Nirashree Munshi, a reporter in an ethnic Indian newspaper, has been crowned the New Miss India California.
Munshi, who works for the India Post newspaper, won the title at the 2006 edition of the pageant held in Oakland, California.
According to reports, Nirashree began her performance with a short introduction to a classical raga called Puryadhanaashree. She followed this up with an exhilarating dance piece, which combined her knowledge of kathak and bharatnatyam dances and the Western arts of ballet, jazz, and hip-hop.
"I would have loved to play the dhol, tabla, a little harmonium, and to have acted, but the judges and pageant coordinators only allowed a minute and half to perform our talents," she was quoted as saying.
California is among the five states in the US with a high Indian American population.