Kochi : The most awaited beauty pageant, 2^nd Manappuram Miss Queen of India 2012 will be held at the Le Meridien Convention Centre, Cochin today  at 6.30 pm.

Sixteen contestants from all over India will participate in the grand finale. After auditions held at Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Bangalore, twelve contestants made it to the final round. The four finalists from Miss South India will also be joining these contestants.

The sixteen participants contesting in the finals are Akila Kishore, Aparna Dubey, Ashna Mishra, Bhawna Mahalwal, Janhavee Vichare, Kirti Gupta, Laxmi Anand, Leena Viswakarma, Nancy Gupta, NehaSing, Pragyan Pradhan, Priyanka Saha, Sakshi Khorana, Saru Walia, Thinkal Bhaland Vanisree Bhatt.

Grooming sessions were started in Kochi from 5 March, 2012. The sessions consists of yoga, meditation, personality development, catwalk, beauty tips, photoshoot, interaction, talent search, etc. Each session has been designed to enhance the contestants’ strengths and eventually, overcome their weaknesses. The grooming and the pageant will be completely executed without compromising on the culture and tradition of India. These sessions will be under the guidance of Mr Ajit Ravi (Pegasus), Mr Sameer Khan (Elite Model Flat), Mr Arun Ratna (Fashion Runway), Ms Valentina Mishra(Valen’s Model Management), Mrs Sheela Abraham (MD, Sneham), Dr Thomas Nechupadam, (Metanoeo) and Roy Manappallil (Drisya) and Mrs Jebitha Ajit. .

Miss Queen of India 2012 pageant is a three and a half hour programme with four sequences and cultural extravaganzas. Megha Bharman of Dam 999 fame, model and actor Rajeev Pillai, model and actress Richa Panai, model and actress Niyati Joshi, producer and director Sohan Roy, fashion designer Sajimon Parayil and media personality Thoshma Biju will constitute the panel of judges for the pageant.

The other subtitles of the pageant are Miss Beautiful Hair, Miss Beautiful Smile, Miss Beautiful Skin, Miss Beautiful Face, Miss Beautiful Eyes, Miss Congeniality, Miss Cat Walk, Miss Perfect 10, Miss Talented, Miss Photogenic and Miss Viewers’ Choice. The contestants would walk the ramp in four rounds, in sari, gown, linen wear(designed by famous NRI fashion designer Mr Sajimon Parayil) and red-and-red round.

The event will be directed by Mr Ajith Ravi PEGASUS, Founder and Chairman of PEGASUS.