Dehradun, Dec. 14 -- Bindu Singh.

To Raja Ram Srivastava goes the credit for starting nightlife in these hills. And pray, who was he? He was the first and last Indian Manager of the famed Charleville Hotel, then owned by a mysterious Mr Fonseca, who also owned Delhi's Taj Mansingh. Not wanting his guests to stray into other establishments seeking entertainment, he had the brilliant idea of holding the first of our beauty pageants.

The more I look at it, the more credit is owed to Raja Ram for finding, among his guests, the nubile Nutan, a fourteen-year-old, who became the first Miss Mussoorie. Little did she know at the time how many beauty contests would trace the living imprint of her feet, or the fame she would find on becoming an ac...