Saturday, December 20, 2008

Pakistan May Not Be Ready for Its Beauty Queen


David Goldman for The New York Times

Natasha Paracha, 24, a United Nations worker, was crowned Miss Pakistan World this May in a pageant held in, well, Ontario.


Published: December 18, 2008

If you live in the East Village, you may have seen the reigning Miss Pakistan coming out of her walk-up not far from St. Marks Place. You may have glimpsed her celebrating her victory with some friends at the Hudson Hotel, or entering one of the jazz clubs where she likes to hear live music.

Every once in a while, you can catch Miss Pakistan, Natasha Paracha, 24, hopping out of a cab in her rhinestone tiara, fresh from an appearance. “Give me that tiara!” a young man with his boyfriend called out to her on such an occasion a few weeks ago. “I want it!” She flashed them a megawatt smile but kept the tiara, which she normally stashes in a floral-patterned box in her closet.

On the one hand, it seems only natural that Miss Pakistan should live in downtown Manhattan, a place where celebrity seems to be its own form of local citizenry. On the other hand, it makes no sense at all. You could say a lot about the glamorous internationalism of, say, Shanghai, and yet there’s no chance that you’d catch the reigning Miss America taking up residence there, limiting herself to an audience of expatriates.

The Miss Pakistan pageant, now in its sixth year, is unique as these things go. None of this year’s 12 contestants, to start, reside in Pakistan, but hail instead from the United States, Canada and England. (The full title reflects that international flavor: Miss Pakistan World.) And the contestants do not compete for the crown in Lahore or Islamabad, but in Mississauga, Ontario. Pakistan, apparently, is not yet ready for a beauty pageant, although why that is depends on whom you ask.

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Big City - Pakistan May Not Be Ready for Its Beauty Queen - NYTimes.com



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