Updated: May 21, 2012, 12:00 AM
In pictures: Housewives pageantry
Winner Jyoti Nagpal (#2) stands behind 1st runner-up Nisha Sharma (#7, in yellow), 37, during the question and answer test at the semifinal round of the inaugural AAS Housewives Awards 2012 on 19th May 2012 in New Delhi, India. Out of 12 selected semi-finalists, 6 finalists will be chosen based on a question and answer session on stage, and other criteria such as poise. The winner, and 1st and 2nd runner-ups are Jyoti Nagpal (#2), Nisha Sharma (#7) and Seema Sharma (#4)respectively. The awards also served as a platform for Cervical Cancer Awareness. Photo by Suzanne Lee for The National
Winner Jyoti Nagpal, 35, is greeted by friends as she is photographed backstage after the winner's announcement at the inaugural AAS Housewives Awards 2012 on 19th May 2012 in New Delhi, India. Photo by Suzanne Lee for The National
The Housewives Award honours the contributions of homemakers, often overlooked by society and dismissed for doing "nothing", said Varsha Goel, founder and president of Attitudinal Awareness in the Society, a non-profit organisation that works to change pe???
Audience react at the inaugural AAS Housewives Awards in New Delhi, India. A study by the Nav Bharat Times newspaper estimated that on average, an Indian housewife's work is worth 40,000 rupees (Dh2,672) a month.
Contestants chat with each other backstage as they wait for the announcement for the winner. More than 100 applicants were interviewed before the finals in New Delhi.
Seema Sharma, 34, centre, is interviewed. Mrs Sharma, who came in third place, said simply entering the contest had a positive effect on her role in the household. "I can show society what I have been doing behind closed doors for so many years," she said?
One of India's most celebrated playback singers, Shreya Ghoshal, performs live at the inaugural awards.
The judges' marks are counted backstage.
The competition for India's first Housewives Award was understated but steeped in all things to do with home.
Jyoti Nagpal, 35, from Punjab, won the award. Possibly with her answer to 'What if your son brings home a cabaret dancer, and says, 'I have married her?" Her answer: "No girl ever wants to be a cabaret dancer for her whole life. I would tell her, forget y???
Varsha Goel, centre, created the competition by teaming up with a newspaper creating an entry form with 100 questions and then urged housewives to apply.