Laugh And The Earth Laughs...- Femina

First day of the fitness session: Rules are laid out for future sessions, which start at five sharp the next day.
Second day of the fitness session: With Mickey Contractor. Unable to get up on time, Niharika rushes to class late and is made to do 50 squats for her tardiness.
Third day of the fitness session: Unable to get up at all (it might have something to do with the 50 extra squats), Niharika is sleeping blissfully under the covers when there is a loud banging on the door at five in the morning. Her roommate Pooja opens the door while brushing her teeth to find an irritated Mickey standing there, a camera in his hand and with the entire behind-the-scenes television crew. Mickey wakes Niharika with the camera trained on her. Mortified, she dives under the covers. Mickey makes her apologise to the camera for having missed her training and asks her to be at the session in five minutes!
Niharika is convulsed with mirth as she talks about the incident, the morning after she was crowned Pond's Femina Miss India-Earth. "It was shown on the reality show on Zoom and we had a big laugh over it. But I am a completely different person today," she says. "The training that I got here, the discipline that was the norm, has become a part of me." A fact that dawned on her (and surprised her) when she opted for salad and corn with water at the after-crowning party instead of the non-veg delights that her body had craved for so long.
"I've grown up," she says, grinning. "That was one of the main reasons I wanted to join the pageant... my approach to life, to work, to everything, was incredibly childish. I wanted to grow up. This experience has renewed my drive to make something of myself.
I feel I have grown from a child to a woman in my time here, with the required poise and all that!" she adds, with a laugh, in great spirits after the crowning.
That wasn't the only reason this 23-year-old took on 22 other girls to win the title. "This is the most prestigious title in the country," she exclaims.
"I believe we have one life to lead. And there is so much to do in that time. I want to learn cinematography. I want to write, I want to learn a musical instrument... it goes on. I was modelling for two years and entering the contest was always at the back of my mind. But I wasn't too sure. This time around, my friends and family told me to try it out and in keeping with my exploratory nature, I thought 'why not'?" Why not indeed? But right at the onset, during rehearsals, she faced her first obstacle and a considerable one for this contest -stage fright. Trial questions would be thrown at her and she would remain silent, tongue-tied and wanting for answers. So whatever happened on the day of the contest?
"I have no idea where all that confidence came from!" she gushes. "I was so comfortable on stage. I just had all this pent-up energy inside me and I was just having fun." Could it have anything to do with the other two crowns she won? "Oh, definitely!" she laughs. "One hour before the contest, I was told that I had won both, Miss Photogenic and Richfeel Miss Beautiful Hair! And that took care of all my inhibitions.
I got really excited... though to be honest, I knew I was going to get the crown for my hair... I have really long, thick and healthy hair! But to win both, that was fabulous. I didn't care if I didn't win anything else; I was feeling on top of the world. I was thinking, I had already won two crowns... all of us here are contenders for the final three titles, now let's have fun, give it our best, let people enjoy the show and let them decide who they want to crown. I was happy and I think that showed on stage!" she smiles happily.
So what's next for the self-confessed 'hill person' from Uttaranchal who would love to invent a 'love machine' to spread world peace (she candidly admits that she said that in true Miss India style, but that's not to say she didn't mean it)? She confesses to not having thought that far ahead. "So many avenues have opened up after winning this crown," she says. "I'll figure it out in time. For now, I have to win the Miss Earth title for India... we haven't bagged that one yet.
So you know what? I am going for the kill!"
And given her infectious energy, she'd probably laugh her way to and back.