Harnaaz Sandhu has brought the Miss Universe crown to India 21 years after Lara Dutta last won it in 2000.
Please click on the images for glimpses of how Harnaaz inched closer and closer to the Miss Universe title.
IMAGE: Host Steve Harvey quizzes Harnaaz during the Miss Universe pageant in the Red Sea resort of Eilat, Israel, December 12, 2021.
All photographs: Ronen Zvulun/Reuters
IMAGE: The top 5 contenders for the Miss Universe tiara: Miss Philippines Beatrice Luigi Gomez, Miss Colombia Valeria Ayos, Miss Paraguay Nadia Ferreira, Miss South Africa Lalela Mswane and Miss India Harnaaz Sandhu.
IMAGE: The Final 3: Miss South Africa Lalela Mswane, Miss India Harnaaz Sandhu and Miss Paraguay Nadia Ferreira.
IMAGE: Miss Paraguay Nadia Ferreira, Miss South Africa Lalela Mswane and Miss India Harnaaz Sandhu in the final moments of the competition.
IMAGE: Harnaaz in that time honoured image of beauty queens when they win a pageant.
IMAGE: Miss Universe 2021 Harnaaz Sandhu and Miss Universe 2020 Andrea Meza of Mexico embrace in a flood of confetti and streamers.
IMAGE: Harnaaz sobs in happiness. And why not? She topped a line-up of 80 incredibly beautiful women to be crowned the most beautiful lady in the universe.
IMAGE: Harnaaz gives the audience watching her in Eilat and on television worldwide a regal wave after being declared winner of the Miss Universe pageant.
Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff.com
Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com
