Archana Nair

Archana Nair
Born	January 15, 1990 Mankato, US
Occupation	Model, student

Archana Appukuttan Nair (Malayalam: അര്‍ചന നായര്‍, born January 15, 1990) is an American-born Indian who is currently a first year medical student at the Stanford University School of Medicine and the winner of Miss Kerala 2009.

Early life and background

Archana Nair was born on January 15, 1990, in Mankato, Minnesota, US. Archana is of Malayali origin, with her parents from Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), India. Her father, Dr. Appukuttan Ramakrishna Nair, is a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Technology at Minnesota State University, Mankato, while her mother, Latha Nair, is a software engineer. She is the only child in the family.^[1]

Archana Nair attended Eden Prairie Senior High School, Minnesota, where she did her schooling and graduated in 2008.^[2][3] She is currently a first year medical student at the Stanford University School of Medicine and a graduate of Stanford University's biomechanical engineering program.^[1] She loves dark chocolate and relies on her sessions of dancing to keep her fit.^[1] As an undergraduate, she actively participated in many groups at Stanford University, including Dil Se, an Indian Bollywood dance group and Noopur, a classical bharatnatyam group.^[4][5]

Archana started learning dance at an early age. She loves dancing and is trained well in the three classical dance forms of southern India – Mohiniyattom, Bharatnatyam, and Kuchipudi.^[6]

She studied Mohiniyattom under the guidance of Girija Chandran (Regatta Cultural Society) and Bharatnatyam and Kuchipudi from Mydhili (Midhilalaya Dance Academy), both in Trivandrum.^[6]

Achievements

In 1999 Archana got her "Nritha Rani" title and won the "Kanaka Chilanka" during the inter-state festival held in Chicago. In Fokana 2002 (Federations of Kerala Associations in North America) talent competitions, she got her "Kalathilakom" for scoring maximum points in different types of dances and also in speech. In Fokana 2004 (New Jersey), she was the first prize winner in dance category and won "Miss Fokana" title.^[6]

Miss Kerala 2009

Archana Nair is the winner of Miss Kerala 2009 a beauty contest held in the Indian state of Kerala^[7] on August 5, 2009. Earlier she had held various titles including Miss India Teen America and Miss Fokana, and also came second runner up at the Miss India USA 2008.

Having already participated in many shows and competitions and taking modelling assignments, the success at Miss Kerala 2009 is bringing several modelling assignments her way.^[8]

References

1. "The Hindu : Metro Plus Thiruvananthapuram / Beauty and Wellness : Beauty and brains". Chennai, India: The Hindu. August 13, 2009. Retrieved 2010.
2. "Presidential Scholars Program Semi-finalists April 2008". US Dept. of Education. Retrieved 2010.
3. Note: Presidential Scholarships are only given in the senior year of high school, indicating that Ms. Nair graduated in 2008.
4. "Dil Se – Stanford Hindi Film Dance". Retrieved 2010.
5. "Stanford Noopur Solo Dance". Retrieved 2010.
6. "Archana Nair". Vibha. Retrieved 2005.
7. Miss Kerala 2009 results
8. "The smile that won the crown". Express Buzz. Retrieved 2009.