Word: monsoonal
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...running down her cheeks, reached for Rae and pulled her close, holding her as if they might take her again. "I told myself I wouldn't cry," she said. The interpreter wept. Linda wept. I wept. Right then, right that minute, the heavens opened up, and it poured a monsoon starter kit on us, just an all-out Noah. Yeah, even the sky wept...
...crackling with electricity this Tuesday in Saigon (officially Ho Chi Minh City, but the locals have reverted to the old name). Monsoon clouds are moving in from the west. People are hurrying along sidewalks, newspaper vendors are getting out plastic sheeting, cyclo drivers are making for shelter...
...expanding list of pageants is spurred and sponsored by cosmetics companies eager to tap into the $1 billion-plus Indian market. The search for Miss Monsoon, for instance, was funded by American Dreams, which sells "fine fragrances from the U.S.A." It is these vendors, say cynics, who have put the spotlight on Indian beauty. With millions of Indians tuning in for live broadcasts of competitions featuring their countrywomen, the pageant scene is an advertiser's dream. "I am not getting paranoid about an international conspiracy, but it obviously helps the cosmetics giants to have India associated with beauty," says novelist...
...that will to win that keeps hopefuls arriving at the modeling academies, each convinced that she too can become Miss Universe. Consider Seher Bhandari, 20, a Miss Monsoon contestant who dropped out of engineering school because her friends told her she was tall enough to model. Bhandari plans to win the Miss India title and then become a movie star. "I am very adamant and clear about what I want to do," she says shortly before the competition. "I don't have a godfather in the movie business, so I take part in these contests because I need the experience...
...pageant reaches its climax, the tuxedoed presenter announces the runners-up. It's clear that Bhandari is the winner. With damp eyes, Miss Monsoon stoops slightly to receive her tiara and begins dreaming of the next pageant...