The 18 Miss Bhutan contestants feel let down by their Indian trainer hired to groom them, who recently left the country without informing the organisers.
More than leaving them before completion of their grooming training, the contestants were aggrieved that the trainer failed to deliver his as would a professional trainer, which he claimed to be throughout.
Karma Tshering said the trainer, who was in capital for two weeks to groom contestants on their personality development, had in actuality trained the contestants only for two days.
By the end of two weeks, the trainer, who was supposed to complete 13 grooming activities, completed only three.
He had trained them to answer questions typical in beauty pageant contests, poise and postures and personal hygiene.
He said the trainer refused to come for the training sessions after some contestants challenged him on certain issues.
The coordinators said the trainer would defame Bhutanese local stars and influential people. Karma Tshering said the class never went smoothly ever since one of the contestants retorted against the trainer, who began defaming the contestants’ role models.
“His wife, who is not a trainer, decided to replace her husband,” Karma Tshering said.
One of the contestants said they felt outraged with how the trainer tried to demoralise them and tried to drag their self-esteem to the floor.
“Most of us feel we haven’t learnt much,” she said. “We have retained some of the very little good that he taught us.”
Karma Tshering said he invited the Mumbai-based trainer, the profile of whom, along with the company he worked with, through google.
“We were convinced and impressed with his website and the interest he showed in training women in his emails,” he said.
The other reason was because the trainer agreed to come to Thimphu and train the contestants at a reasonable fee.
The organiser paid the trainer Nu 48,000 for the two weeks training he was supposed to conduct, an amount lower than what he paid for Miss Bhutan contestants in 2008, which crossed over Nu 100,000 for the training alone.
“The training fee was calculated at Nu 3,500 a contestant,” Karma Tshering said. He claimed to have paid an additional Nu 65,000 for the trainer’s accommodation.
“We promise to complete the rest of the activities by hiring a new trainer soon,” the organiser said. “Contestants will get to meet local resource persons from various agencies until the trainer arrives.”
The new trainer is expected to train contestants on goal setting, identifying their individual purposes, developing positive attitude, public speaking, beauty pageant tips, self-esteem development, manners in public places, public relations and promoting culture and heritage.
