Stamford, CT: Shriya Paliwal, 21, a senior at NYU Stern School of Business, and hailing from Greenwich, CT, was crowned Miss India Connecticut 2009, “Beauty from the Heart,” during the first-ever beauty pageant held at Westover School Audi-torium, here on November 8 The runner-up of the coveted title was Ashley Palathra, 17, a resident of Fairfield, CT. A student of Fairfield Warde High School, her hobbies and interests are piano, reading, dancing, and running.
Shriya Paliwal’s hobbies and interests include piano, tennis, cross-country running, and swimming.
Amisha Sisodya was judged the winner of the Miss India Teen CT contest. The 15-year-old student of Trumbull High School, resides in Trumbull, CT. Her hobbies and interests include dancing, singing, reading, writing, piano, travel, and photography. She beat 10 other contestants to win the title. Rachana Mehta, a 14-year-old sophomore at West Hill High School and residing in Stamford, CT, was the runner-up of the Miss India Teen Connecticut contest. Rachana’s hobbies and interests are music, tennis, and travel.
Among the sub-contests of the evening, Namrata Gannu won the Miss India Talent CT 2009, while Miss India Smile CT title went to Shriya Paliwal. Sadhana Suresh won the Miss India Catwalk title, and the Miss India CT Congeniality title went to Tina S. Kumar. Among the teens, Sheena Patel won the Miss Talent contest, and the Miss India Smile title went to Anika Advani. Miss India Cat Walk title was won by Surbh Sood and the Miss India CT Congeniality went to Rachana Mehta.
The beauty pageant featured 21 young women, 10 of them vying for the Miss India Connecticut 2009 title, while the remaining 11 competing for the Miss Teen Connecticut 2009.
The maiden competition was in many ways, a unique event, where the West met with the East. The beautiful and talented young women showcased before a packed crowd, their talents, which included a medley of songs, Bollywood, Indian classical and Western dances and a recital of Mozart’s sonata on the piano. During the Indian segment, these 21 young women dressed elegantly in colorful Indian saris, churidars, and salwar-kameez walked before an enthusiastic audience. The cat walk segment saw the contestants in Western dresses, walking to the tune of beautiful Bollywood music. 
Michael Pavia, the mayor-elect of Stamford, and Stam-ford mayor Dan Malloy, who plans to run as the next Governor of Connecticut spoke highly of the growing Indian American community in Stamford and the Fairfield County and their contribution to business development and culture. Earlier, Anita Bhat, president of Diva America Inc., a nonprofit group based in Stamford, welcome the gathering.
Shriya Paliwal crowned Miss India Connecticut
