Staff reporter | Sikkim Express
GANGTOK / RANGPO, Sikkim, 15 October 2012
Just as Sikkim was basking in the glow of Sonam Pachey’s “Femina Miss Beautiful Lips and Miss Stylish Hair 2012” titles and Zennyla Bhutia’s “Miss North East 2012” title, another Sikkimese girl, Rinchen Dolma Bhutia, has been crowned “Miss Himalaya for Peace and Environment” in a glittering function held at the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts (TIPA), New Delhi [sic] yesterday.
The 23-year-old from Pachak village in Rhenock, East Sikkim, who edged past four other contestants, also received a cash award of Rs 1 lakh. Only five girls from different Himalayan regions had participated in the first-of-its-kind event. The participants were Anne Norbu (19), Kunga Tsetan (19), Rinchen Dolma (23), from Northeastern States including Sikkim, while Rachna Dhiman (18) and Thinley Yangchen (22) were from Kangra and Spiti in Himachal Pradesh respectively.
“Miss Himalaya Pageant is a way to celebrate the mighty and majestic Himalayas, its peace-loving people, and their unique culture. Keeping a low profile due to the spate of self-immolations inside Tibet, the organisers of the Miss Tibet pageant have now decided to organize Miss Himalaya Pageant,” reads the website of [Lobsang] Wangyal Productions, the organisers of the event.
“We got the information over phone; it is a very happy moment for us. We are waiting for Rinchen to come home and celebrate the victory,” said Rinchen’s relatives.
Daughter of Kenzong Bhutia, Headmaster of Upper Pachak Primary School, and Sukrani Tamang, Panchayat Education Assistant, Rinchen is a second-year Tourism Management and Hospitality student in Chandigarh.
In 2007, Rinchen was adjuged the first runner-up and Miss Personality in Thunder Miss Sikkim held in Gangtok.
Meantime, [Lobsang] Wangyal Productions, which also holds the Miss Tibet contest every year, had deferred the same because of self-immolations by the Tibetans inside Tibet this year, to show solidarity with those who laid down their lives for the cause of Tibet. For Miss Himalaya Contest, there were no Tibetans taking part in this beauty contest.