Manali’s Nisha Thakur crowned Winter Queen

Abhinav Vashisht

Kullu, January 7

Nisha Thakur of Manali was adjudged Winter Queen 2024 as the five-day long national-level winter carnival concluded at Manali yesterday. She was awarded Rs 1,00,000 and a crown. Kohinoor of Shimla was the first runner-up while Bhavya Pandit of Manali was the second runner-up. The first runner-up was awarded Rs 50,000 and the second runner-up was given Rs 30,000 and a crown.

Other winners

• Laxmi won the “Voice of Carnival 2024” competition while Kunal Sood stood second and Harish Thakur third.
• Mahila Mandals of the Left Bank of the Beas won the ‘maha nati’ and were awarded Rs 2 lakh

A controversy arose as the result of the Winter Queen contest was declared even before the last two rounds were completed.

In the last two rounds, 10 contestants were to be eliminated out of 15 in race in one round and five finalists were to remain for the last round. But the organisers hastily declared the three winners directly from 15 contestants by skipping the last two rounds. Due to this, the contestants were disappointed giving way to the allegations of favouritism.

Laxmi won the “Voice of Carnival 2024” competition while Kunal Sood stood second and Harish Thakur achieved the third place.

Mahila Mandals of the Left Bank of the Beas won the ‘maha nati’ and were awarded Rs 2 lakh while Mahila Mandals of Right Bank were runners-up and were presented Rs 1 lakh.

Besides, awards were presented to the winners of various events like fashion show in traditional dresses, folk dance, classical dance, dance on new and old film songs, folk instruments and talent show, etc.

Manu Rangshala, the open air auditorium, presented a festive look with the colours of film dance, folk dance and fashion show on the 5th cultural evening yesterday.

Himachali folk singer Thakur Dass Rathi was the star performer. Apart from this, the guest artists IS Chandni, Ramesh Katoch and Thakur Premi gave spectacular performances on the stage. The audience danced to the songs of Nitin Kaushal and Vinod Ranta.

Varun Kumar, Honey Negi and Kushal Verma enthralled the spectators with their presentations.

The chief guest congratulated all the winners and participants. Winter Carnival Committee vice-chairman and Manali SDM Raman Kumar Sharma thanked everyone for their cooperation in the successful organization of the carnival. He said that such cultural events promote the tourism industry and showcase the traditional heritage of the region.

An atmosphere of enthusiasm prevailed among the locals and the tourists.

The rush to the valley had increased due to the arrival of a large number of tourists and participants for the carnival. The occupancy in the hotels of Manali also improved because of the festivities.