Looking Through Glass

OVERWORKED batteries recharged by six rejuvenating days of sun, sand and Seychelles, the beauty brigade—89 winsome ladies with their fluttering eyes firmly trained on the glittering Miss World 1996 diadem—has tiptoed back into Bangalore for the all-important final shot at gold and glory. But the garden city, still seething and yelping in self-righteous indignation, isn’t going to be a bed of roses for the beautiful women who are out to conquer the world. Not by a long chalk. Fifty-odd organisations, both social and not-so-social, are sharpening their claws even as the run-up to the final event of the beauty pageant at Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore, on November 23 gathers momentum.

Exactly how serious is the threat of trouble that hangs heavy over the city? A recent opinion poll conducted by a national daily has revealed that a majority of Karnataka’s populace is in favour of the Miss World 1996 pageant. Nearly 57 per cent of the 1250-odd respondents in 25 Karnataka towns felt that the show should go on. Despite the irritating hiccups. Despite the lurking fears of mob violence.

If you don’t think these are winning figures, many Bangalore celebrities—intellectuals, filmmakers, cultural activists—have of late come out openly in favour of the pageant. "The pageant is a mega event and we should be happy to host it," asserts theatre personality Arundhati Nag. "Obscenity and vulgarity are in the eyes of the beholder," she spouts.

Classical danseuse Protima Gauri sees the Miss World contest as a marvellous opportunity for the Indian arts to gain exposure worldwide. "The event," she says, "is not going to infringe upon India’s cultural heritage. I think the opposition to it is politically motivated. The pageant is a great platform for the Indian arts to be presented to the world community." It is not without reason, therefore, that the Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Limited (ABCL), organisers of the beauty pageant, have handed the responsibility of designing, packaging and executing the November 23 show to men like Kerala filmmaker Priyadarshan, art director Sabu Cyril and Madras-based music composer Ilaiyaraja. While many of the contestants will slip into dresses designed to give voyeurs the time of their lives, the backdrop of the show and the flavour of the evening will be strictly desi. As Priyadarshan has repeatedly emphasised, it will be a ‘Kashmir to Kanyakumari’ show that will capture the essence of India in all its amazing diversity.

Says Manohar Arcot, ABCL general manager: "We are all focusing on the conduct of the pageant and not even thinking of the protests. We don’t want the main event to lose the kind of attention it deserves." Unfortunately, Miss World 1996, from the moment it was announced, has attracted the wrong sort of attention, from the wrong sort of organisations. The latest blow to the organisers has come in the form of an order of the Karnataka High Court, which has, until further notice, barred the state government from assisting the ABCL in the conduct of the Miss World contest. As Eric Morley of Miss World Ltd has asserted at every available opportunity since landing in India, the ongoing contest is much more than just a show of beauty. It’s no mindless bimbo-fest, no exploitative parade of skimpily clad nymphets. Every participant is considered an ambassador of her nation and will be judged as much for they she looks and carries herself as for her intelligence and ability to communicate. Indeed, the made-for-television event, which will be watched by two billion viewers worldwide, is a gilt-edged chance for the host country to reach out to the world.

But are we doing so? What are the signals that India is transmitting? That we perceive beauty contests as a frontal attack on our ancient culture? That we see the contestants as an ‘occupation force’ out to trample upon our traditional sensitivities? That our civilisation is so feeble that it can be blown away by a bevy of beauties sashaying across TV screens? Surely, something is seriously amiss.

 Says Julia Morley, president, Miss World Ltd: "Let’s give ourselves a chance. Let’s give others a chance. What is needed is a spirit of tolerance." That, sadly, is a rare commodity among organisations which think that the Miss World contest represents a commodification of beauty. They may be right. But what about the freedom of the contestants to participate in an event that they think has been designed to showcase the best aspects of their personalities? Says Prabuddha Dasgupta, the celebrated New Delhi-based fashion photographer who recently found himself at the receiving end of the wrath of India’s self-appointed moral police for shooting the controversial Tuff shoes advertisement: "At the conceptual level, I find nothing wrong with the Miss World contest. The protests are basically being orchestrated by people trying to cash in on the event. It has more to do with deriving mileage than with morality."

 But there is no stopping the alarmists. BJP legislator Pramila Nesargi, spearheading the opposition to the show, has imputed dark motives: "The Miss World contest is nothing but flesh trade. It’s going to be a parade of semi-nude bodies." So her party, which conveniently went mum when Wacko Jacko held Bal Thackeray’s Mumbai in thrall much of last week, is adamant to scuttle the Big B’s big night out in Bangalore. The BJP’s B.S. Yediyurappa, leader of the opposition in the Karnataka assembly, minces no words: "If the state government is adamant about holding the pageant, we are equally firm on stopping it. The event should go out of the country lock, stock and barrel."

 The threat has had a partial effect on the organisers. Apart from the beachwear section being shifted to Seychelles, three events originally scheduled to be held at the main venue in Bangalore—the Miss Photogenic contest, the Miss Personality contest and the Coronation Ball—have been moved to the outskirts of the city to minimise the threat of a last-minute disruption to the expensive pageant. As for the final event, where the Miss World 1996 will be crowned before an audience that is expected to include the Sultan of Brunei’s 200-strong entourage, members of the British royal family, Hollywood personages and popular stars from the Mumbai film industry, it will be as much a show of strength for the 12,500 security personnel on duty as a display of high-voltage charm by the Miss World contestants.

The uniformed men will have to put their best foot forward if the 89 beautiful women just back from a well-deserved bout of fun in the sun are to put the sparkle back into an event that has taken quite a few physical knocks this past month.