught me that determination and courage can make up for lack of experience.’

Boosted by the unexpected success, Stephanie decided to give it one more try – this time at the Miss India Oman pageant, which was held a few weeks later in May. She was eligible to contest as Oman is her place of birth. She’d also lived there for three years when her father Satish was working in Muscat. This time around, however, Stephanie was better prepared; she knew how to carry herself, and speak her mind when asked for an opinion.

The clincher was her answer to the question on whether there should be a Mrs India contest on the same lines.

Her answer: ‘Marriage is a beautiful sacrament; it takes a strong and confident woman to be truly committed and loyal. And pageantry is all about being confidently beautiful, and who else can you learn that from than someone who’s been married and committed to this beautiful sacrament. So, yes, there should be a Mrs India.’

The result? ‘I was crowned Miss India Oman!’ she says, reliving the excitement.

Next step was last year’s 24th annual Miss India Worldwide, where winners of Miss India contests from 33 countries competed for the crown.

That she would win was beyond doubt in Stephanie’s mind. But the months leading up to the big event were not easy. ‘A lot of sweat and hard work went into preparing for the event,’ she says.

‘Since I wanted to give it my best shot, I underwent intensive physical training, ate lots of fruits and vegetables and gave up late nights with friends so that my complexion glowed under the harsh lights.’

The whole experience, Stephanie feels, has made her wiser. Be local, think international was what Stephanie learnt through participation. ‘It is a lesson that will guide me throughout my life,’ she adds.

There is a misconception among many people that beauty pageants are just for clothes horses and pretty girls. So what are Stephanie’s views? She breaks that myth straightaway: ‘Most contestants were students at international universities.’

More immediately though, Stephanie is using the platform to launch her own charitable foundation that will help educate underprivileged children.

It will be called Ghar (meaning house in Hindi), and will impart training in ‘good hygiene, being responsible, and imbibing good family values; values that I feel aren’t spread evenly across the world’, she adds.Stephanie aims to talk about them when she visits the 33 participating countries as part of her duties as Miss India Worldwide during the course of a year. ‘I’m creating a programme, which will be provided through the foundation to all schools as an extracurricular activity,’ she says.

‘It will be a seven-step programme focusing on personal hygiene and things to avoid in grooming, kind behaviour, manners, family time, emotional intelligence, ethics, and spirituality.

‘We will offer this primarily in orphanages and special needs homes.’

Stephanie also plans to create the material to be taught, and then personally train the teachers to educate the students.

‘I feel there’s so much more to me than just a designer,’ she says.

‘I just love children and want to reach out to them. I have a need to nurture.

‘Beauty pageant contestants can do anything that other girls can, and more.

‘Me? I just want to change the world!’

Get ready to work hard

Just beauty is not going to make a winner and pageants usually have events that are based on more than appearance alone. ‘A contestant must be prepared to present herself as an eloquent and intelligent speaker, poised and dignified, and showcase talent with expertise,’ says Stephanie. ‘All this requires hard work, self-confidence, determination, and taking the time to study each pageant’s rules and history. Fitness is very important, so I trained in Dubai three months prior to the competition at a fitness centre. Diet is vital too, but instead of following a particular regime, I eat healthy – more fruits and vegetables and less meat. Hydration is also important, especially due to a punishing schedule and under the strong lights on stage.’

Hire a pageant coach

This can give contestants an advantage, says Stephanie. Coaches are usually very experienced and therefore know of the qualities judges look for. They can teach contestants and their parents to recognise stand-out traits on an individual basis, and help refine basic pageant skills that might normally go unnoticed by beginners. ‘For instance, the correct model stance can make the difference between first place and runner-up,’ says Stephanie.

Coaches can provide focus, motivation, polish and a good ear for concerns.

‘Unfortunately, there aren’t many in Dubai,’ says Stephanie. ‘I did a crash course with stylist and fashion designer Jannat Miranda of JMode, which helped.’

Training is key

‘Practice makes perfect!’ says Stephanie. ‘Contestants must practise public speaking, hone their chosen talent, walking, stance and facial expressions.’

Practising smiling may sound silly, but there are many different ways to smile, says Stephanie. And it matters. ‘Be ready to work on it. That smile and perfect stance could take hours of enduring jaw aches, muscle pulls, sore feet... My mother helped me define what was right for me.

‘Not being sure is the same as being unprepared when it comes to pageants. The judges can always tell who’s prepared and who’s not. If a talent is part of the competition, the contestant must appear to have practised and prepared for it.’ Talent coaches advise studying videos of previous winners to identify what the judges were looking for in the contestant.

Discipline is everything

‘Good habits matter,’ Stephanie emphasises. ‘Getting proper sleep, exercise, and nutrition are crucial. Judges do not tend to pick people who look tired, sickly, anxious, or run-down.’

Not surprisingly, she is against having junk food or drinks, particularly on the days leading up to the contest. ‘Make sure to drink lots of water, eat plenty of vegetables and fruits. It helps your complexion and general well-being.’

Beauty contests can be exhausting so it pays to be in top physical and mental form. Contestants have to smile constantly, pose alone as well as with other competitors, and best them at every turn. A lesser person can get tired of it, and want to give it all up.

‘For me, it was terribly tiring,’ says Stephanie. ‘My jaw ached from smiling, my feet went numb, and there were times when it almost got too much, but I never lost sight of the fact that it was all worth it. It also helped that I had my mother’s support. When I felt low, I’d call her and almost instantly feel like I had my game back on. She was how I held it together.’

Mind your manners

A vital rule is to always be respectful towards fellow contestants, judges and organisers. ‘Bad attitude will work against you,’ says Stephanie. ‘Nothing comes easy, but don’t ever compromise your dignity.’

Attention to detail

Being aware of age requirements (18-25 for Miss India contests), participation fees (free, in this instance), clothing and talent categories, and the criteria for judging are most important, says Stephanie. ‘Pageant clothes should fit well, suit the contestant, and be in excellent condition.’

‘We trained for six days before the big day. A dance workshop by Bollywood choreographer Sandip Soparrkar, a confidence workshop by Ritika Ramtri, who trains Miss India contestants, and a workshop on walking by Alesia Raut, one of India’s top models, were all arranged by the organisers.’