Odisha girl Maitri Manali bags KIIT Nanhipari- Little Miss India 2016 title

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Dec 31:

Bhubaneswar girl Maitri Manali Pradhan has been crowned the KIIT Nanhipari- Little Miss India 2016 title in a glittering ceremony held at KIIT International School in Odisha capital.

In the grand finale held last evening, Maitri was crowned the title, while Dipanwita Dey of Kolkata and Swayamprabha Dalabehera of Mumbai were crowned first runner-up and 2nd runner up respectively.

The top three also received a cash award of Rs. 3 lakh, Rs. 1 lakh and Rs. 50,000 respectively, along with silver crown, trophy and certificates.

Thirty two young girls between 13-16 years were shortlisted for semi final round from regional auditions from Guwahati, Luknow, Kolkata, Patna, Bhubaneswar, Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Hyderabad faced several competitions during the two-day 16th Nanhipari – Little Miss India event.

Many other titles were decided in the final round such as, Miss Rapunzel – girl with most beautiful hair, Miss Photogenic – girl with best pose in photo shoot round, Miss Selfie  – Maximum likes on Facebook page, Miss Fashion  girl with best costume in both rounds,  Miss Whizkid girl with highest marks in quiz round, Miss Cinderella  girl having best personality, Miss Urvasi girl with Best Talent, Miss Catwalk girl with best ramp walk, Miss Monalisa most beautiful girl with most beautiful smile and Miss Active  – most active girl in sports round and got a cash prize of 10 thousand each.

Renowned music director Goodly Rath, Navbharat Times Feature Editor Rekha Khan, Miss Asia Pacific Srishti Vyakaranam, Miss India UN Suprit Kaur, representative of Korean Cosmetic company Hera Bin were the jury members while, MLA Priyadarshi Mishra, Chief Patron of KIIT Nanhipari Achyuta Samanta, Patron Malay Mohapatra, Secretary of Dept of MSME LN Gupta, Culture Secretary Manoranjan Panigrahi were also present on the occasion.

Many attractive prizes were introduced in the 16th edition of the competition this year. The prize money for the winner is Rs 21 lakh. Out of this, Rs 3 lakh is given as a cash prize and 100% academic fee waiver subject to a maximum of Rs 18 lakh for studying in any discipline in KIIT University.

The first runners up would win Rs10 lakh. Out of this, Rs 1 lakh is given as cash prize and 50% academic fee waiver subject to maximum of Rs 9 lakh for studying in any discipline in KIIT University. Similarly, the second runners up would get Rs 9.5 lakh. Out of this, Rs 50,000/- as cash prize and 50% academic fee waiver subject to maximum of Rs 9 lakh for studying any discipline in KIIT University.

‘Nanhipari’ is a talent show for teenage girls between the age group of 13-16 years. It had a modest start in 2001 in a remote and small tribal town of Keonjhar district of Odisha. In a short time-span of just 16 years, it has become a national event of repute, touted as the ‘Little Miss India’ competition, the only one of its kind.

Patronized by social activist and educationist Achyuta Samanta, the founder of KIIT & KISS, the purpose of KIIT Nanhipari Little Miss India is to build an institution and a tradition dedicated for spotting and nurturing the talented young girls to become successful women subsequently in their adulthood.