Mrs. World Seasons 1998 catelogue Model Aditi Govtrikar -Lakdawala has bagged the fourth beauty queen title for India this year. She is the winner of Mrs World 2001, held in Las Vegas this year and is the first Indian title-holder. The Mrs. World pageant is the only pageant for married women. Aditi is married to a doctor and is a medical practitioner herself. She has a three year old daughter. She has previously won the Gladrags Mega Model Contest 1996.

Sushma Reddy to wed Ali Khan Aly Khan and Sushma Reddy are soon going to walk down the aisle, and Mumbai's bold and beautiful just can't stop discussing the impending nuptials. Rumours have it that Aly's mother is totally floored by her son's choice. And that's the reason for the rumour mills going into overdrive. Aly's mother didn't approve of any of the earlier women, including Pooja Bhatt. But where Sushma goes, she has helped in the would-be-bride's house-hunt and in the setting up of the place. Here's wishing the bride and groom a long and happy married life.

Alternative Avenues More and more people in the glamour biz are shoving their fingers into different pies. No longer is it cool to be just a model, or just a designer. You must have different interests to keep you occupied.And so, Helen Brodie is heading a woman's portal called www.soulcurry.com along with her husband. Glad Rags ManHunt Runner Up, Aseem Merchant heads an event management agency called Options 1. The rumour mills have it that Anna Singh might be heading the fashion section of www.b4u.com and that Tarun Tahiliani will be consulting with another fashion site. Arjun Khanna is also diversifying into the dot com business, and that's no secret. His site, www.paisley.com will be launched end of September or early October. Neerja Shah, ex editor of Elle is in the talking stages with Mid Day newspaper to write a column for them on the Art of Living. Nayanika Chatterjee, we hear, is also taking up choreography. And now that her best friend Lubna Adams is back in Bombay, she may well take it up full time. In the past, Noyna had dabbled in pottery and event management - both successfully, we believe! That only leaves us with Prasad Bidappa, the fashion man from the South. We hear very strong rumours that he will be appointed editor of a fashion site and that Vijay Mallaya will be pumping in a whole lot of money. Now if only Madhu Sapre would take up snake charming and Malini Ramani would sell the tri-colour on street corners, fashion would have come full circle!

Miss INDIA 2001 The Femina Miss India contest is a measure of a woman's substantive worth. It judges not just beauty, but the overall attitude, intelligence, talent and personality of the contestants. It is a search for the true beauty of a woman. It is not limited to this country in its roster of contestants, but invites young women of Indian citizenship from all over the world to participate. Every young woman who takes part in this search is a winner, someone who finds confirmation of her own beauty, inner and outer manifestations. Every year, three of the most beautiful, talented, intelligent and congenial young women taking part represents India in international pageants. Apart from these, there are few other crowns to be won: Like in 1999 and 2000 there were four extra crowns : Colgate Gel Miss Talented, Colgate Gel Miss Body Beautiful, Colgate Gel Miss Beautiful Smile and Colgate Gel Miss Photogenic. But the three primary crown holders - Femina Miss India Universe, Femina Miss India World and Femina Miss India Asia Pacific - have a responsibility attached to the glitz and glamour of winning. Each must be a representative of India in an international arena; each must act as an ambassador of the country that has given them that special position; each must be not just beautiful, but diplomatic, friendly and very very Indian. The Times of India Group publications has now started accepting applications for the MISS INDIA 2001 contests.

If you want to enter the Femina Miss India contest, here's what to do: You should be :
* Under 23 years of age
* Stand not less than 5'6" tall
* Hold an Indian passport

If you have the poise and confidence to compete and the drive and determination to win, you should send your application to:
The National Director
Femina Miss India Contest
2nd Floor,
The Times of India Building,
Dr DN Road,
Mumbai 400001.
INDIA.

Your application must include:
* Your name, full address and telephone (and fax, e-mail or any other ??? ???contact number )
* Date of birth
* Height, weight, vital statistics
* Two recent colour photographs - one full length, one close up.

Diana Hayden The Former Miss World is now the highest paid Indian model having even surpassed the endorsement fees paid to celebrities like Hrithik, Shahrukh, Aishwarya and Aamir by the Cola giants. She was paid Rupees Four Crores and Fifty Lakhs ($1 million) for the L'oreal ad. No other model from India has ever appeared on National Television in countries like London, Paris, Milan, Japan and New York endorsing products. She surely knows her mind and has deliberately maintained a low profile to maintain her exclusivity unlike others in her league who have either taken to Vjing on Music channels or succumb to the Bollywood charm.