Bareilly celebrates its day of global glory

bareilly: nani ma celebrated with her mimmi's favourite gol paratha and aam ka achar. friends did it with a party. and in the rest of the town it was jubilation as unsung bareilly's very own "princess" was crowned miss world in the early hours of friday morning. they came out on the streets bursting fire crackers, distributing sweets and dancing. grandmother madhu jyotsna akhori was in tears even as she clapped continuously as television beamed that one important moment: the crowning of granddaughter priyanka chopra as the new miss world.and priyanka's friend anju and other staff members of her father's nursing hugged and congratulated each other. "i will cook some `gol parathas' for her when she comes here with the crown", mrs akhori said, busy answering phone calls and receiving greetings on behalf of her close pal. sweets were distributed as the chopra house was besieged from daybreak by family friends and well-wishers. even priyanka's pomerarian pet "cotton" could not resist the excitement and was joyfully hopping all over the place. the `victory' was announced at the morning assembly in the army school here. after all, the new miss world was a student here (in class xii) when she bagged the femina miss india title. "i take great pleasure to announce that our student has bagged the world title of beauty", announced principal sanjay abhishek, announced, the entire schools was jubilant. said sushil joshi, priyanka's class teacher, "she told me before leaving, `sir, i will return with good news...and she has." he added that she was selected `miss may queen' of bareilly club. how was she as a student? "oh, she was very talkative in class, but she was also focussed, very composed, multifaceted and grasping," joshi fondly said. "she also liked studying people's psychology," he added. "i hope she will continue to study along with her other assignments," he wished. classmates vikas dua and ridima were ecstatic. ridima closed her eyes as miss turkey was announced as second runner-up. "i cannot explain how thrilled i was," she said. vikas screamed at the top of his voice, "she has done it!" and then rushed out to inform other friends. motilal, a guard at priyanka's school, was beaming this morning. "people harp for sons and look, a girl child has brought honours for bareilly which no one had done so far." ashok kumar, another guard at the army school, hoped she "does not change after being crowned miss world and remains the same loving and generous girl as she has been in school". priyanka's english teacher in saint maria, where she had studied upto class viii, ms d singh, was thrilled. "it's a rare honour for bareilly". her history teacher ms harvinder said, "priyanka did not look so beautiful in her childhood but she had the potential to do something big in life." and at the bareilly cantonment "it will be party tonight", said a jubilant jp singh, an officer. priyanka's father dr ashok chopra was an army surgeon. "she has proved that a small town like bareilly too has potential, what is needed is proper exploitation." the excitement and jubilation were palpable on the streets since early morning. local newspapers took out late editions and every copy was sold out. from rickshaw pullers to barber shops to roadside dhabhas, it was only priyanka and priyanka. many locals were seen trying to `locate' some association with the "princess'" father, dr ashok chopra: his new kasturi nursing home has become synonymous with priyanka's name. apart from jubilation, expectations also ran high. "now i presume barelliy's stars will also change", said ram kumar, a shopkeeper in the chowki chauraha locality. he is quick to add that "bareilly ki bitiya" had once come to buy chocolates from his shop.